e f T H E N A T I O N A L A S S O C I A T I O N O F L A R Y N G E C T O M E E C L U B S N E W S L E T T E R

Transcription

1 T H E N A T I O N A L A S S O C I A T I O N O F L A R Y N G E C T O M E E C L U B S N E W S L E T T E R Issu No. 135 Dcmbr 2015 Insi this issu Prsint s Christmas Mssag.. 2 Syrup o Figs or My Balkan Cruis.. 2 Slippry Elm St Blais My Riki Exprinc Bttr in Lincs Can Aspirin Stop Cancr Rturning? 6 Nws rom th Clubs Plus lots o othr nws, thoughts, poms, lttrs an viws To mak a onation plas complt an rturn this orm to: NALC Suit 16, Tmpo Hous, 15 Falcon Roa, Battrsa, Lonon SW11 2PJ # NO CRUISING Without a oubt, 2015 has bn a tough yar or Mr an Mrs Eitor. No cruising at all! On th othr han, thr hav bn th trips to Nw Zalan, Croatia an Swanag. An although thr wr no irct contacts with laryngctoms, w i ncountr St Blais, Patron Saint o Laryngctoms, in Dubrovnik (s pag 4). Challnging It s crtainly bn a challnging yar or NALC in th mov rom bing an associat charity o Macmillan an towars inpnnc an sl-uning. An, as our Prsint, Malcolm Babb rports, thanks to your gnrosity, grat progrss has bn ma. Saly, Any Gag pass on this yar but w rmmbr his nuring contribution to NALC an CLAN an spcially to th wbsit. An so w look orwar to 2016 with som coninc. An, w sincrly hop, a rturn to cruising too! Ian Honystt (Eitor) For all itms or Clan: Ian Honystt (Eitor), 53 Comb Roa, Farncomb, Goalming, Surry GU7 3SL mail: Honystt@btintrnt.com For all othr mattrs (incluing rqusts to b a to or rmov rom th mailing list): Vivin R (Association Scrtary), NALC, Suit 16, Tmpo Hous, 15 Falcon Roa, Battrsa, Lonon SW11 2PJ Tl: Wbsit: Th viws xprss by th contributors ar not ncssarily thos o th Eitor or NALC. Grat car has bn takn to nsur accuracy but NALC cannot accpt rsponsibility or rrors or omissions. Dalin or issu No. 136: 1 Fbruary 2016 A big thank you to vryon or thir vry kin an gnrous onations throughout th yar. Alx McGuiggan, Trasurr o I woul lik to mak a on o paymnt an nclos a chqu payabl to NALC. o I woul lik to mak a on o paymnt o... by car. (A acility to o this will soon b availabl on th wbsit) Nam on car... Start at Expiry at Scurity co (3 igits on back o car) o I you woul lik to mak a rgular onation, plas st up a staning orr through your bank account to: National Association o Laryngctom Clubs Sort Co: Account No: I you ar a UK Tax payr, may NALC Git Ai your onation? Ys o No o I unrstan that I must pay an amount o Incom Tax/Capital Gains Tax at last qual to th amount. NALC rclaim on my onation in th appropriat tax yar. Nam... Arss Tl. No Signatur....

2 Syrup o Figs or my Baltic Cruis My wi an I hav just rturn rom a 14 nights Baltic cruis laving rom Southampton an going as ar as St Ptrsburg in Russia. Most o th tim w wr in th Baltic Sa an th cruis was vry calm an njoyabl with many grat stops along th way. Aroun 6.00 pm w usually mt up with 3-4 othr coupls or a pr-innr rink, with us bing th only UK citizns. This was th tim o ay whn our nw-oun group tol ach othr about our ay s vnts an this usually l on to othr litim xprincs an a w joks. During our irst wk a Philippin lay srv us an I must say sh look atr us wll. During th scon wk th sta in our chosn bar wr chang aroun an now our main srvr was a man rom northrn Europ, who again look atr us wll. It was on his scon night that th waitr call m asi or a quit wor. H tol m that uring th irst wk o th cruis h ha bn working aroun on o th poolsi bars by ay an h ha com into contact with a balha passngr who coul only talk i h prss th button on his nck. H sai that in all o his tim working or Princss Cruiss h ha nvr sn anything lik this bor. H thn rval that on sing m or th irst tim th prvious night, h thought I was th sam prson but this tim waring a wig. W ha a laugh an I xplain to him why th two o us ha a button on our throats. I thn wnt back to our tabl an tol th othrs an this was now th main point o convrsation or th nxt w minuts. This l on to m tlling th othrs about th cockny slang or a wig, calling it a syrup as in syrup o igs. My wi, who is Cornish, has nvr rally got to grips with this an has on svral occasions sn somon with a wig an sai look thy v got a ig. Bor w wnt or innr th wi an I ha a walk aroun th ship looking at all th mn s ncks in an attmpt to spot this othr passngr. Thn atr a short whil w saw on o our rinking tam who tol us sh ha just spott th othr laryngctom gust in th photograph gallry ara. W shot up to this ara an Nots rom th Prsint sur nough my wi oun him. I introuc ourslvs to him an his wi an tol him th waitr s story, an I was so gla to say h also oun it to b unny. How Long? W ha a chat or a whil, an as I am quickly ining out, th irst qustion ask whn two laryngctom patints mt ach othr sms to b how long hav you ha it?. H was now in his ighth yar whil I hav only just rach my irst annivrsary. H wnt on to tll us about som o his xprincs an sai h ha mov to a nw ara to liv a coupl o yars ago. On two occasions h ha call th hospital or a valv chang an thy tol him thy woul hav to orr on. Th irst tim it took two wks bor h ha it rplac. I ask why h was not in possssion o a spar valv an h inorm us that h ha nvr vr bn issu a rplacmnt. It woul not b corrct to say which ara h liv in, but I i tll him o th grat tratmnt an car that I hav rciv rom our ENT partmnt at Trlisk hospital at Truro. I suppos this is what you coul call postco tratmnt, but thy woul b vry har push to match our grat tam. Trry & Brigtt Hays (From th Spak Easy, Cornwall Nwslttr) NALC Constitution At a rcnt Extraorinary Gnral Mting an amnmnt was approv unanimously. Th chang involvs xtning our aims an purposs as stat: To collaborat with othr ha an nck cancr patint groups in aras o common intrst, incluing xtning support to such patints through our ailiat clubs. Many o our groups alray hav patint mmbrs who ar not laryngctoms an w also want to improv our links with othr patint groups. NALC Prsint s Christmas Mssag 2015 has bn an important yar or NALC. Coul w manag th transition rom bing an associat charity o Macmillan an th uning that status provi to bcom an inpnnt an sl-supporting group? Th rspons o our clubs an mmbrs o th laryngctom community has bn magniicnt an w hav xc our xpctations o th incom w hav rciv rom onations an othr sourcs. Consquntly th outlook or th utur is ncouraging. Thr hav bn othr signiicant vnts uring th yar. W hav mov to nw prmiss, an this is working wll. Any Gag, an NALC Vic-Prsint an Wbmastr, pass away in April an this was a trribl shock to us all. W will not orgt his important contribution to both NALC an th Cntral Lonon Laryngctom group. I pass on my thanks to th NALC Oicrs, Committ Mmbrs, sta an club mmbrs aroun th country or thir har work uring th yar. I sn Christmas grtings to all our rars an wish you all a happy Nw Yar. s p8 Hallown Hit Malcolm Babb Intrnational Trachostomy Mastrclass, Doncastr Royal Inirmary In Octobr, or th scon yar running, I was invit to contribut to this vnt, which attracts clinicians rom all aroun th UK an byon. I ran a workshop aim at showing th challngs ac by laryngctoms atr thir opration, spcially thir ns in mrgncy situations. 2

3 Slippry Elm I hav bn a an o Slippry Elm powr sinc soon atr my laryngctomy. Atr my laryngctomy I ha troubl ating anything aciic such as tomatos, capsicums, onions tc. or rinking br an orang juic as I woul sur aci rlux. An onc th rlux start I ha coughing its that sm to triggr mor rlux an so on. It was gtting to a point whr I i not look orwar to mal tims at all an was living on a mor an mor rstrict it. Onc I was put on to Slippry Elm I us it whnvr I sur rom aci rlux an ach night bor going to b. I us to mix a hap taspoon o Slippry Elm powr with about hal a cup o milk, graually mixing vry thoroughly bor rinking. Daily at First I us Slippry Elm at last onc a ay or about two yars an sinc thn I only us Slippry Elm powr i I sur aci rlux, which thankully is not vry otn ths ays. In act it woul b at last six months sinc I last us it. Slippry Elm (Ulmus rubra or Ulmus ulva) is a nativ o North Amrica. Th innr bark is th part o th tr that has micinal proprtis, it is xtract rom a tn yar ol tr an ri. Th subsquntly groun bark is sol in two orms: a coars powr or us in poultics an a in powr or making a mucilaginous rink. It also has nutritiv proprtis an can b us or inants an invalis. R Inians wr wll vrs in th us o poultics o Slippry Elm bark powr or wouns, boils, ulcrs an burns. During th Amrican Rvolution, surgons trat gunshot wouns with a bark poultic. Toothach can also b trat with a bark poultic. A rink ma rom Slippry Elm is ctiv against coughs an sooths th throat. It is also us to trat gastric problms incluing GERD an aci rlux, or which I am rcommning it. Th high mucilag contnt ahrs to th wall o th osophagus an sooths any irritation an tns to sit on top o th stomach contnts prvnting urthr rlux. Bor taking Slippry Elm, talk to your octor, pharmacist, or halth car prossional i you hav allrgis (spcially to plants), hav any mical conition, or i you tak othr micins or othr hrbal/halth supplmnts. Slippry Elm may not b rcommn in som situations. Thr ar a numbr o links on th intrnt, an a goo plac to start is lmsli09.html. (From Still Talking, NSW Nwslttr) St Blais You can t visit Dubrovnik in Croatia without haring th nam o St Blais, a physician an bishop o Sbasta in historical Armnia (morn Sivas, Turky). W knw him as th Patron Saint o popl with injuris an illnsss o th throat. This was u to th occasion whn a istraught mothr, whos only chil was choking on a ishbon, thrw hrsl at his t an implor his intrcssion. Touch at hr gri, h or up his prayrs, an th chil was cur. But w soon iscovr that h is also th Patron Saint o Dubrovnik u to his apparing in a vision in 971 to Canon Stojko o St Stphn s Cathral. H rval th plan o th Vntians to spy on th city s ncs an Stojko warn th Snat. Th Fast o St Blais is clbrat on 3 Fbruary whn various o his rlics ar para through th strts. St Blais is also th Patron Saint o wool combrs as h was martyr by bing batn with iron combs an thn bha. Dr Brook s Books Dr Itzhak Brook writs: I am happy to inorm you that my r books Th Laryngctom Gui an My Voic, a Physician s Prsonal Exprinc with Throat Cancr wr nors by th Amrican Acamy o Otolaryngology-Ha an Nck Surgry. Th -book vrsions o th books ar availabl (r) on my wbsit ( Th sit contains vios, articls, an inormation hlpul or oral an ha an nck cancr patints. Paprback copis o th books ar availabl on Amazon.com. You can also watch my rcnt lctur Spaking atr laryngctomy or Spch an Languag pathologists givn at Iona Collg, Nw York. s p8 Hallown Hit 3

4 My Riki Exprinc I was iagnos with cancr o th throat just bor Christmas I thn ha a total laryngctomy in January 2009 an a partial thyroi rmoval at Drrior Hospital in Plymouth. All was wll until I rciv th 37 sssions o raiothrapy accompani by chmothrapy. Ovr th nxt thr or our yars I incrasingly sur with pains in my throat, iiculty in ating, rinking, an gnrally swallowing. This rach a stag whrby I was having to hav th spch valv in my throat chang vry wk or so. Th raiothrapy tratmnt ha caus such tissu amag to th insi o my throat that it ha caus it to tightn, an things wr obviously not quit right. My Consultant Otolaryngologist an Ha & Nck/Thyroi Surgon tri various surgical procurs to corrct th situation to no avail. I was unabl to at, rink or talk or almost a yar an ha to tak luis through th PEG in my stomach. Pctoral Flap Surgry. In 2014, my Consultant in Plymouth rrr m to anothr at th Sunrlan Royal. Atr intrviws an pr-tsts, I unrwnt Pctoral Flap surgry. Simply put, muscl tissu was takn rom my lt pctoral muscl an rlocat to th insi o my throat. This was a total succss an vry soon I was ating, rinking an talking onc again. I was prscrib physical xrciss which ar similar to thos prscrib to patints who hav unrgon a mastctomy. I hav so much amiration or th skills o thos surgical consultants both in Plymouth an Sunrlan. I also amir th skills o th Spch & Languag Thrapist in Plymouth who has so patintly an caringly catr to my vry n sinc thos arly ays. Som wks atr that opration I start to vlop muscular pain in my lt shoulr an arm. I think muscular pain is always iicult to scrib, but I woul say that this was similar to a ull toothach going own my arm! Th pain was svr nough to kp m awak at nights an it was somtims iicult to know which way to lay in b. Evntually I sought privat assistanc rom a Sports Thrapist. I still ha th shark-bit scar on my chst whr th woun ha bn clipp togthr with 80 or so mtal clips. I think th thrapist was a littl intimiat by this an bgan to oubt hr abilitis. Sh was, atr all, us to trating sports injuris rathr than cancr survivors. Sh trat th ara aroun my shoulr whilst trying to kp away rom th woun ara. Although ths massag sssions wr rlaxing thy wr not rally oing anything or th pain. So sh thn rrr m to an Orthopaic Thrapist. This thrapist complmnt th continuing tratmnt rom th Sports Thrapist an, I thought, show a gratr unrstaning o th problm. Sh too massag th surrouning ara but prscrib m mor physical xrciss. Th cost o th wkly sssions with ths two thrapists was quit stp an this wnt on or svral months. Shoulr an Elbow Clinic It was whil I was waiting or a routin ENT appointmnt that I was watching th in-hous tlvision srvic in th waiting room. I larn o th xistnc o a Shoulr an Elbow Clinic. I ha not prviously ralis that such a clinic xist an so I ma nquiris. It transpir that I ha to b rrr by my GP. I was uly rrr an rciv an appointmnt within a month or so. I was givn vry xtnsiv tsts an scans an th Orthopaic Consultant sai thr was som amag insi my shoulr an this in turn was causing th nrv pain own along my lt arm. H rcommn thr courss o action: 4 Do nothing an prsvr. Hav a cours o thr stroi injctions in my shoulr an, I that in t work, consiration coul b givn to kyhol surgry. W both agr that th cours o stroi injctions might b th bst way to go, an h injct m immiatly. Th injction itsl was vry painul to hav but that soon pass. Th Consultant thn ma a urthr appointmnt or m in a month s tim. I slpt that night, an nxt ay th pain was much rliv although it han t isappar compltly. As avis by th Consultant, I continu th hom xrciss an th wkly visits to th two thrapists, but atr a whil ths visits bcam lss rqunt until vntually both sai thy coul o no mor or m. A rli rally as thy wr quit xpnsiv! Riki I was raing an articl in th local nwspapr. I ha nvr har o Riki bor an bing as cynical as th nxt man, I ra mor about it on th intrnt. Riki is bas on th ia that nrgy lows through us. This li orc nrgy irctly rlats to our quality o li. I somon's li orc nrgy is low, thn such a prson is mor likly to gt sick or l strss, an whn it is high, w ar mor capabl o bing happy an halthy. Th practitionr is abl to irct, nhanc an balanc this low o nrgy. At this stag, with th continuing pain in my shoulr an lt arm, I was willing to try anything. An so it was that I ma contact with Vnita who vry kinly invit m to my irst sssion o Riki at th Mustar Tr Cancr Support Unit in Plymouth. Vnita intrviw m to ascrtain th problms I ha an thn proc with my irst sssion. At no tim was I inoctrinat into oing anything, nor corc or prssur into oing anything I in t want to o. I oun that irst sssion to b totally rlaxing in min an boy an in a rathr xhilarating way. I in this iicult to xplain as I han t xprinc anything quit lik that bor an so I ci to hav a urthr sssion. I thn continu with urthr wkly sssions. In th mantim, I was waiting or th appointmnt or my scon stroi injction. I rciv a lttr in th post to say that my scon appointmnt ha bn lay a month. Latr, I rciv anothr lttr to say that my appointmnt ha bn lay yt anothr month. I i vntually manag to gt a somwhat blat appointmnt at th Shoulr an Elbow Clinic but this tim not with th

5 Consultant. Th octor that saw m put m through various physical tsts an gav m th invitabl onc-ovr. I inorm him th pain was still thr although it was now quit managabl. W mutually agr that th scon an thir stroi injctions shoul not b ncssary but i th pain lvl shoul go up again I coul rturn or urthr tratmnt. An so I continu with my wkly Riki sssions. As th sssions progrss, so th pain in my shoulr an arm ruc ramatically. At my most rcnt sssion I xplain to Vnita that th pain in my arm ha all but gon. Thr was still rsiual pain in my shoulr but totally managabl. I casually sai You an Riki sm to hav on th work on my shoulr an arm. Vnita rspon by saying sh was so happy that I was ling bttr an was convinc that th Riki haling ha play a hug rol. Vnita thn xplain that th boy rspons to th Riki nrgy an knows how to hal itsl th haling taks plac on physical, motional, mntal an spiritual lvls. Vnita a that sh was mrly a 'conuit' or th Riki nrgy. Co Mony Gory N. Ra I rciv 800 rom War 29 (ENT), Royal Victoria Hospital Blast this was th procs o a co morning that thy hl to un rais or us on 1 Octobr an th nurs who ha it up, Daphn Rill, sai that thy woul hop to o somthing similar or us again in th utur. Th popl in th photograph along with m ar Daphn Rill (CNS nurs) an Mr Barry Dvlin (ENT surgon). Thy wr so plas to rais this vry commnabl sum o mony or us. Alx McGuiggan A nw machin call a linar acclrator is improving tratmnt or cancr patints in Lincolnshir. Th irst o thr nw stato-th-art raiothrapy machins is alray improving tratmnt or cancr patints across Lincolnshir. As prviously rport, a nw machin call a linar acclrator was brought in at Lincoln County Hospital at th n o Jun to livr raiothrapy to cancr patints. It works by livring high nrgy x-rays to th patint's tumour. Th nw machin is part o a 6.7 million invstmnt by Unit Lincolnshir Hospitals NHS Trust to rplac all thr linar acclrators at Lincoln hospital by 2017 an to improv th nvironmnt in which tratmnt is livr. Dr Migul Panas, consultant oncologist at Lincoln County Hospital, tol th BBC th machin targts th tumour without amaging surrouning tissu. H sai: It has a small CT scannr attach to th machin. W woul tak thos imags to giv us an accurat position o th tumour so a w scons latr th tratmnt is going in th right plac. Throat cancr patint Davi Prkins start his tratmnt on th ol machins an is now using th linar acclrator. H tol th BBC: Th ol scannr is not as computris as th nw on. It is lik sitting in a Rolls Royc with th nw on an a Robin Rliant with th ol scannr. Whil th tratmnt is in plac, thr is no pain. You o not know anything is bing on. Ingrints 1 to 2 has o broccoli 2 to 3 ozs (50 to 75 g) Stilton Knob o buttr 1 stock cub ¼ pint o cow or soya milk Salt & pppr Bttr In Lincs Broccoli an Stilton Soup Two othr machins ar currntly on orr. Thy com as ULHT was classii as rquiring improvmnts, incluing in th tratmnt o cancr car. This nw quipmnt has bn accompani by a rurbishmnt o th partmnt to provi asir accss or patints an a mor comortabl nvironmnt. Th invstmnt will allow th partmnt to continu to livr high quality raiothrapy srvics to th popl o Lincolnshir an vlop nw tchniqus urthr to improv srvics. As prviously rport, snior businss managr at th trust, Lisa Vickrs, sai: W ar light to s th irst o our nw LINAC machins in srvic. This will allow us to or our patints raiothrapy tratmnt using morn tchniqus locally. Th back w hav ha rom patints trat on th nw machin has bn xcllnt an thy lik th nw nvironmnt much bttr. This articl was publish by th Lincolnshir Echo on 18 August 2015 an was inclu in th PLC Nwslttr. Mtho Wash an chop th broccoli. Plac in a saucpan. Throw in th Stilton, buttr an sasoning. Thn a th stock an xtra watr to almost lvl with th broccoli. Bring to th boil an lav to simmr or about 20 to 25 minuts. Wait or it to cool slightly bor aing th milk an liquiising. Sason urthr as sir. Extra hrbs or rsh cram can also b a at th last minut. Prparation an cooking tim: 30 to 35 minuts Patricia & Clar Strnil Takn rom Soups & Puings prouc by THANCS Group. Minimum onation (rom non-laryngctoms) o 2.00 pr copy. THANCS group: Hawthorn Suit, Worcstrshir Royal Hospital, Charls Hastings Way, Worcstr WR5 1DD. 5

6 Can Aspirin Stop Cancr Rturning? Biggst-vr clinical trial coul b a 'gam- changr' or utur tratmnt o th isas: l Stuy will rcruit 11,000 patints an run at mor than 100 UK cntrs. l Ovr-th-countr rug has alray bn link to prvnting hart attacks. l Trial is bing un by Cancr Rsarch UK an National Institut or Halth Rsarch. l Oicials urg popl not to start taking it unlss approv by thir octor. Th worl's largst clinical trial to s whthr taking aspirin vry ay can stop cancr rturning has bgun in th UK. Th stuy will rcruit 11,000 patints who hav rcntly ha or ar having tratmnt or bowl, brast, osophagal, prostat or stomach cancr. It will run at mor than 100 cntrs in a stuy that will last or up to 12 yars. Aspirin is alray provn to hlp prvnt hart attacks an coul chang utur cancr tratmnt i succssul. Rsarchrs will compar a group o popl taking 300mg o aspirin aily, a group taking 100mg o aspirin aily an a group taking ummy rugs. Th ovr-thcountr rug is alray provn to hlp prvnt hart attacks an stroks in som popl. 'Unlss you ar on th trial, it's important not to start taking aspirin until w hav th ull rsults as aspirin isn't suitabl or vryon, an it can hav srious si-cts. Prvious Rsarch Prvious rsarch has suggst it coul also prvnt som typs o cancr. Th trial is bing un by Cancr Rsarch UK an th National Institut or Halth Rsarch. Its ovrall aim is to s whthr taking aspirin vry ay or iv yars can stop or lay cancrs that hav bn caught an trat at an arly stag rom coming back. 'Thr's bn som intrsting rsarch suggsting that aspirin coul lay or stop arly-stag cancrs coming back, but thr's bn no ranomis trial to giv clar proo,' sai Prossor Ruth Langly, chi invstigator rom th Mical Rsarch Council Clinical Trials Unit at Univrsity Collg Lonon. 'This trial aims to answr this qustion onc an or all. 'I w in that aspirin os stop ths cancrs rturning, it coul chang utur tratmnt proviing a 6 chap an simpl way to hlp stop cancr coming back an hlping mor popl surviv. But, unlss you ar on th trial, it's important not to start taking aspirin until w hav th ull rsults as aspirin isn't suitabl or vryon, an it can hav srious si-cts.' Som Bnits Aspirin is th common nam or actylsalicylic aci a painkillr which can b trac back to Grk tims. It is an stablish tratmnt or hart isas patints bcaus it maks bloo lss 'sticky', hlping to prvnt th ormation o bloo clots in th artry which can la to a hart attack. Bcaus o this it is alray takn aily by mor than two million angina surrs in th UK to protct against urthr attacks an against stroks. Thousans mor tak it to war o hart isas. But this latst rsarch is just on o a lurry o stuis in th past w yars which hav claim that th rug may also hlp trat othr srious illnsss incluing prostat cancr, hart isas, p vin thrombosis (DVT) an bowl cancr. Costing barly 2p a ay, it is thought to work by rucing th numbr o bloo clots that tumours can hi in. Dr. Fiona Rington, Cancr Rsarch UK's ha o population rsarch, sai: 'Aspirin's possibl cts on cancr ar ascinating an w hop this trial will giv us a clar answr on whthr or not th rug hlps stop som cancrs coming back. Th stuy will rcruit 11,000 patints who hav rcntly ha, or ar having, tratmnt or bowl, brast, osophagal, prostat or stomach cancr. This articl was publish by Kat Pickls or Mailonlin on 22n Octobr 2015 an was inclu in th PLC Nwslttr Doctors! Hu Post My octor is amazing! I you tll him that you want a scon opinion, h'll go outsi an thn com back in again. H gav on patint six months to liv. At th n o th six months, th patint han t pai his bill, so th octor gav him anothr six months. Whil h was talking to m, his nurs cam in an sai, "Doctor, thr's a man hr who thinks that h's invisibl." Th octor rpli, "Tll him that I can't s him." Anothr tim, a man cam running into th oic an shout, "Doctor, octor! My son just swallow a roll o ilm!" Th octor rpli, "Wll, lt's wait an s what vlops." On patint cam in an sai, "Doctor, I hav a srious mmory problm." Th octor ask, "Whn i it start?" Th man rpli, "Whn i what start?" I rmmbr on tim I tol my octor that I ha a ringing in my ars. His avic was... "Don't answr it!" My octor has his shar o problm cass. On patint sai to him, "Doctor, I think I'm a bll." Th octor han him som pills an sai, "Hr, tak ths. I thy on't work, giv m a ring." Anothr guy tol th octor that h thought h was a ck o cars. Th octor tol him, "Sit ovr thr. I'll al with you latr." Whn I tol my octor that I ha brokn my lg in two placs, h tol m to stop going to thos placs. You know, octors can b vry rustrating. You wait a month or an appointmnt, thn h says, "I wish you ha com to s m soonr." From th PLC Nwslttr

7 Nws rom th Clubs Th Winpiprs, Blackpool Thy ha thir annual outing in July onc again going on th Fish & Chip Cruis, boaring Th Kingishr at Barton Grang Garn Cntr. It was a lovly vning as thy sail to Bilsborrow an thn towars Garstang, watching th willi on th way. Thy thn hl a quiz: cartoon charactrs, gnral knowlg (on qustion was: What os DVD stan or? On answr, which caus grat mirth, was Dick Van Dyk ). Finally, thr wr TV thm tuns. All grat un an back at Barton Grang by 9.30 pm. Thn, on 28 Novmbr, a trip to th St Nicholas Fayr in York, with its Morris Dancrs, strt thatr, carols, buskrs an crat air. Thir Christmas Party is on 19 Dcmbr at th Dalmny Hotl, St Anns with a Tak That Tribut Night. 20:20 Voic Thy ha wr rirs or th Skgnss bik ri than normal but th rsults o th sponsorship wr incribl as thir tam rom Barrow-upon-Soar (Tam Hln) rais som 2000! This shoul hav guarant th lais involv th tam sponsorship priz kinly awar by Karl Storz (Mical Supplirs). Thy n Sptmbr with our annual mal night at th Ch & Spic rstaurant, with 53 popl attning an what a night it was olks! Thir rstaurantur took it into his ha to mak a spch an thn Rob Willson prouly prsnt thir chqu or 10,000 or th Biopsy Grabbr thy ha promis to buy thir ENT partmnt som tim ago. Thir goo rin an patron Mr Willi Thorn kpt th room in high spirits as h proc with th ral ami much amusmnt an laughtr an vn n th vning with a mini auction. As supportrs il in, thy oun a tub o Smartis with an instruction lalt; this caus som amusmnt as thy ask th nw ownrs o ach tub to njoy th contnts at thir lisur an thn to ill th Smarti tubs with 20p pics: thy vn gav thm th charity bank account tails or whn thy has accomplish th task! It will b intrsting to s how much this initiativ actually raiss. Th vning actually rais p with on inr (compltly sparat to our vnt) onating a pocktul o loos chang to th ral lais without vn wanting a tickt! How nic was that? Pac o Min Plant thr rows o pas: 1. Pas o min 2. Pas o hart 3. Pas o soul Plant our rows o squash: 1. Squash gossip 2. Squash inirnc 3. Squash grumbling 4. Squash slishnss Plant our rows o lttuc: 1. Lttuc b aithul 2. Lttuc b kin 3. Lttuc b patint 4. Lttuc rally lov on anothr No garn without turnips: 1. Turnip or mtings 2. Turnip or srvic 3. Turnip to hlp on anothr To conclu our garn w must hav thym: 1. Thym or ach othr 2. Thym or amily 3. Thym or rins 4. Thym or yoursl Watr rly with patinc an cultivat with lov. Thr will b much ruit in your garn bcaus you rap what you sow. (Still Talking Nwslttr o NSW) Chinwags Six club mmbrs visit th Falkirk Whl on 21 August. It was ollow by a boat trip an thn lunch or a splni ay out. Nationwi Pilot Schm Th PLC Nwslttr contains an articl by Victoria Bischo or Th Daily Mail o 15 Sptmbr 2015 which says: Nationwi is piloting a schm whr customrs act by cancr will b abl to call xprts train by th Macmillan charity. Cancr surrs ar to b givn xtra inancial support through a tlphon srvic launch by Britain s biggst builing socity. Last month, Mony Mail rval how vulnrabl customrs ar routinly lt own by inancial companis whn thy n hlp th most. Mony Mail's Looking Atr Your Lgacy campaign has bn championing bttr srvic or amilis who sur a bravmnt or ar aling with sick rlativs. Now Nationwi is piloting a schm whr customrs act by cancr will b abl to call xprts train by charity Macmillan. Th ull srvic is u to launch in Octobr. Callrs will b assign a cas workr with th powr to waiv lat paymnt s, xtn ovrrats an or mortgag rpaymnt holiays. On in two popl in th UK will b iagnos with cancr uring thir li, accoring to Cancr Rsarch UK. Thos who n to tak tim o work or tratmnt or to car or lov ons can quickly in thmslvs in inancial iiculty. Yt a rport by Macmillan rvals most cancr patints ar too scar to ask banks or hlp bcaus thy ar thy will b turn away or vn b orc to pay o crit car or mortgag bt. Alison Robb, group irctor at Nationwi, says: By conncting popl to th support thy n, w hop to lssn a burn at a point whn mony rally shoul b th last thing on thir min. 7

8 Nws rom th Clubs During th last quartr thy visit th Elizabthan Trric Manor, which is vry intrsting, th lunch was goo an so was th wathr; August brought th rain, so th Burncoos Nursris visit was conin to th ta room, laving th garns or anothr tim, but a scon ta shop stop at Pnvnton nursris in Lannr provi xcllnt oo. This month oun thm at th Victoria Inn or lunch whn thy iscuss: Ambulanc srvic or laryngctoms: Th latst inormation thy hav rciv is that th SW Ambulanc Srvic can b contact with th ollowing inormation so that thy ar ma awar o a nck brathr at that arss: Nam & arss; Tlphon numbr; Mobil phon numbr; Dat o birth. Also, plas avis thm i noboy at that arss can spak. You will n to r-conirm vry six months that you ar still at that arss, so thy can kp thir rcors upat. Mmbrship: Thy hav bn light to wlcom nw mmbrs uring th last 18 months but, in common with othr groups in Cornwall an Dvon, activ mmbrship has clin. All unrstan that it is iicult or som mmbrs to attn an also that hospital visits tak prcnc. For som tim now all social vnts hav bn shar btwn Spak Easy an Hallown Hit Spak Easy, Cornwall Rcovry Clubs, although at this tim thy ar not proposing to amalgamat. Thy woul lik to arrang to mt with th prossionals at Trlisk to iscuss th utur o both Clubs. Thy continu to provi gooy bags to nw patints on rqust rom SLT, but woul lik to ollow this through in som usul way to hlp thos ajusting to thir nw livs. Th Macmillan Cov Cntr: Sit survys hav bgun an it is hop that th cntr will opn by this tim nxt yar. It is thought that about 100 voluntrs will b n along with vn mor mony to b rais. A launch campaign is bing plann or Dcmbr/January. I all th suggst ias ar implmnt Th Cov will b xcllnt or all cancr patints. Cornwall an th Isls o Scilly Cancr Patint an Carr Group: Dav has bn attning mtings o th group which aims to rprsnt th intrst o popl who hav bn act by cancr. Thy hav tol o trials o nw rugs an tratmnts, an sai that two Macmillan GPs an a nurs acilitator hav bn rcruit in orr to improv communication an th work btwn Acut Trusts an GPs. On GP will b bas in North Cornwall an th othr in th Wst; th nurs will covr th mil o th county. Plymouth Club (PLC) Rcnt vnts inclu: Friay, 18 Sptmbr 2015: Th Worl s Biggst Co Morning. Th Mustar Tr Cancr Support Cntr hl thir vnt in ai o Macmillan. Mmbrs o Th Plymouth Laryngctomy Club PLC wr in attnanc an onat caks or buns which wr thn sol o. Ral prizs wr also onat. Lots o popl wr coming in to buy caks an th plac was vry busy. Th Mustar Tr hl thir vnt a littl arly this yar as th national vnt or Macmillan Cancr Support was hl on Friay, 25 Sptmbr Th PLC also ma an aitional montary onation. Friay, 2 Octobr 2015: Funral o Ivor Housan. Ivor was a throat cancr patint who i tragically in a hous ir in Cawsan in August Ivor was not a mmbr o th PLC nor was h a mmbr o th Spak Easy Club in Cornwall. Go & Jan attn th unral to rprsnt th PLC. In accoranc with Ivor s wishs, a chqu was han ovr to Juli, Ivor s aughtr, or th Cat s Protction Lagu on bhal o th PLC. Th ntourag proc rom Cawsan, riving along th cli tops on a bautiul sunny ay, an on to th crmatorium at Bomin whr th Clbration o Li took plac. It was a lovly srvic an som o Ivor s avourit music pics wr play. Th srvic conclu with a rnition o Always Look on th Bright Si o Li. Juli was so vry plas that th PLC was rprsnt at th srvic an ask or hr spcial thanks b pass on to vryon or th support o th Club. Monay, 5 Octobr 2015: PLC Away Day: A Tour o Plympton Fir Training Cntr. Mmbrs njoy a tour o th Cntr whr Nil Willmott gav a most nthusiastic talk whilst showing mmbrs aroun. This prov to b an xtrmly intrsting vntur. A onation was ma to Th Firightrs Charity. Th ay was roun o with lunchon at th Lor Louis Rstaurant & Carvry at Plympton. Th National Association o Laryngctom Clubs 2015 Print by Th Luo Prss Lt, Lonon SW17 0BA My grana ha cancr thr yars ago so I want to rais mony an awarnss. I ci on holing a Hallown party an ral. I wnt to local companis: Tanznhair, th Toby Carvry, Hollywoo Bowl, Empir Cinma, Tsco an Partyman Worl. Thy all onat ral prizs which I gratly apprciat. My sistr also ma caks to sll at 50p ach. W rais a gran total o p! Thanks to amily an rins or a grat vnt, which w all njoy. Th photos show Emma an hr Grana, plus som scary partygors. Emma Styls