One for the lads

The word in itself almost sounds poetic . Believe me its not !

Testicular Cancer

There is of course a serious side to all of this . Here are the simple facts about Testicular Cancer:
It is the most common malignancy in young men between the ages of 20 and 34. There are about 100 new cases In Ireland yearly,resulting in approximately 5 deaths.
Testicular cancer is more common in white men than black or Asian.
Although it accounts for only about 1 percent of all cancers in men, it is the number one cancer killer among men in their 20's and 30's. Generally 5% of sufferers do not survive.
Most testicular cancers are self-discovered by patients as a painless or uncomfortable lump in the testicle. There are however many different signs to watch out for . These include temperature fluctuation , loss of appetite, localised pain, lack of energy , swelling , general sickness , back pain.
Pure seminomas constitute roughly 40% of all testicular cancer cases. Forty percent of the testicular cancers have mixture of histology.
The cancer risk for boys with a history of undescended testicles is about 10-40 times higher than normal individuals. The risk of developing the disease was estimated at 1 out of 20 for a testis retained in the abdomen and 1 out of 80 if it was within the inguinal canal. The risk remains elevated after surgical correction. Both testis are at higher risk, not just the undescended one.
If found early, testicular cancer is almost always curable.
Early stage testicular cancer can be treated with surgery and radiation therapy. Late stage testicular cancer can be treated with the combination of surgery, radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy.
The prognosis for men with testicular cancer is very good, even with late stage disease. The chances of recovery are excellent with surgery and radiotherapy for early stage disease. Combined modality is used for treatment of late stage disease with good results.
More than 90% of testicular cancer patients are cured by their initial treatment, and many of those who have recurrent disease can also be cured with chemotherapy or radiation.
Dont do what I did & ignore all the signs until it was nearly too late. I was secretly sick for 9 months before I had the courage to go to my doctor with the complaint. He sent me to hospital immediately & I was operated on the next day ! I had three tumours removed & needed a full orchiectomy. My macho bravado nearly killed me . If in doubt simply get checked out. If anyone has any questions about this disease that I can help with please give me a shout .

Its Scary Out There

Just in from walk . Saw one car crash & two classic falls . Got ambushed by kids with an Arsenal of snowballs & got into a fight in the shops arguing over the last packet of sausages in Ireland . Its like the end of the world , nobody can cope with this snowy frosty icey weather . God help us all if it continues . Watch the stressometer rise !

Oh what a beautiful morning

Looking out of my window this morning the view was quite wonderful. Its on days like these that I really appreciate living in the mountains. Off for a walk and a bit of snow leopard spotting . Feel strangely refreshed ....... no hangover ! Its weird.

2 fridays down ......... 51 to go .

Two down , fifty one to go . What were the odds that in the one year out of all of my life that I decide to give up beer .......there would be 53 fridays in it. Felt a bit weird tonight making my home made pizzas, to my traditional killer secret recipe, but not tipping away on a brew while listening to music. Kinda sad really but we are such creatures of habit. Everything else was the same as normal but I missed my old buddy beer . It was like a death in the pizza & beer family !

Cafe Solo Rules

Hearty thanks to Paul & Elaine Keogh owners of Cafe Solo in Killiney Shopping Centre. Not only have they donated generously to my cause in financial terms they have sponsored me FREE coffee ( plus sugar ) for the year 2010! Stop by & visit them for a spectacular breakfast when you are dying with a hangover . You mortal folk will have to pay for it though of course ! I should at this point highlight that in the 8 years they have been in business I have never paid for a coffee & I probably owe them thousands of euro ............ Thanks guys.

Renaming of Pizza and Beer night

Please note that Friday nights pizza & beer night has been renamed to pizza & a squash cordial night for the forseeable future .

My guide to giving up beer

Step 1 : Stop Drinking Beer...........................
Congratulatiuons you have now completed the programme.

First on line donation

Congratulations to Erin Kennedy who has the distinction of being the first on line donor . Cheers Erin , really appreciate your support . The overall total is 300 euro & rising . Thanks to everyone for spreading the word , this thing continues to grow !

Bad boys bad boys whatcha gonna do ...........

Forgot how much of a classic this is ..... in my humble opinion of course . The rumour mill has bad boys 3 in early production ! Mike & Marcus roll again .......bad boys bad boys whatcha gonna do , whatcha gonna do when they come for you .........

Last of the Festive Sweets ..... 5 for 50

It has finally arrived . The day when you simply refuse to eat any of the chocolates left in the tin . Your favourite chocs are long committed to memory , the ones you originally skipped over but became a fan of once you realised it was them or nothing are no more also . Even your third choices that you pretended to enjoy vanished in a flash along with the ones you normally turned your nose up to & wouldnt eat ( only in desperation ) are no where to be found . All thats left is the cherry rum & biscuit fudge with hint of lime & walnut that was thrown in as an experiment by the manufacturer this year . Not a hit this year , never to be a hit in any year. Into the fire with you ....... be gone.

Sober Love

Cant wait to not have a beer for Valentines day ! Let the countdown begin ........only 39 days to go ! XXXX

I Hate Snow

Left work early ( at 3pm ) to avoid the rush of people trying to get home . However the whole of Dublin seemed to have the same idea & I drove home in first gear most of the way for three hours slipping & slidding all over the gaff ! Jesus I hate snow. Normally a beer would be the perfect de-stresser right now but carrot cake will have to do .

www.mycharity.ie/event/2010ayearwithoutbeer

Please follow the link to donate a few quid on line if you can . I am also waiting on good old fashioned sponsorship cards from St. Lukes which I will distribute as soon as I get them . Im not looking for a Kings ransom from anyone , every cent counts . Cheers.
www.mycharity.ie/event/2010ayearwithoutbeer

Adelle Please Ring Me Back

I cant believe that I missed the lovely Adelle from the Ray Foley show today . I was stuck in a meeting in work when she rang , she left a lovely voicemail , I phoned back , but missed my big chance to grace the airwaves . Please please please please lads ring back or just give the blog a mention ? I know Ray is off the juice for January too so I hope he can understand my pain . Cheers ......... love the show !

100 Days .... Go on da Ro

Ronan "the barbarian" Teehan began his 100 day dry spell today . Amazingly his run of sobriety ends the day before his birthday ! Clever bastard or just a coincidence? Thanks for the back up bro .........WM Forever

First Day Back In Work

Holy Jaysus. If I didnt drink a beer after that I never will ! Christmas feels like it was ages ago . Back to work , same shit different day . I will be fine in a few days once the old routine kicks back in . Ten days of going to bed at 2am & drinking every day ........ to nothing , bed early & up at 6am ! Talk about a shock to the fucking system . I didnt know what end of me was up today .

Back to Work Tomorrow

Just when I was getting used to the idea of No Beer , back to work thoughts nearly send me over the edge . Its been a great Christmas , dreading tomorrow. Mental note , never do this again ........ pick something like crackers the next time . Everyone could give up crackers , thats easy . Except maybe John , he loves crackers. Fuck it, I think I have to have a cracker now & I can because Im not off them.

First Saturday Night

Well first saturday of the dry spell over & done with . Had a text from Jamie from a pub looking for support ! I sat in & watched Quantam of Solace & Funny People with a cup of tea & a biscuit ( that was hard ). Would have murdered a beer at about 10pm . Muscle memory kicking in ! Off to bed now to dream about lovely lovely beer . Only 300 odd days left but whose counting .