So I've not posted for a while, but there's a good number of reasons, the first of which ties in with the post title.

So what's BUPA got to do with anything I hear you wonder out of politeness because you've read this far and you figure you might as well see what it's all about. So here's the thing: I've had cancer. No joke, no exaggeration: I had bladder cancer. It's a mild cancer, easily treated and the long term prognosis is excellent so this isn't a "goodbye cruel world" post or owt like that, so why "Fuck BUPA"?

Well, like many of life's annoyances, it starts with adverts- you know 'em I'm sure the one's that al have doctors called nice, English names like Mr. Darcy or Mr. Johnson instead of Mr. Shah or Mr. Sharma, like in the real world, so as not to scare the nice middle class people who read The Daily Mail and don't like those funny foreign types. The one I'm talking about in particular is the Breast Cancer one "One day Sue felt fine, the next she felt a lump" and so on.

So my anger is twofold: First off my treatment was through the NHS and it was quick and (in general) pretty good- I first had symptoms (which could have been things other than cancer) the week before Xmas and was diagnosed with cancer in the middle of January. I had surgery 3 weeks later and went to a nice, clean ward full of old men, and since the growth was about as early stage as it could be and all's well. Thank you NHS, job done and fuck you BUPS for preying on people's I'll founded fears.

And secondly since what I had predominantly affects men I've been increasingly annoyed by things such as Race For Life's "Everyone's invited" bullshit because everyone isn't invited, only women are and it seems that the prevailing view is that cancer affects women and that they should have more funding for "their" illnesses, just because they shout louder than men, well I say fuck 'em, all my donationas are going to Mancer charities such as Everyman (http://www.icr.ac.uk/everyman/index.html).

So yeah, reason one why I've been away is that I've had cancer, and no that's not all, and I'm not after sympathy- I ha it, it's gone and I have to be checked regularly because it'll probably come back at some point and it'll just be cut out and I'll be alright again.

Here's the medical stuff for those that want to know:

Bladder cancer is pretty common in older men and the surgery to remove the growth isn't too bad, and there's no nasty systemic chemo even if the growth isn't caught at the earliest stage so it's one of the better cancers to have. To have it at my age (25-30, just in case I write something on this blog that an employer might not like I have to try and anonimise myself a little) is very uncommon: a rough and ready reckoner by my sister-in-law who's a junior doctor and her best friend who's a pharmacist in a hospital reckons that about 50 under 50s a year get it (which obviously includes those close to the top end of the age range). And if you get blood in your pee for fuck's sake get to the doctor's because whatever's causing that (if it isn't a water infection) needs dealing with. I should also say that I'm not, nor have I ever been a smoker so there's summat wrong with my genes that gave me this, it's not self inflicted.

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