Sunday, August 27, 2006
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
"There are lies, damned lies and statistics". Who was it said that? Its a wonderful quote from long ago. I'd love to know the answer.
The reason for using it here is because of my last posting, 'Prostate Cancer - the Australian Way' (20 August 2006). In it I quote Australian social demographer, Bernard Salt, as saying, "11,191 men died of prostate cancer in Australia in 2001; in the same year 11,791 women died of breast cancer."
Now either I misread the article, the newspaper (The Weekend Australian, 19-20 August) had a misprint or Bernard Salt got his facts wrong. Why am I saying this?
The reason for using it here is because of my last posting, 'Prostate Cancer - the Australian Way' (20 August 2006). In it I quote Australian social demographer, Bernard Salt, as saying, "11,191 men died of prostate cancer in Australia in 2001; in the same year 11,791 women died of breast cancer."
Now either I misread the article, the newspaper (The Weekend Australian, 19-20 August) had a misprint or Bernard Salt got his facts wrong. Why am I saying this?
Last Wednesday I read an article in The West Australian newspaper in which the Medical Editor, Cathy O'Leary, is quoted as saying that each year in Australia 11,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and 2,600 die from it.
So I had a look on the Prostate Cancer Council of Australia website www.prostate.org.au and there it says:
"Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian men after skin cancer, and the second highest cause of male cancer deaths. Every year in Australia 2,600 men die of prostate cancer - equivalent to the number of women who die from breast cancer annually."
I've written to Bernard Salt, whom I have a lot of respect for, to seek clarification. I suspect that he intended to say 'diagnosed with' rather than 'died of'. Either that or I misread it.
The actual numbers don't take away from my main point in the previous posting. Scroll down and you will see what I mean.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Prostate Cancer - the Australian Way
I noticed a newspaper article yesterday about men, health care and education. Enough to get any man flicking to the sports pages quick time. Yet I gave it a second look because it was written by one of my favourite columnists, Australian social demographer Bernard Salt. He has the habit of making boring statistics and dry topics meaningful and writes in an amusing way with a wonderful turn of phrase.
Apparently 11,191 men died of prostate cancer in Australia in 2001; in the same year 11,791 women died of breast cancer. Yet I, and many men over 45, will be familiar with the phrase, "prostate cancer is the cancer you die with rather than die of". I've trotted it out in the past, until a few years ago when my specialist almost scared the life out of me (not the best choice of phrase but it seemed the most descriptive of my feelings at the time) with a very different prognosis. And a number of men, shocked that I would opt for surgery at the age of 52, have trotted out the same phrase to me. Why on earth have surgery, with all the sexual risks and implications that go with it, when you can just put it into the background and get on with your life?
Yet us blokes, ignorant of health issues as we are, know that breast cancer can be lethal. We know that early detection followed by action is essential. We know about daffodil day and pink ribbon day and we admire Kylie Minogue for raising the awareness in younger women of the potential risk.
After more than 6 years of regular monitoring you'd think I'd have been more likely than most to notice a campaign to encourage men to firstly go for regular check ups with their doctor and secondly not be squeamish about raising the topic of prostate cancer. Yet it wasn't till I read Bernard Salt's article that I had any idea that the Prostate Cancer Foundation launched a 'Be a Man' awareness campaign in 2005 to encourage men to speak to their doctors about prostate cancer.
I don't think us blokes are going to change much. I can't see us scanning newspapers and magazines for articles on men's health. So, its got to be a word-of-mouth campaign. We've got to be more open and talk about having prostate cancer. Even if that does raise awkward questions.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Income Protection - Have you read the small print?
Are you self-employed? Have you read the small print on your insurance policy?
I know I'm meant to read all the small print but I never do. So, what was in the small print in my Income Protection policy? It really matters when you are self-employed and won't be able to earn a living for 3 to 6 months.
Having undergone major surgery for prostate cancer I was in that situation. If you are self-employed and haven't thought about your policy recently (you do have one, don't you?) I'd suggest you read on by clicking on http://terrifictrading.com/Income_Protection.html and I'll share the four key points from the small print of my Income Protection policy with you PLUS an extra one they added all by themselves.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Mixed Reception
Ultrasounds, X-Rays, pathology centres for blood tests - I've had more than a few experiences at reception and beyond in the last few months. And while the technical side of things has been fine, many of the experiences could have been far more pleasant with just a little more care and client focus.
I believe that the purpose of every service experience should be to have the customer feeling better about him or herself as a result of coming into contact with the service provider. If service providers approach each interaction in this way, it will be a far more rewarding experience for them and their customers.
Here is just one of my recent experiences.
3 weeks after my operation, I attended the hospital for an x-ray. The result would have a bearing on whether or not my specialist removed the catheter. So, it was a big day for me.
Gwen dropped me at the main entrance. While she parked the car I shuffled along the corridors to the x-ray section. On arrival at reception I had a real feeling of accomplishment as I'd just walked further than I'd done in three weeks. Yet at reception there was no welcoming smile, no acknowledgement of my achievement. I was a task to be processed. The experience was cold and uncaring....and I was feeling fragile and in need of every positive vibe that was aimed in my direction.
Gwen joined me in the waiting room and remarked on how miserable one of the staff at reception appeared to be. We noticed her colleague also seemed to be going through the motions as she 'processed' an elderly gentleman.
Suddenly, as a lady walked up to reception, we witnessed a dramatic transformation in both staff behind the counter. They smiled and came alive. This is more like it we thought. They are waking up, taking notice and going out of their way to make a positive impression. Then we realised, this lady wasn't a 'patient'. She was a colleague who had just come on shift.
These service providers were ready and willing to be friendly to their favoured colleagues and to purposely deny that warmth and friendship to the people needing it most, the patients.
A couple of minutes later an x-ray technician arrived wearing a big smile and asked me to come with him to the x-ray area. From there the experience improved as the nurse and technician were warm and caring. Such a pity that the staff at reception didn't follow their example.
