Bayer, the corporate owner of Monsanto, must pay $2.25 billion in damages due to Monsanto’s product called Roundup. The chemical spray kills insects very quickly (which is really bad for the planet) and due to it being permitted to use on residential properties the harm it has caused seems pretty
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Scripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 31
It’s been about eight months since I last penned a post about my ongoing experience with prostate cancer, my subsequent surgery, treatment, my recovery from treatment and what’s happened since. That last post was written at the height of last year’s pandemic and lockdowns. Since then, I have only had
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 30
The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together… (Shakespeare: All’s Well That Ends Well, Act IV, Sc II.) Elumbated.* It’s an archaic word meaning “weakened in the loins” according to the OED. It apparently derives from the Latin elumbis “having a dislocated hip (from
Continue readingcmkl: Challenge completed
This morning while Mallory was at ski practice I rode the last kilometres of my Great Cycle Challenge. A comfortably paced Gatineau Park loop with a bonus tour out toward the Aylmer marina. I ended up grabbing a few extra and finishing with 2174km for the month. It’s more than
Continue readingcmkl.ca: Challenge completed
This morning while Mallory was at ski practice I rode the last kilometres of my Great Cycle Challenge. A comfortably paced Gatineau Park loop with a bonus tour out toward the Aylmer marina. I ended up grabbing a few extra and finishing with 2174km for the month. It’s more than
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 29
I began to write this post on the anniversary of my prostate surgery, July 8. Anniversaries are a time to reflect on the past and look to the future, even for events that are not always the happiest to recall. I took some time for such reflection and contemplation this
Continue readingcmkl.ca: Now’s the time
Expect emails from me. And selfies. Now is the time of year when I saddle up to raise money for Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital Foundation’s Great Cycle Challenge Canada. Donate Now It’s my fifth time doing this virtual event where riders pledge to ride a certain number of kilometres and
Continue readingcmkl: Now’s the time
Expect emails from me. And selfies. Now is the time of year when I saddle up to raise money for Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital Foundation’s Great Cycle Challenge Canada. Donate Now It’s my fifth time doing this virtual event where riders pledge to ride a certain number of kilometres and
Continue readingScripturient: Musings on Cats and Philosophers
British philosopher John Gray thinks cats can “often teach us much more about living the good life than philosophy ever could.” As a lifetime cat owner, I can vouch for cats serving as metaphors for all sorts of things, but not usually as philosophers outside some children’s books. That statement
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 28
This month marks a year since my biopsy that indicated I had an aggressive form of prostate cancer. It’s been quite a year for me, easily the most stressful and challenging of my life. The challenges of dealing with cancer were compounded by the pandemic that spawned lockdowns and restrictive
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 27
I didn’t really expect the hormones to be so disruptive of my daily activities, but there are times when the “hot flashes” interrupt everything. They tire me out, sometimes making even simple tasks a chore, making my breathing more difficult. And, of course, they wake me at random times during
Continue readingScripturient: Musings on My Father
That rather handsome, 17-year-old young man to the left was Watts William Chadwick. My father, although he wouldn’t become that for many more years. So serious, so formal looking. A lot more so than I was at his age (I can’t say for sure that I even owned a tie
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 26
Cancer changes everything — and nothing at all. Rabbi Skillman That’s a profound comment, coming from a TV character. The “rabbi” in question is a fictional patient in hospital, played by George Wyner in the TV series, New Amsterdam (Season 1 Episode 8). He is talking to the hospital’s medical
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 25
It was with a strong sense of trepidation that I went to my latest meeting with the urologist, earlier this month. Although it was still rather too early to make a fulsome diagnosis, I was anxious about what my latest blood test might show. My biggest worry was that I
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 24
My final week of radiation treatment is here. I should have felt elated that I would no longer be required to drive every day for an hour or more each way as I have for the past six weeks. Everyone told me it would go by in a flash, but
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 23
I started the New Year with another welcome three days off, with the final third of my radiation treatment ahead in the next few weeks. I can’t say I’ve ever been quite as happy to see a year pass as I have with 2020. As if the widening pandemic, lockdowns,
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 22
Three days off over Xmas from the daily drive felt like a longer holiday, although it wasn’t enough time for my bowels to heal properly. So far an irritable bowel, reduced urine stream, and my hot “flashes” (or surges) are the only side effects I’ve noticed. They are, however, enough
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 21
Hot flashes are becoming more frequent, but I was warned they would be thus in the latter part of the treatment. I’m about halfway through the first stage of the hormone therapy process. My next hormone treatment (Lupron shot) will be given in about six weeks, shortly after my next
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 20
A weekend off from the long, daily drive and the treatment certainly seems like a treat these days. On weekends, I get to have an easy morning, leisurely cups of tea, do some writing, play some computer games, take a long walk with Susan and Bella (weather permitting), then enjoy
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 19
I was fortunate in being able to get my tooth fixed within 48 hours of losing a portion of it. I hadn’t expected to be able to see my dentist for at least a week, maybe even more, but there was an opening, a cancellation, and I grabbed it. I
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