My doctor commented that it was quite a time since he had seen me. I assured him that I was happy at work and overall in good shape. But, I pointed out, there had to be some excuse for sneaking away during work hours to see him. And so I told him the sad story of me suddenly having to get up before the alarm to empty my bladder, starting in January / February this year.

(The truth is that I don’t need to do that most nights now in summer. I assume I am simply sweating that much more. Although I would not mind if whatever had just plain reversed itself.)

The questionnaire he gave me almost made me ashamed to complain. Evidently there is a list of rather severe symptoms, and some patients have to get up five times a night! 0_0

Anyway, I got an appointment for Thursday morning to draw a blood sample, so they can test for the prostate cancer protein. To be honest, I am not sure what I would do if they found it. I have seen several serious-looking articles that say there is no statistically significant difference in mortality with early treatment of that particular cancer, unlike most others. The biopsy and treatment between them are as dangerous as the cancer, on average.  Well, hopefully there will be no indication of cancer, there or anywhere else.  I thought it was a good idea to be ahead of the curve or some such, but who knows.  Also, tomatoes and walking are better than I imagined.

The doctor did in fact ask me whether I still took walks. He must have made notes when I spoke with him in the past. Or perhaps he says that to everyone who has functioning legs. He is notoriously eager to get people to exercise, it seems he believes this to be a panache, a universal cure for all illness. And it also seems he is pretty much right.

A further appointment is made for June 24 for a prostate enlargement check.  I would only be mildly surprised if the problem was entirely disappeared by then. Well, if I am able to keep walking an hour a day until then. I did it today too. Seriously, what is up with using less calories to move faster for the same amount of time? Am I developing yet another superpower?  In addition to my ability to… oh wait, I haven’t told.

See, here in Norway we have a chocolate snack called Nonstop. I believe it is similar to Skittles, although the core is made of milk chocolate in all cases. The hard sugar shell tastes slightly differently depending on the color. Anyway, this snack comes in small bags, and the size I have bought lies comfortably in a grown man’s hand, and has a weight that is just about right to throw at a coworker.  If the bag is not opened beforehand, there is a good chance that the content will not spill all over the room. Depending on whether she throws it back, eats it, or neither of the above, you can estimate her opinion on the relationship between you. Or so I would assume, I have not even considered trying. I just wanted to describe roughly the size and weight of the packaging, since I failed to write down the weight.

Anyway, I have one of those small bags at work. Admittedly it is behind me, so that it does not distract me unless I feel like eating something sweet, which is not uncommon. But the thing is, one of those hand-sized bags lasts me for a week or more.  That’s because, despite the name “Nonstop”, I actually do stop after a few of them instead of waking up when the bag is empty. So that is my superpower. The blood sample is not going to reveal my secret power, I suspect, because it is probably not mutation but magic. I mean, it certainly sounds like magic, right? ^_^