The agitated cancer sufferer Celia, who spoke with CathNews, says it's not good enough.

"I don't mind my life-threatening treatment being delayed so potholes can be repaired. Not.

"Look, it's not just about me.

"An election promise, especially like this one, needs urgent attention and not parked on a pothole-free roadside."

Pushing further, Celia observed that while politics is about delivery, it's also about perception.

"Two ministers were recently demoted because of poor communication.

"It seems there is one standard for some ministers and another for others" she commented.

In August last year, Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon promised his Government would spend $280 million on 13 cancer drugs.

Now, Finance Minster Nicola Willis says the Government is actively working on funding those promised drugs.

Prime Minister Luxon recently said an announcement would be made shortly clarifying the government's position.

"I know how people are feeling, I know how frustrated they feel about it, I know what cancer sufferers are going through."

However Richard, another cancer patient, disagreed when talking to RNZ's Checkpoint.

"He (Luxon) will only know how people are feeling when he has a timeline on his life" he said.

While describing the Prime Minister as "seemingly a man of his word", Celia said that in political terms "an announcement that will be made shortly feels like we're being fobbed off".

"Look, it's only $280 million and while that's a lot of money to you and me it's change from morning tea for the government."

Celia told CathNews that she welcomes the money the Government is spending on potholes.

"The roads are a disgrace and potholes can be life-threatening, but this mixup needs fixing. And soon.

"This was a vote-winning promise and I feel overlooked by the government that promises to deliver.

"It's a communications disaster" said Celia.

"I'm watching how Willis defines 'active work' and how long 'shortly' is for Luxon."

$4 billion for potholes

Transport Minister Simeon Brown recently announced that the NZ Transport Agency will spend nearly $4 billion on fixing potholes around the country over the next three years - $2.07b on state highways and $1.9b on local roads.

Brown said this represents a 91% increase over the previous government's spending on state highways' pothole problems and a 50% increase for those on local roads.

However last August the National Party promised to spend just $280 million on 13 new cancer treatments.

Source

• ODT

"I am saddened to learn that King Charles is now facing a time of treatment for cancer. On behalf of the entire Catholic Community in England and Wales, I offer His Majesty our warmest wishes and assurance of steadfast prayers for his full and speedy recovery. God bless the King," Nichols, who heads the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said in a Feb. 5 X post.

King Charles, 75, underwent treatment recently for an enlarged prostate, and an unspecified cancer was discovered during that treatment, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

Read More

His nursing career has dictated this pattern for decades - and he knows it's toxic.

"Your sleep patterns are absolutely crap, you run on three to four hours of sleep the first couple of nights then you're half awake and half asleep."

Ken, whose name Stuff agreed to change to protect his employment, said it gets harder every year. "I've always been told shift work knocks five years off your life... I believe it."

Graveyard shifts or starts before 7am are among the top 10 carcinogens affecting more than half of New Zealand's workforce, according to the New Zealand Carcinogens Survey.

Read More

After the doctor told me I was dying, and after the man I married said he didn't love me anymore, I chased a miracle in California and sixteen weeks later, I got it. The cancer was gone.

But when my brain caught up with it all, something broke. I later found out that all the tragedy at once had caused a physical head trauma, and my brain was sending false signals of excruciating pain and panic.

"I have had cancer three times now, and I have barely passed thirty. There are times when I wonder what I must have done to deserve such a story."

I spent three months propped against the wall. On nights that I could not sleep, I laid in the tub like an insect, staring at my reflection in the shower knob. I vomited until I was hollow. I rolled up under my robe on the tile.

The bathroom floor became my place to hide, where I could scream and be ugly; where I could sob and spit and eventually doze off, happy to be asleep, even with my head on the toilet.

I fear sometimes that when I die and meet with God, that He will say I disappointed Him, or offended Him, or failed Him. Maybe He'll say I just never learned the lesson, or that I wasn't grateful enough.

But one thing I know for sure is this: He can never say that He did not know me.

I am God's downstairs neighbour, banging on the ceiling with a broomstick. I show up at His door every day.

Sometimes with songs, sometimes with curses.

Sometimes apologies, gifts, questions, demands.

Sometimes I use my key under the mat to let myself in. Other times, I sulk outside until He opens the door to me Himself.

I have called Him a cheat and a liar, and I meant it.

I have told Him I wanted to die, and I meant it.

Tears have become the only prayer I know. Prayers roll over my nostrils and drip down my forearms. They fall to the ground as I reach for Him. These are the prayers I repeat night and day; sunrise, sunset.

Call me bitter if you want to—that's fair. Count me among the angry, the cynical, the offended, the hardened. But count me also among the friends of God.

"It's not the mercy that I asked for, but it is mercy nonetheless. And I learn a new prayer: thank you. It's a prayer I don't mean yet, but will repeat until I do."

For I have seen Him in rare form. I have felt His exhale, laid in His shadow, squinted to read the message He wrote for me in the grout: "I'm sad too."

If an explanation would help, He would write me one—I know it. But maybe an explanation would only start an argument between us—and I don't want to argue with God. I want to lay in a hammock with Him and trace the veins in His arms.

I remind myself that I'm praying to the God who let the Israelites stay lost for decades. They begged to arrive in the Promised Land, but instead He let them wander, answering prayers they didn't pray. For forty years, their shoes didn't wear out. Fire lit their path each night. Every morning, He sent them mercy-bread from heaven.

I look hard for the answers to the prayers that I didn't pray. I look for the mercy-bread that He promised to bake fresh for me each morning. The Israelites called it manna, which means "what is it?

That's the same question I'm asking—again, and again. There's mercy here somewhere—but what is it? What is it? What is it?

I see mercy in the dusty sunlight that outlines the trees, in my mother's crooked hands, in the blanket my friend left for me, in the harmony of the wind chimes.

It's not the mercy that I asked for, but it is mercy nonetheless.

And I learn a new prayer: thank you. It's a prayer I don't mean yet, but will repeat until I do.

Call me cursed, call me lost, call me scorned. But that's not all. Call me chosen, blessed, sought-after. Call me the one who God whispers His secrets to. I am the one whose belly is filled with loaves of mercy that were hidden for me.

Even on days when I'm not so sick, sometimes I go lay on the mat in the afternoon light to listen for Him.

I know it sounds crazy, and I can't really explain it, but God is in there—even now.

I have heard it said that some people can't see God because they won't look low enough, and it's true. Look lower.

God is on the bathroom floor.

• Jane Marczewski stepped onto the stage to audition for "America's Got Talent." She told the judges that when she sings, she goes by the name Nightbirde.
• "It's ok" is available on Apple Music, Tidal, Spotify, Deezer.

"Michael I thought you were dead is an honest and searching account of what it feels like to confront one's mortality and find spiritual meaning in life's most difficult circumstances," says The Cuba Press publisher Mary McCallum.

"But there is light and lightness in Michael's observations and a nice turn of humour that you don't expect.

The black humour of the title poem is just a start.

At one point, for example, he describes putting on a pair of shorts and some fancy French aftershave to go and see the oncologist. It finishes: "I await the verdict. A scented man."

Fitzsimons says writing the poems helped him make sense of what was happening to him.

Writing poems is my way of facing danger. Words on a page, however they tumble out, are my prayer, (from "Markings".)

Speaking at the launch of the book, artist and writer Gregory O'Brien described Michael, I thought you were dead as "a love poem to the world and its inhabitants".

"It is hard to imagine a book more infused with living, with seasonal growth and rebirth, with the wairua and spirit of being alive.

In the middle of an encounter with death, we find ourselves at the very heart of life."

"This is a book of lessons, softly, wisely told. Michael, I thought you were dead is made up of a collection of poems followed by a section called "Markings", which is a journal-like sifting of experience.

Says Mary: "Mike writes of the world in front of him in his eagle's eyrie or on a bushwalk -intimate illuminated moments that suddenly take flight and give us a perspective as big as the world."

Michael Fitzsimons is a regular contributor to the Catholic media and his latest publishing project was Joy Cowley's Veil Over the Light.

His first book of poems, Now You Know, was recommended in Radio New Zealand's annual poetry highlights.

Michael I thought you were dead is available at all good independent bookstores, online from The Cuba Press and Pleroma.

Source

• Supplied
• Image: facebook

It was the brainchild of members of the Palmerston North St. Vincent de Paul Society.

People requiring treatment for cancer have, until now, had to go to Palmerston North from other mid-north Island places to receive treatment such as radiotherapy from MidCentral District Health Board.

Earlier this month, prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced new radiotherapy machines would be rolled out across the country, including regions such as Hawke's Bay and Taranaki.

The fact regional services may now mean fewer people coming to stay at Ozanam House has forced the trust to "think outside the square" when it comes to what the future may hold.

At this stage, it's unknown what effect this will have on demand for Ozanam House's services.

"We don't really know what impact this is going to have," says Ozanam House chairman Bill Bly, who was also chairman of the Manawatu Cancer Society.

The motivation for setting up Ozanam House came from members of the St Vincent de Paul Society.

During hospital visiting and welfare work, they saw a need for a home where relatives of out-of-town patients could stay.

In 1967 the Society purchased a four bedroomed home a few hundred yards from the Hospital.

It was named Ozanam House in honour of Blessed Frederic Ozanam, founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

On 2nd February 1971, The Saint Vincent de Paul Society and the Cancer Society of New Zealand (Manawatu Centre) Incorporated instituted a charitable trust under the name "The Ozanam House Trust"

There are now 13 homes that can house more than 130 people all up - are set up with private rooms with ensuites, but shared living spaces, such as lounges and kitchens.

Source

• www.stuff.co.nz
• ozanamhouse.org.nz
• Image: facebook.com

"Become accustomed to talking to your angel so that he may take care of you, give you encouragement and always lead you to victory in life," he said.

"Victory is different for each person; everyone prevails in his or her way, but prevailing is always the ideal, it is the horizon for moving forward. Do not get discouraged," he told them.

"Your journey in life is a bit difficult, dear children, because you have to get treated and overcome the disease or live with the disease. This is not easy," he said.

Francis reminded his young visitors that they have many friends who help them a lot such as their family who help them move forward.

"There is no difficulty in life that cannot be won," he stressed, adding that winning is different for each person according to one's own way. But the important thing is winning, the horizon that makes one move forward. "Don't be discouraged," he urged.

Francis also thanked the children's caregivers for looking after them.

Source

• Crux Now
• The Tablet
• Vatican News
• Image: Aleteia

• Some people are unprepared to die.
• Others are worried about those left behind.
• Some are angry.
• Many are frightened.
• Not everyone is hungry for more life, but almost everyone at some point feels apprehensive about letting go.

If you or someone you love is struggling with these issues, here are some tips to navigate the future.

Talk to your oncologist

Studies show that, when it comes to prognosis, oncologists and patients often have different interpretations of the information shared.

One found that, while oncologists said they had discussed a poor prognosis, many patients felt that they'd not been made aware of it.

Your oncologist should be clear on your prognosis and what that means, but never be afraid to push for more information - it is both appropriate and valuable to ask your oncologist about what to expect.

A lack of awareness or understanding of your prognosis could have major implications for acceptance and planning for the end of life.

In terms of details, dividing life expectancy into broad groups of days, weeks, months or years seems helpful for many people.

Asking your doctor to describe what decline may look like can also be helpful, as can ­­getting an understanding of how people die from cancer, medically speaking - a question I've tackled here.

If you are not sure how or what to ask, get help from your family doctor or palliative care nurse, who can help you write out some questions to take to your next appointment.

Talk to each other

While it can be heart-wrenchingly difficult to talk about the finality of dying, patients and relatives say that even one discussion around an incurable situation can be helpful.

Acknowledging mortality allows doctors and families to ask the patient, directly, what they want.

This kind of honesty can infuse purpose to a time of challenge by allowing the patient to openly express love, regret and desires, and the family to fulfil the patient's wishes - whether it's for their final days or after death.

Martin Ledwick, head information nurse at Cancer Research UK, adds that friends and relatives should leave space for their loved one to express what they need at this time:

"Take their lead about how they want you to support and care for them," he says.

"Sometimes they may want the opportunity to talk about deeper feelings, but at other times they may want to feel ‘normal' and do some of the things they would normally do in your company.

"It is good to have the opportunity to be able to tell each other how you are feeling and express love, but sometimes it's useful to be distracted from this."

Live well before you die well

Being adequately informed about prognosis allows you control over your life.

A patient who has had multiple lines of chemotherapy may be offered yet another treatment, but if they have a realistic understanding of its effectiveness, they may choose to stop treatment and focus on "quality of life" - enjoying cherished experiences: spending time with family, enjoying favourite foods or sitting in a favourite environment.

Patients who accept the inevitability of death can make every day count, ultimately improving their own experience and leaving their loved ones in a better place. Continue reading

Conceived by the Society of St Vincent de Paul and developed in 1971 in collaboration with the Cancer Society Manawatu, the original Ozanam House began with four-bedroom home. Continue reading

The St Augustine rest home in Diest was ordered to pay a total of €6,000.

This was after it stopped doctors from giving a lethal injection to Mariette Buntjens.

Days later, the 74-year-old woman was taken by ambulance to her private address to die "in peaceful surroundings", the Catholic Herald reported.

Her family later sued the nursing home for causing their mother "unnecessary mental and physical suffering".

A civil court in Louvain upheld the complaint and fined the home €3,000.

It also ordered compensation of €1,000 to each of Mrs Buntjens's three adult children.

During the hearing, the three judges decided unanimously that "the nursing home had no right to refuse euthanasia on the basis of conscientious objection".

The test case clarifies Belgian law to mean that only individual medical professionals - and not hospitals or care homes - have the right to refuse euthanasia requests.

The judgement could spell the closures of scores of Catholic-run nursing and care homes across Belgium.

This is because the Church has stated explicitly that it will not permit euthanasia "under any circumstance".

Euthanasia pioneer Dr Wim Distelmans, a man who has been dubbed Belgium's "Dr Death", welcomed the judgement.

He said: "This is an important case because the judge sees the nursing home as an extension of a private home."

Technically, euthanasia remains an offence in Belgium, with the law protecting doctors from prosecution only if they abide by carefully-set criteria.

It is limited to adults who are suffering unbearably and who are able to give their consent.

Two years ago the law was also extended to "emancipated children".

In spite of so-called safeguards, critics have argued that the law is interpreted so liberally that euthanasia is available on demand.

Last year, a paper published in the Journal of Medical Ethics reported that the majority of euthanasia cases in Belgium involve patients who are illegally "put to death" by doctors without ever giving their consent.

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Image: CBS News

Thousands have shared the images and heartfelt prayers.

Carmelite Sr Cecilia Maria died on June 23, aged 42.

From her bed she never stopped praying and offering up her sufferings with the certainty that her encounter with God was near.

Continue reading

Mr Jennings, 71, died on Good Friday after a battle with cancer.

Last year he directed "They Crucified Him", a Passion play which portrayed Jesus' last days on Earth.

It featured a largely Pacific Island cast.

Continue reading

Fr Salvatore Mellone, 38, from Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie archdiocese, died on June 29, two and a half months after he was ordained.

When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the young priest was given special permission to be ordained early, and received the blessing of Pope Francis.

Two days before his April 16 ordination, the former journalist, writer and poet received a phone call from the Pope.

"The first blessing that you'll give as a priest, you'll give to me. Salvatore, I'm with you. You ‘ll be ordained and you'll celebrate Mass," the Pope assured him over the phone.

At his ordination, Fr Mellone said, "Today I feel myself carried on the shoulders of Christ; and as a priest I'll wear the stole with Christ, for the salvation of the world.

"Moreover, to celebrate just one Eucharist, for me will be a real participation in the priesthood of Christ."

A statement from the Trani archdiocese shortly after the priest's death noted that he had a recurrent expression for "the many people who came to visit him over the last few months: 'to be a priest is beautiful.'"

"Despite his illness, he always warmly embraced everyone who came to see him," the statement continued.

"He listened to what everyone had to say. He consoled everyone."

The statement also noted: "During the last year Father Salvatore spent a lot of time in hospitals and despite his heartbreaking pain, he always found the time and the right words to encourage and inspire hope."

"During the last days of his life, when his sight was going bad, he said that he had learned to pray with nature.

"With his weak voice, he constantly prayed to the rhythm of life that came into his room from the balcony," the statement concluded.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• Pallottines
• Image: Pallottines

He was 78.

As head of the United States' third-largest archdiocese, Cardinal George shepherded the Chicago church through school closings and the priest sexual abuse scandal.

He strived to reconcile his support for the clergy with the pain of victims.

He also became a point person between the US and the Vatican on the abuse scandal and matters such the English translation used in the Mass.

In November 2014, Cardinal George became the first Chicago archbishop to retire, following his third cancer diagnosis.

He was succeeded in Chicago by Archbishop Blase Cupich.

Continue reading

Technological advances and intellectual knowledge we continue to acclaim, leaves us with the sense that we are in control and that there is enough time to achieve what it is we want to achieve.

We become complacent about the need to take care of ourselves… always something more to do.

Some of this is driven by our desire to save the world, others driven by the desire we have to reach the many goals we have set ourselves - many of them superficial.

The simple reality is that we are not in charge and that moment of realisation comes to us when we learn of the fragility of the human spirit. For some, that lesson comes unexpectedly and hard.

Late last year I slowly became unwell.

The stress of the lifestyle I was living, the demands I made of myself, the demands other people made of me and expected to meet became too great and as 2014 closed I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had spread to my liver.

No treatment, no cure, only palliative care. I'd waited too long to look after myself and my body broke.

To say that it was and is a shock is a major understatement. And as I look at the amazing family and group of friends I'm surrounded with as I now travel a different journey warms my heart. At the same time, there are feelings of trepidation about what lies ahead.

I'm now focused on the moments of magic that are appearing in front of me: The laughter of my grandchildren; a smile of a friend attempting to walk this journey with me and the pure beauty and strength of my adult children as they battle their anger, grief and sadness at what is happening to their beloved mother.

It's time to leave the work to others now.

My wish is that others will learn to stop before I did, to take into account the limitations of their physical bodies and to take the time to listen to the yearnings of their soul. It is in the taking care of ourselves we learn the ability to take care of others.

"When we walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen :

There will be something solid for you to stand on, or, you will be taught to fly." "Faith" by Patrick Overton - "The Leaning Tree"

• Celia Lashlie

Celia Lashlie died on 16 February.

These were among the warnings sounded before the United Kingdom's House of Commons passed a new law permitting their creation.

The new regulations enable genetic processes to fight the transmission of mitochondrial diseases, such as muscular dystrophy.

The UK is the first country in the world to legalise the new techniques.

Two procedures were covered by the regulations.

The maternal spindle transfer technique involves the extraction of the genetic material from a mother's egg, which is then inserted into a donor egg in which the maternal spindle has been removed and discarded.

The reconstituted egg is then fertilised by the father's sperm before implantation in the mother.

The procedure is known as "three-parent IVF".

The second technique, pronuclear transfer, involves up to four parents.

Dr Trevor Stammers, programme director in Bioethics and Medical Law at St Mary's University, said babies produced by such methods will have to be monitored all their lives, as will their children.

Dr Paul Knoepfler, associate professor at the University of California, Davis, also warned that babies could be born with defects.

"Aberrations could lead to developmental defects in babies or also manifest in later life as increased rates of ageing of cancer," he said.

Stuart Newman, professor of cell biology and anatomy at New York Medical College, said the new procedures disrupted the "evolutionary compatibility" between the nucleus and the mitochondria of the cell.

"It is going to lead to children with conditions which, in some cases, will probably be worse than the conditions they are trying to avoid," he said.

A technique similar to that approved in Britain has been banned in China.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has decided such techniques are not safe enough to be approved.

The UK's House of Lords will consider the legislation on February 23.

If it passes, the first human trials could take place from October and the first babies born by late 2016.

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales expressed concerns over the ethics of the new procedures.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• The Tablet
• Catholic Herald
• Image: Monash University

Msgr Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, who is head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said there was no dignity in her physician assisted death.

Ms Maynard, 29, took a lethal prescription provided by a doctor under Oregon state's death-with-dignity law.

Earlier this year, she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and was given only months to live

She died on November 1.

"We don't judge people, but the gesture in itself is to be condemned," Msgr Carrasco de Paula told Italy's ANSA news agency.

"Assisted suicide is an absurdity. Dignity is something different than putting an end to your own life," he said.

Ms Maynard became a media sensation after a video she posted on YouTube announcing her decision was viewed 9.8 million times.

This made her an appealing young face for the right-to-die movement.

She worked closely with the advocacy group Compassion and Choices.

But Msgr Carrasco de Paula said: "Killing yourself is not a good thing; it's a bad thing because it says no to life and to all that means in relation to our duty in the world and to those close to us."

He added that assisted suicide was also dangerous because it offered a potential "solution" for a society that sought to abandon the sick and quit paying the costs of their illnesses.

In a final Facebook posting, Ms Maynard wrote: "Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!"

Only two days earlier, she released a video reconsidering the November 1 date she had set for her suicide.

She was still having good days with her family and friends, she said, and she wasn't sure if it was yet the "right time".

Janet Morana, executive director of the pro-life organisation Priests for Life, said: "Pray for Brittany for the repose of her soul, it's in the hands of God right now."

"Anything is possible with God. Don't put limitations on what God can do."

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• ANSA
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Taringa.net

When they crossed the finishing line last week each of them had run the equivalent of a half marathon each day for the past five days.

Their 120-kilometre effort raised more than $100,000 for CanTeen, a charity supporting teenagers with cancer.

The 154 St Bede's College pupils were joined by six other students from other Catholic schools.

The boys were split into eight 20-person teams, each running to Christchurch from a different South Island location, including Nelson, Cromwell, Motueka, Haast, Karamea and Mt Cook.

See more photographs on Facebook

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Facebook

He has now completed his eighth charity fundraising event by climbing up Wales' highest mountain, Mount Snowdon, all 3,560 feet of it , on his hands and knees while pushing a brussel sprout with his nose, according to his campaign page.

So far to date Stuart has raised £40,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support with his crazy challenges and organised events.

2006 - London Marathon

2007 - Flew around Britain in a flexwing microlight straight after his training.

2008 - Lands End to John O' Groats on a Penny Farthing

2009 - France to Coventry in a kayak.

2010 - Lived in a tiny box for one week suspended by a crane

2011 - 7 marathons in 7 days in a giant human hamster wheel

2012 - Suspended in the air by helium balloons for 7 days

2013 - Walked every single street in Coventry - 500 miles on a pair of stilts

2014 - Levitating in mid air for a week

Read more

It waited until after I'd showered, watched an episode of Orange is the New Black, painted my nails a lurid green, and taken the polish off after discovering it looked foul. By the time I called her back I was late for work.

Mum told me that she had some odd test results and that the doctors might have "found something". She told me she was frightened and that she didn't want to die.

I put aside my sense of dread and told her she was being silly. "People get odd test results all the time. And even if there is something they'll just remove it. Easy."

I went to work. I sat in a meeting. I realised with some detachment that the hatred I felt for the guy next to me clicking his pen was irrational.

My sister called. "They have the scan back. There's something in her liver."

I stared at the computer screen, trying to remember what the liver did. It sounded important.

I have an intense aversion to crying in public, and emailed my boss to let her know I needed to leave.

I explained that if she came over to talk to me about it or even glanced in my direction then I'd make the most horrible scene.

The smiley face at the end of my email was intended somewhere between a "Don't worry, it'll be fine!" and "Sorry for the inconvenience". Continue reading.

Louise Burston is an author, living in Wellington.

Source: The Wireless

Image: The Wireless