I’m sure there were some really news worthy events in 2024 but trying to look back nothing pops out. I had another course of radiotherapy, which so far has not created any long lasting side effects. The trips to the gym have fallen off but with the new year comes a new purpose. Oh and of course, I need to stop turning into a girly blob.

The annual 10k run in aid of prostate cancer went ahead as planned. There was about 20 of us on the annual run this year for prostate cancer UK. The running preparation had gone well. In fact, the only issues were that I had started completing the full 10km runs too late so I knew I would not be breaking any personal bests. The run itself was as good as it was uneventful. I started off the run with high hopes and determination. I finished the run grateful that I had completed it and unfortunately came in just a little later than I had expected at one hour, fourteen minutes and some change.

We had a couple of new runners this year, two of them I had brought along. When I put the message out there if anyone wanted to join us on the run, they signed up straight away. I met them earlier in the year when I videoed their father’s funeral. He had died of prostate cancer. They had discovered it too late. He was already stage 4 when they finally did. It was treated aggressively and initially he responded well. There was a scheduled pause in the treatment and he rapidly went downhill and then died.

We had hoped to raise £5k but the figure we ended up with was a fantastic £7626.

The one-to-one talks with individual men have continued. I would say I have done about 10 of these now. They have all been black men who have asked specifically to talk to a black man. They have ranged from men who still have to make a decision on their treatment choice, have imminent surgery or they have already had the operation. None of them have been too taxing. I have spoken with men that are mini doctors with their recently acquired knowledge to those that are hopelessly uninformed.

The Awareness talks have ranged from large to small. Some were well attended others were not. Some were well organised, while others could do better. There was one talk that I didn’t want to do and I told them why. It was not because I had a prior engagement but because of the type of business. It was on a building site. The thing about building sites, and this is my experience, is that they seem to be just tick boxing exercises. They grab anyone passing by with a spirit level over their shoulder and tell them they are going to be in this meeting for the next 30 minutes or so.  There was one great exception where I spoke to all the office staff but that only happened once.

I am at the halfway stage now with the implants, the next one is coming up next week and I have a telephone consultation at the end of the month.

I have now completed 3 seasons of the podcast. It has had over 1000 downloads but still thinking about continuing.

So that was 2024.

2025 will be better.