Call Sign November 2010 Page 15 - ALLEN TOGWELL’S MARKETING PLACE

ALLEN TOGWELL’S MARKETING PLACE
Can’t we operate without SatNavs? Are today’s cab drivers that use SatNavs losing their geographical knowledge, or are they taking bus routes rather than chance an alternative route for fear it may no longer be feasible? Recently I’ve had to attend a number of visits to the Royal Nose, Throat and Ear Hospital in Grays Inn Road and cab drivers that know exactly where the hospital is from Dial-a-Cab House, go via City Road, Angel, Pentonville Rd, Penton Rise and Swinton Street. Others who are not so sure go via Old Street, Clerkenwell Road and the full length of Grays Inn Road searching for the Hospital. So to make it easy, I don’t bother mentioning the Hospital, I simply say Swinton Street by Grays Inn Road. Most cab drivers I’m sure find it helpful when a passenger gives a preferred route, but in doing so I would assume that to be a preferred direction, not necessarily street by street. One particular visit to the RNTE Hospital was on the day of the last tube strike; there was a shortage of cabs working but luckily I trapped one outside Moorfield’s Eye Hospital. The driver was a young chap, smartly dressed and with a pleasant manner and as appears to be the norm of late amongst this fraternity, sitting atop his dashboard was the latest must have SatNav. I didn’t physically see him use it, although I heard him talking and from what I gather there are now SatNavs on the market that can be voice activated. City Road was congested, but it was moving - albeit very slowly - all the way up as far as Angel but we were then stopped there for some considerable time. Eventually we crossed into Pentonville Road. By the time we got as far as Amwell Street there was already over Ł25 on the meter and we now sat at that junction while the traffic lights changed repeatedly from red to green. I don’t know how many of you guys use cabs when you are off duty so to speak and if you do, whether you would instruct your driver to take an alternative route during the middle of the journey. As a Board member, I have used quite a number of cabs over the years and there have been many occasions when I’ve had the urge to suggest to the driver to take a particular route, but having a badge I usually feel a little uncomfortable telling a fellow cab driver how to do his/her job. But on the day in question, sitting stationary at those lights and watching them forever changing, I was becoming concerned about my hospital appointment so I finally said to the driver: would you take a left into Amwell Street please and with sigh he said and then where? I said that providing it’s still possible, go right at Great Percy Street, Percy Circus, Vernon Rise, Kings X Road and Swinton Street. Which he did and as it happened it was a clear run and I was at the Hospital in just a few minutes. The cause of the	gridlock was traffic stuck turning right into Acton Street, meaning that had I not said anything, not only would I have been very late for my appointment but the cost of the fare could have been exceptionally high by the time I got to the hospital, which I don’t think for one moment was the driver’s objective. I honestly believe he is one of the many present day young drivers who are using bus routes out of habit, influenced I’m sure by the use of SatNavs. This wasn’t just a one-off incident because on each occasion I have used a cab since then to do the same journey, by coincidence it has been a young driver with a SatNav who has used a congested bus route both going and coming back. Perhaps someone out there can explain why? PSA testing I’ve mentioned the following subject before, but because it recently affected a friend of mine who is a member of Dial-a-Cab and because I’m delighted to say it had a successful conclusion, it has a special significance and a good reason for me to mention it again. I refer to those of you who have not yet had a PSA test to check the fitness of their prostate. I’m entering into my 15th year now since I was treated for prostate cancer and when mentioning this to my friend and asking if he had yet had a PSA test, he said he hadn’t. The person in question is a family man, intelligent but, and I say this in the kindest possible way, typical of your average male who shies away from unnecessarily knowing anything about his health. His reasoning, and a common one for not having the test, was because he had no symptoms. Which is the wrong attitude because some men with prostate problems don’t have any symptoms whatsoever, even common symptoms such as passing water frequently. Which means you could have a bomb ticking away inside of you that you know nothing about. So it was with surprise when I learnt that he had taken it upon himself to see his GP about having a PSA test, even though he was convinced it would be a waste of time. Which as it transpired was not the case, because when the results came back he was shocked and naturally concerned to be told that his PSA reading was higher is than it should be. It wasn’t very high - 8 ng/ml, which is a little above normal but not drastically so. In fact a reading of 8 ng/ml could quite easily be the result of a slightly enlarged prostate, which is nothing serious. It should also be remembered that with PSA tests, you could have an exceptionally high reading and your prostate could be perfectly healthy. The only difference is that with a reading higher than 5 ng/ml, your	doctor would most likely arrange a referral to a urologist who after further examination may suggest you have a biopsy, which is what happened with my friend. He had a biopsy and after two anxious weeks was told that one half of his prostate was healthy but in the other half two small very low risk cancer cells were discovered. Having been in this position myself, I knew perfectly well how he must have felt hearing his urologist mention the dreaded C word - your brain switches off, you cant think straight, all sorts of morbid thoughts start going through your mind and from that second on you don’t absorb a word of what the urologist is saying, hence the necessity to have someone with you who is able to listen with a clear mind and take notes. As was the case in this instance, his wife was present and later was able to repeat what the urologist had said: That there was absolutely nothing to be worried about, the cells were very small and had been discovered early, so early in fact he is able to have a choice of a number of different treatments, something he wouldn’t have had if the cancer been more advanced. It should be noted that prostate cancer has the second highest mortality rate in the UK. However, having said that, more men die with prostate cancer than from it. In other words any man living long enough will most certainly have prostate cancer and will likely die of something else. Enormous strides have been made since when I was diagnosed, especially when detected early - I repeat especially when detected early - and there lies the importance of having regular PSA tests. There are no excuses for those of you who have reached the age when it needs to be done, because it’s the very age when you must undertake a medical to renew your bill, so whilst at your GP simply ask for a PSA test, which I’m sure your GP will be happy to arrange. As for my friend, at the time of writing he is now completely upbeat about his problem. He has since been referred to a top urologist who is an expert in several of the more modern treatments, particularly for low risk prostate cancer such as Brachy therapy, which involves keyhole surgery implanting radioactive seeds directly into the prostate. It’s done under a general anaesthetic and the patient leaves hospital the same day. The success rate is extremely high and recovery period is just a few weeks. There are no long-term side effects such as impotence or incontinence. The other advantage of this treatment is if you are among the very small minority where it wasn’t successful, you can simply have the entire prostate removed. It’s a grim subject I know, but if you have read this far then it has taken your interest and is quite possibly something you have been meaning to do but just haven’t got round to yet. That being the case, you would be wise to do so now... Allen Togwell DaC Marketing

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