Readers' letters

Find out what our readers think of the stories making the Gazette headlines.

FROM AFRICA TO LANARK

Dear Ed, — Following the recent letter made public of the explorer David Livingstone, talking about his ill health in February 1871, I wonder if there are many in Clydesdale who are aware of a connection between Lanark and David Livingstone.

One hundred years ago on June 28 1910 at 107 High Street, Lanark, Dr. Selim Hishmeh in his fifties died and was subsequently buried in Lanark Cemetery. In later life Dr Hishmeh was a medical practitioner in Lanark.

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Born in Mount Zion, Jerusalem, in the mid 1850s, Selim was a Palestinian Christian who through fate became the Arabic translator and senior guide to Sir Henry Stanley in his search for David Livingstone in southern Africa.

Following the discovery of David Livingstone in Ujiji on the shore of Lake Tanganyika on November 10 1871, Selim undertook numerous lecture tours on both sides of the Atlantic prior to studying medicine at Edinburgh University and settling in Lanark.

On the discovery of Livingstone by Henry Stanley; was it in fact the guide Selim Hishmeh who found him first? — Yours etc,

LESLIE W REID,

25 Bloomgate,

Lanark.

BIZARRE DATE

Dear Ed, — First Minister Alex Salmond has described the UK Government's decision to hold a voting reform referendum on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections next year as 'outrageous'.

I believe most of your readers would be inclined to agree.

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The decision shows that the UK Government either does not know, or does not care, about Scotland's constitutional structures.

After the difficulties of the 2007 Scottish Parliament and Local Government elections, the lesson was clear that future polls should not be coupled together in this way. The situation is even more bizarre given that very few people in any party seem to support the 'alternative vote' system which is to be proposed in a referendum.

David Mundell, who is both the MP for this area and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, has a duty to stand up for this seat and this country in the UK Government.

I have written to Mr Mundell, calling on him to ask the UK Government, of which he is a part, to rethink its plans to hold a voting reform referendum on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections.

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If Scotland's only Tory MP cannot make Scotland's voice heard at Whitehall, then it will simply strengthen the case for the Scottish Parliament to have control not just over its own elections, but all the powers of a normal, independent country. — Yours etc,

AILEEN CAMPBELL MSP,

North Back Road,

Biggar.

END CONFUSION

Dear Ed, — When it comes to prostate cancer, men are confused. I certainly was. There's so much uncertainty surrounding the diagnosis and treatment it's enough to scare most men.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. Over 35,000 men are diagnosed each year.

After my diagnosis seven years ago I chose to have surgery to remove my prostate. But what happens next?

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For women who have surgery for breast cancer the next step is usually radiotherapy. But for men, what to do after surgery is a grey area.

Should a watch and wait game be played closely following PSA levels? Or should radiotherapy be given after surgery no matter what a man's PSA levels are?

To find answers to these questions, we look to clinical trials to help test the options and establish the best treatments.

Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council are running a clinical trial called RADICALS for men who have had surgery to remove their prostate.

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The trial plans to find answers. And in the future we can only hope that the best possible advice and treatment will be available for all men.

The trial is running at a number of hospitals including Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Ayr Hospital, The Beatson, and the Western General in Edinburgh.

Anyone who is interested in finding out more about the trial can contact their local cancer hospital or GP. — Yours etc.,

DENIS LAW.

* Denis Law, aged 70, is the only Scottish player to have won the European Footballer of the Year accolade. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2003 and underwent successful treatment.