NFR Prostate Cancer

[Logicalman]

Interesting Times article today ... The charity Prostate Cancer UK calls for 'outdated' NHS guidance to be overhauled.

Doesn't change the advice to GET TESTED, just the treatments applied via NHS

Thousands of men 'should avoid unnecessary treatment' for prostate cancer

[Bill2]

Ok boys

Lets start with a few things

It is not "discussed" by men for various reasons, we need to look at it

I have been diagnosed with it but luckily enough it is only about 6 months old and I have had fantastic care from the NHS and an amazing surgeon who has explained everything so well so I will survive

Often there are no outward signs so when you find out it can be too late

Given that
1. It is a taboo subject - all of you get tested please. Its only a blood test, you dont get a finger up your ar5e. Its now 50+ years old people who are getting it
2. I am lucky that it has been caught early and will probably die from other thing than the cancer so again get tested so you can catch it early
3. 1 in 8 men get it and if caught early enough they all live long lives 10 years plus

I also have prostate cancer and can agree with some of the stuff you said. Most tests are purely a blood test taking 5 minutes. Fortunately while I have a high PSA level I seem to be in will die with it rather than from it category.
However, it is not really as simple as that as there are a number of unpleasant side effects. The main one is that the enlarged prostate means you need to go to the loo more often. This at times got very painful as I wanted to go but could only pass a thimble full. This means that if you went out for a drink you had to make sure that your journey home had loos on route. There are drugs you can take to shrink the prostate but have side effects and can effect your mental well being.
Then there is prostate biopsy, most unpleasant experience at the time and the healing process. Gone on too long so will leave it there.

[Bill2]

Ok boys

Lets start with a few things

It is not "discussed" by men for various reasons, we need to look at it

I have been diagnosed with it but luckily enough it is only about 6 months old and I have had fantastic care from the NHS and an amazing surgeon who has explained everything so well so I will survive

Often there are no outward signs so when you find out it can be too late

Given that
1. It is a taboo subject - all of you get tested please. Its only a blood test, you dont get a finger up your ar5e. Its now 50+ years old people who are getting it
2. I am lucky that it has been caught early and will probably die from other thing than the cancer so again get tested so you can catch it early
3. 1 in 8 men get it and if caught early enough they all live long lives 10 years plus

I also have prostate cancer and can agree with some of the stuff you said. Most tests are purely a blood test taking 5 minutes. Fortunately while I have a high PSA level I seem to be in will die with it rather than from it category.
However, it is not really as simple as that as there are a number of unpleasant side effects. The main one is that the enlarged prostate means you need to go to the loo more often. This at times got very painful as I wanted to go but could only pass a thimble full. This means that if you went out for a drink you had to make sure that your journey home had loos on route. There are drugs you can take to shrink the prostate but have side effects and can effect your mental well being.
Then there is prostate biopsy, most unpleasant experience at the time and the healing process. Gone on top long so will leave it there.

[sunburywhite]

Ok boys

Lets start with a few things

It is not "discussed" by men for various reasons, we need to look at it

I have been diagnosed with it but luckily enough it is only about 6 months old and I have had fantastic care from the NHS and an amazing surgeon who has explained everything so well so I will survive

Often there are no outward signs so when you find out it can be too late

Given that
1. It is a taboo subject - all of you get tested please. Its only a blood test, you dont get a finger up your ar5e. Its now 50+ years old people who are getting it
2. I am lucky that it has been caught early and will probably die from other thing than the cancer so again get tested so you can catch it early
3. 1 in 8 men get it and if caught early enough they all live long lives 10 years plus

I also have prostate cancer and can agree with some of the stuff you said. Most tests are purely a blood test taking 5 minutes. Fortunately while I have a high PSA level I seem to be in will die with it rather than from it category.
However, it is not really as simple as that as there are a number of unpleasant side effects. The main one is that the enlarged prostate means you need to go to the loo more often. This at times got very painful as I wanted to go but could only pass a thimble full. This means that if you went out for a drink you had to make sure that your journey home had loos on route. There are drugs you can take to shrink the prostate but have side effects and can effect your mental well being.
Then there is prostate biopsy, most unpleasant experience at the time and the healing process. Gone on too long so will leave it there.

When I was there having my biopsy with ,my legs up in stirrups and ar5e hanging over the end of the table, I did look down at my rather attravtive nurse who was taking snips out of my prostate and I said to her "we must stop meeting like this"
Her smile took some of the pain away and its much better than being dead

[sunburywhite]

Me again

If I can save one life amongst all of you I have done my job

Anyone had a PSA test?

Personally I have been on Abiraterone for a month now and steroid tablets

My PSA has come down from a horrific 52 to 1.7, so thats great news

The steroids are making me eat like there is no tomorrow so after I come back from holiday in two weeks time I need to cut that back

The tablets are giving me hot flushes so I know what the wives have been going through but apart from that I feel fine, get a bit tired in the afternoons

Radiation starts in about 8 weeks

Onwards and upwards

[BestOfBrede]

Me again

If I can save one life amongst all of you I have done my job

Anyone had a PSA test?

Personally I have been on Abiraterone for a month now and steroid tablets

My PSA has come down from a horrific 52 to 1.7, so thats great news

The steroids are making me eat like there is no tomorrow so after I come back from holiday in two weeks time I need to cut that back

The tablets are giving me hot flushes so I know what the wives have been going through but apart from that I feel fine, get a bit tired in the afternoons

Radiation starts in about 8 weeks

Onwards and upwards

That's great and positive news Sunbury!
Good on you and keep fighting!
 

[Ludlow Richard]

Me again

If I can save one life amongst all of you I have done my job

Anyone had a PSA test?

Personally I have been on Abiraterone for a month now and steroid tablets

My PSA has come down from a horrific 52 to 1.7, so thats great news

The steroids are making me eat like there is no tomorrow so after I come back from holiday in two weeks time I need to cut that back

The tablets are giving me hot flushes so I know what the wives have been going through but apart from that I feel fine, get a bit tired in the afternoons

Radiation starts in about 8 weeks

Onwards and upwards

That's great and positive news Sunbury!
Good on you and keep fighting!
 

Keep smiling, good luck on your journey!

[HV71]

Keep going top man!

[Twig]

Me again

If I can save one life amongst all of you I have done my job

Anyone had a PSA test?

Personally I have been on Abiraterone for a month now and steroid tablets

My PSA has come down from a horrific 52 to 1.7, so thats great news

The steroids are making me eat like there is no tomorrow so after I come back from holiday in two weeks time I need to cut that back

The tablets are giving me hot flushes so I know what the wives have been going through but apart from that I feel fine, get a bit tired in the afternoons

Radiation starts in about 8 weeks

Onwards and upwards

Hope the radiation goes well for you.

[SuffolkWhite]

I had a psa test a fee months back it was this forum that prompted me to do it. Normal psa according to the GP surgery. I will battle with them again for another at some point.

How often should a psa be under taken?

[SuffolkWhite]

Sorry, meant to say good luck with the treatment Sunbury 👍🏻

[I Ronic]

Me again

If I can save one life amongst all of you I have done my job

Anyone had a PSA test?

Personally I have been on Abiraterone for a month now and steroid tablets

My PSA has come down from a horrific 52 to 1.7, so thats great news

The steroids are making me eat like there is no tomorrow so after I come back from holiday in two weeks time I need to cut that back

The tablets are giving me hot flushes so I know what the wives have been going through but apart from that I feel fine, get a bit tired in the afternoons

Radiation starts in about 8 weeks

Onwards and upwards

I had a PSA blood test end of July. It was 1.1 slightly up on last year's. 3 and over is when they'll call you back. There are other signs as well.

Early prostate cancer often has no symptoms. That's why screening and checks are important if you're at higher risk.
When symptoms do appear, they can include:

Needing to urinate more often, especially at night

Trouble starting or stopping urination

Weak flow or feeling like the bladder doesn't empty fully

Blood in urine or ***** (less common)

Erectile difficulties or pelvic discomfort (sometimes)

Women are more informed because women's health has a place in media, magazines and articles in papers specifically aimed at and for women and they share. Men didn't have that but times have changed and there are lads mags out there now and there's more. I'm sure it's been mentioned on here before and will no doubt gain traction on here.
I'll start a poll tomorrow Sunbury to see how many of us have or haven't had a PSA test 

[jarv]

Good luck to all who have had cancer scares.  I wish you well.

[Fulham 442]

I am so glad to see this thread.  I had been nagging my husband since he turned 60 to get a PSA test to no avail.  Happily it came up in conversation at his walking football group where one of the chaps had said his brother had been diagnosed with prostate cancer which prompted him to get tested only to find he was in the early stages himself which thankfully meant it was treatable.  As a result my husband got a test sorted, which was fine, and now has an annual check up.  Good luck to all you chaps undergoing treatment and thank you to Sunbury for starting the conversation.

[FulhamKC]

However, it is not really as simple as that as there are a number of unpleasant side effects. The main one is that the enlarged prostate means you need to go to the loo more often. This at times got very painful as I wanted to go but could only pass a thimble full. This means that if you went out for a drink you had to make sure that your journey home had loos on route. There are drugs you can take to shrink the prostate but have side effects and can effect your mental well being.
Then there is prostate biopsy, most unpleasant experience at the time and the healing process. Gone on too long so will leave it there.
[/quote]

The going to the loo a lot is a symptom of BPH (BPH stands for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Benign = not cancer. Prostatic = relating to the prostate gland. Hyperplasia = an increase in the number of normal cells, which makes the gland grow larger.)

There are several procedures that can address the tissue growth that makes peeing harder and too frequent. Last year I underwent what is called in the U.S. an aquablation. High pressure water stream was used to clear away much of the interior of the prostate (it sounds terrible but, while being pretty invasive, was really not that big of a deal). It really cleared things up for me. Unfortunately, they biopsied the tissue that was removed and found that there were some cancerous cells. But my cancer grading is such that I am only under "active surveillance" which means PSA tests twice a year to monitor changes in PSA level.

I definitely suggest that men 50+ have regular PSA tests. Prostate cancer is generally very slow growing so most won't have to have aggressive treatments unless you can't stand knowing that there is some cancer there.

[Barrett487]

Me again

If I can save one life amongst all of you I have done my job

Anyone had a PSA test?

Personally I have been on Abiraterone for a month now and steroid tablets

My PSA has come down from a horrific 52 to 1.7, so thats great news

The steroids are making me eat like there is no tomorrow so after I come back from holiday in two weeks time I need to cut that back

The tablets are giving me hot flushes so I know what the wives have been going through but apart from that I feel fine, get a bit tired in the afternoons

Radiation starts in about 8 weeks

Onwards and upwards

Great news SW,that'll be a huge relief.

[sunburywhite]

Bumping it back to the top again

Here is my update

Some 6 months after getting told I have cancer and receiving great care from the NHS I should start a 4 week radiation course from 19/11

I am on hormones and getting hot flushes
I am putting weight on as I get the munchies
But I am still alive unlike the poor schmuks who never got it caught in time

Get yourself tested

[gang]

I had a psa test a fee months back it was this forum that prompted me to do it. Normal psa according to the GP surgery. I will battle with them again for another at some point.

How often should a psa be under taken?

Annually unless you find symptoms.

[Gloucester White]

A few months ago I was told I had stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had spread to my liver. This was discovered when,during a short stay in hospital for something else, I had a scan that revealed the cancer. I was referred to the cancer unit where I am under a very good consultant. He can't make me out: he looks at all the scans and then looks at me and can't understand why I am not experiencing any of the usual symptoms - loss of weight, jaundice, back pain, and more. He has discussed my case with other consultants in the group and all say the scans show I have cancer. Then I am placed in front of them like a goldfish in a bowl and they too can't understand why I am not at death's door.

The reason, I believe, is that I have taken DMSO, a natural product that was all the rage in the 1960s in the USA and used for many ailments, but was banned when the FDA realised it couldn't be patented. Health is a huge business in the States and hospitals would go bust if a cure costing a few dollars was used successfully to treat cancer and many other illnesses instead of drugs costing thousands. So the FDA, which is controlled by the big drug companies, banned it. Politicians have pleaded with the FDA to change their mind, but so far without success, although Kennedy may have more luck. Some doctors use it but keep quiet about it.

I tell other people about DMSO but always get a look that says if doctors aren't prescribing it, it can't work. But it does. So anyone with prostrate problems, please investigate it, DMSO will help. They are thousands of cases where DMSO has been proven to cure many different diseases.

Whether DMSO will cure my cancer is doubtful, it is very advanced; but it is helping me to live without the symtoms, and hopefully for longer. It is also fun watching the doctors who say they are 'flumoxed'. I will tell them one day.

[fulhamfan]

I have a PSA test tomorrow afternoon - hopefully all good