Bluey Circles:
my heart goes out to you and I wish you well, it must be pretty devastating news.Out of curiosity what was the change in your peeing habits that you thought were unusual ?
Gentlemen,
I thought you might be interested to hear from someone who has been through this.
At the moment there is no widespread universal test for it. End of. Not in the UK anyway. What you should do is this. If there is any family history of breast yes I did say breast cancer or Prostate Cancer get a PSA test. Demand it. There is a strong correlation between breast and prostate cancer, my urologist told me that two years ago.
My grandfather on my father’s side died of Prostate Cancer in 1973 he was 72 and his youngest son my Uncle died of it a few years ago he was 69. It was Brian who told me to get a PSA test which I think I did in my mid 40’s. His mother’s family had a history of cancer so putting two and two together his risk factors were quite high. My initial test was fine. A couple of years later I asked for a re-test they refused! I wasn’t happy but went with it. I think another couple of years went past and I went to the surgery for something and a different doctor said that I should have PSA test. Well it came back at 12! Oh God, bricking myself. So what you do then is get referred to a urologist.
I then had a MRI scan of the area and biopsies done and thankfully no sign of cancer phew. But that is is just the start. What you then do is go onto surveillance. Get your PSA done every 3 months. It then becomes a statistical exercise because it is the rate of change in your PSA level that the urologist is looking for.
I then went back a year later and had further MRI scans and more detailed biopsies again no indication of cancer. Keep a record of the date of your PSA’s and the number that comes back and you can be you’re own doctor. I keep mine on a spreadsheet.
After a while I went back and said well why is it so relatively high? He advised it may be an enlarged Prostate and prescribed a reducing drug. It can have an effect on ■■■ drive but unless you’re Rod Stewart or Mick Jagger, at 60 I am not that bothered. FWIW it hasn’t really affected me.
Finally nearly all men will get Prostate cancer. It tends to be an old man’s disease. But it is a slow cancer and only becomes dangerous if it goes outside of the prostate. Brian thought he was in remission. And he was for three years or so. He came back off holiday I think in the January. He had some gut problems. Investigations showed it had just exploded and gone to other organs. He died mid July.
So guys. It ain’t a killer if caught early. The range of treatments vary. If you have to have the prostate removed it can lead to incontinence, so if you are unlucky to have it diagnosed go through the options very carefully. The society for it is very helpful and they do have a website, a helpline and forum.