Sorry for this post..Just wondering alone..
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Anybody here ever had to deal with Prostate Cancer????
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Yup, and sent you a PM. Feel free to contact me.
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My last (and first) PSA was slightly elevated (6.7, retest 6.6)...but I wouldn't let them start biopsying. My step-uncle-inlaw had a 14 and 4 negative biopsies before they left him alone (he's seventy-something and from everything I've read shouldn't get it treated anyway unless it's the fast growing kind...less than 1% occurance). I'm on the border age-wise too...60 years old but other health issues could kill me long before prostate cancer symptoms would normally be noticed. It's a crap-shoot just like most such issues...?
What's up, Richard...you ok?
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My brother had a PSA level of seven (after I urged him to get tested) -- biopsy revealed Gleason score of 7 (not good) -- so don't underestimate (and see my PM to you). By the way a prostate biopsy is no big deal. Only sensation is like being snapped by a rubber band.
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I appreciate the time you folks took to read and answer..I don't really know why I posted except I was just wandering around in my mind..My PSA was 9.4 so they took a Bi-op..You'r right it wasn't bad but it wasn't Disneyland either.. Well, I get a phone call the day after Christmas..Yep..Positive...Thats all they told me until my meeting with the doc on the 7th...So here I sit...Waiting...
P.S.
I did ask them to look for my class ring while they were in there anyway...
Ps. Ps.
Glad you folks were here...
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Richard,
Did you get my PM (private message)? 9.4 is not the end of the world and you can take heart that nothing happens fast with Prostate Cancer. If you have to have cancer, it's probably the best kind to have....You have time to consider the various treatment options and get second opinions. Note that Urologists tend to favor surgery, so get a referral also to a Radition Oncologist and a pure Oncologist for full understading of options.
I was not so lucky with my PS -- Stage IV metastatic but I'm still around after 2 years.... My older brother however woke up after learning about me (plus the fact that PS tends to run in families), got checked right away: PSA 7 plus, Gleason 7 score on biopsy (the same as mine with astronomical PSA level). He got a series of 45 local radiation treatments (no side effects at all), plus hormone therapy for a couple months. All seems to be fine now.
Moral for all men -- visit your doctor once a year, get a simple PSA test, get a prostate exam (no big deal either), and live long enough to die from something else.
Suggested reading: "Prostate and Cancer" by Sheldon Marks, M.D. ISBN 0-7382-0839-6 and "A Primer on Prostate Cancer" by Stephen B. Strum, MD, ISBN 0-9658777-7-9. Both on Amazon.
Check my message to you -- if you like I will give you my email and phone number and I can give you more details.
Paul
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Dear All,
You might be interested in the following article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5132546.stm
It seems a benign supporting therapy, and also pleasant to take. From what I have read many men will die with prostrate cancer, but not of prostrate cancer, and so the outlook is generally very good these days.
Kind regards,
Bob -
Richard (Paul), hope I didn't sound flip (I didn't know how far along in the process you were)...just wanted share something of my own circumstance hoping to make you feel comfortable doing the same. As others have said, this topic is (or should be) of great interest to a large number of us...if it helps you to do so, please do share your thoughts and experiences: you're not along here in many ways.
Here are a couple of links I found quite helpful, and have been pushing some of the eat/live right suggestions found there hoping for a better PSA number in a few months. (Thanks Bob for the pomegranate article, I didn't know that...though I can't imagine finding pomegranate juice in Winfield, Ks where the most exotic veggie you can find here is the turnip :`)
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/cancer/prostate-cancer/
http://www.fightprostatecancer.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_homeBest, Tom. (and always keep in mind what Mash's Corporal Max Klinger said so well: "It doesn't happen till it happens.")
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3eighty,
Sorry to hear your tale. But at least you can now do something about it. It got my Dad some years ago. I feel he would be still alive and kicking today if he had not ignored the warning signs and sought treatment. We (Family) nagged the hell out of him when we realise something was wrong but he did not want to listen. When we managed to get him to the doctor for a checkup it was too late. The doctor also felt that if he had come to him a year or so earlier when the first warning signs showed there was a good chance that he could have been treated successfully.
I have regular checkups, at least every 12 months, and I advise my buddies to do likewise. What is it about men, we are quite willing to walk into a hospital with our arm or leg hanging off but when it comes to any problems in the genital area we resist!
Please keep us posted and remember that we are rooting for you.
Mike
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It's Sat morning and I'm starting my day off with a smile thanks to all of you...I will read ALL of you suggestions and will keep you posted..Will know a lot more after the 7th but now I can go into that meeting with some knowledge...
Thanks folks...
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Yea Bruce, there is a lot in what you say. I've often picked up some gems of advise from 'Old Timers', Hey! at 57, I'm slowly becoming one myself.
This reminds me of a joke that I heard a few years ago. Now I'm not much use at telling jokes but I'll have a go.
Two Old Timers sitting on high stools at their local bar got talking about when the sex 'urge' went! Pat the younger (75) was happy enough and asked Joe (80) did he still get the 'urge'? Joe was happy to report that the equipment still worked and he got the 'urge' occasionally.
They were a little stumped and decided they would ask older guys to discover when the 'urge' left. They then noticed Mick (95) sitting quietly at the corner of the bar having his pint and listening to the the conversation! 'Hey, Mick, do you have any idea when ..' Mick interrupted with 'Don't bother asking me I can't help you out on that one'
I hope these guys were right
Mike (Hopefully 'Mick' in 38 years time!)
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Modelhead -- despite your opinions
"PSA itself is not the final word on prostate canser and neither is a positive test."
But a biospy certainly is the final word.
"For me prostrate cancer has really become a new religion of fear...."
It happens to be the number two cancer killer in men.
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I think Billy Crystal said it best..."At our age, we learn to pee in Morse code"....
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@3eighty said:
I think Billy Crystal said it best..."At our age, we learn to pee in Morse code"....
Hey! Don't knock it! It could come in handy some day
And thanks for bringing this subject up. As Paul says it is a very serious matter that should be kept in mind when men hit the 50 mark!
Mike
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@unknownuser said:
I had a game of snooker with my 91 year old Dad last week and we shared a drink from a very old bottle of Whiskey. He has thanked me for my persistence many times.
.Wow, 91 and able to enjoy a glass of Whiskey! There could be a lot in what you are saying Bruce. From the articles I've read there seems to be a lot of contradictions. I'm also coming around to the belief that quite a lot of our ailments are brought on by stress! I suppose at the end of the day our fates are really in the laps of the Gods
Mike
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To everybody...Thank you for your thoughs and concerns..You know it's funny but talking about this with you all has eased some of the worry..It was being in the darkness, alone, trying to deal with this ordeal that was the worse part..You people have proven that you are true professionals in many ways..I guess I was just ment to post this here...
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