One in eight...

[Cyclops]

I had a high PSA reading about four years ago - had the disgusting internal examination and the even more disgusting biopsy at the Heath and the even more disgusting infection. So glad that the results came back clear. I wondered whether the high reading had been caused by riding my bike a day or two before the bloods. Anyway, I wanted to get the PSA down and while there are drugs, my doctor for some reason didn't seem interested in prescribing them. So I started a course of saw palmetto. My PSA went down to 6 and dropped slightly every six months until January when it it was up to 7.5. Oh dear! The regular peeing is a fact of life now, and before a match for example I stop drinking around 11.00 or I'll spend half the game in the bog. It can be frustrating as only last Saturday I'd dearly have liked to have been bought a pint in the Canton before the game by one of my fans, but this was impractical.

[Dublinblue]

Thanks for sharing Bobh - just want to add my voice to the clamour saying 'men over 50 - get your PSA done'.

Prostate cancer killed my Dad at 78 (helped on his way by an arrogant incompetent consultant at Singleton Hospital, but that's another story), so I've been getting fairly regular PSA tests. I'm 53. I live in Dublin.

Last May my PSA was a bit high (although the finger-up-the-bum test didn't alarm my GP) so my GP referred me to a local 'rapid access clinic' for a biopsy. It came back normal, but my PSA was still high in a subsequent test so they sent me for a MRI in November. That showed something odd, but no obvious sign of cancer, so they sent me for another biopsy earlier this month, targeting the area that looked a bit odd on the MRI. Am awaiting the results. I should point out that I feel fine, I ran 13 miles yesterday, I've no other symptoms bar peeing a bit more frequently at night, which my GP tells me is common for men as we age.

If my Dad had done a PSA test earlier, he might well still be around, and he'd have been spared the suffering of dying of prostate cancer.

Lads over 50, get a PSA test. Don't die of ignorance / inertia.

[CCFC_Urawa_Reds]

Prostate isn't too serious if they catch it early, right? I'm pretty sure there's medication that can hold it off for 20 - 30 years (even without eradication).

[the other bob wilson]

Prostate isn't too serious if they catch it early, right? I'm pretty sure there's medication that can hold it off for 20 - 30 years (even without eradication).

I'm not aware of medications that treat/prevent prostate cancer successfully. After my scare a couple years ago, the consultant recommended that I had a PSA every six months because it is a fair bit higher than expected for someone my age, but he believed it would stay within a range he was happy with - anything above a certain level in two successive tests would see me going back to Urology. presumably for another biopsy.

Having had an all clear from an earlier biopsy, it is thought I have benign prostate enlargement (BPE), a condition which can "mimic" all of the warning signs of cancer. There is medication which I understand softens the gland, thereby lessening the symptoms, if they become too bad, but I can live with what I have currently - the not drinking anything for an hour or two before a game that Cyclops talked about is something I've become familiar with in the last couple of years though!

Prostate cancer can have no symptoms, but if you experience any of these;-

a weak flow when you urinate
a feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
difficulty starting to urinate
dribbling urine after you finish urinating
needing to urinate more often, especially at night
a sudden urge to urinate – you may sometimes leak before you get to the toilet.

I'd recommend to anyone that they get a simple blood test to check your prostate. I had two of the above symptoms for years and did nothing about them (it needed me to start pissing blood before I went to my GP), but I was lucky - the good thing is that if it's caught early enough, prostate cancer can be overcome, or lived with, in the vast majority of cases, it becomes a real problem if it spreads into other areas.

[bobh]

Just got back from my 6-month re-check.
Still clear

They don't want to see me again for year.

Benefits of early discovery, eh?

Prostate isn't too serious if they catch it early, right? I'm pretty sure there's medication that can hold it off for 20 - 30 years (even without eradication).

True-ish.


It has been said that men don't die OF prostate cancer, but with it.
Meaning the PC itself won't kill you, but if it's untreated, it will grow and eventually break out of the prostate gland and spread to more critical parts of the body - where treatment is less easy, has more side-effects, or is even impossible. It is these secondary cancers that kill you.

[Cleve van Leef]

[jeepster]

Great news.

[Llanedeyrnblue]

[bobh]

Raising an old thread from the depths of CMB...

Just want to share some good news - I got discharged from Velindre yesterday

My GP will continue with annual PSA tests, but as far as Velindre are concerned, I'm clear!!



Sorry to sound like a scratched record, but if you're over 50 and haven't already done so, GET YOUR PSA TESTED.

[Lawnmower]

Raising an old thread from the depths of CMB...

Just want to share some good news - I got discharged from Velindre yesterday

My GP will continue with annual PSA tests, but as far as Velindre are concerned, I'm clear!!



Sorry to sound like a scratched record, but if you're over 50 and haven't already done so, GET YOUR PSA TESTED.

Fantastic news. 👍

[Bald Barry Bastad]

Great news. Good to hear.

[Cleve van Leef]

Raising an old thread from the depths of CMB...

Just want to share some good news - I got discharged from Velindre yesterday

My GP will continue with annual PSA tests, but as far as Velindre are concerned, I'm clear!!



Sorry to sound like a scratched record, but if you're over 50 and haven't already done so, GET YOUR PSA TESTED.

Fantastic news

[valleys caveman]

Raising an old thread from the depths of CMB...

Just want to share some good news - I got discharged from Velindre yesterday

My GP will continue with annual PSA tests, but as far as Velindre are concerned, I'm clear!!



Sorry to sound like a scratched record, but if you're over 50 and haven't already done so, GET YOUR PSA TESTED.

Nice one Bobh

[blue matt]

great news

Enjoy life

[jon1959]

[the other bob wilson]

[The Bob Banker Spanker]

Raising an old thread from the depths of CMB...

Just want to share some good news - I got discharged from Velindre yesterday

My GP will continue with annual PSA tests, but as far as Velindre are concerned, I'm clear!!



Sorry to sound like a scratched record, but if you're over 50 and haven't already done so, GET YOUR PSA TESTED.

Brilliant news Bob!

[The Bloop]

Great news 👍

[B. Oddie]

Bobh, I heard that those hormones they've put you on could make you grow another dick, so there really is light at the end of the tunnel.

Grateful to you for posting this though. Us lads tend to ignore this issue when we shouldn't. The more coverage there is, the more treatments there'll be!

[Dorcus]

Great news Bob!