One in eight...

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Originally Posted by bobh

Just got back from my follow-up consultation.

Yeeeee Haaaaaaaa!

I'm clear!:thumbup:
:kev::malky:

Obviously, I'll be monitored for probably the rest of my life, but for now I'm clear.

If nothing else, I hope this thread has either urged "men of a certain age" to get tested, or reassured anyone going through treatment that there is hope.

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good news, happy for you

what is the " certain age " though / ??

Great news Bob. Really happy for you.

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Originally Posted by bobh

Just got back from my follow-up consultation.

Yeeeee Haaaaaaaa!

I'm clear!:thumbup:
:kev::malky:

Obviously, I'll be monitored for probably the rest of my life, but for now I'm clear.

If nothing else, I hope this thread has either urged "men of a certain age" to get tested, or reassured anyone going through treatment that there is hope.

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:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by jon1959

Thanks for sharing that, and very good advice.

From what you have described it does sound as if you have done all the right things and caught it very early. Fingers crossed but you should be fine.

http://www.ccmb.co.uk/images/smiley_icons/thumbup.gif

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There are a few fellow sufferers on this board. By the sound of it you will be ok but will be given several trwtment options, from do nothing to surgery. You can pm me anytime, but my best advice is for you to get in touch with
local prostate suppport group. You will find them a massive support.

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Originally Posted by bobh

...of us men will get prostate cancer sometime in our lives.

Well, if that stat is correct, 7 of you lucky bastards are in the clear!

My PSA* was tested over a few months, and was fluctuating in the "slightly over normal" range. Though not dangerously high, my GP referred me for further tests.

So I had a flow rate test (You pee into a machine) and internal examination. Again, I was told there's nothing obvious, and was asked if I wanted to have my PSA monitored by regular blood tests by my GP, or I could opt for a biopsy.
I asked for the biopsy - after all, the earlier anything wrong is detected, the easier it is to treat.
Well, they routinely take 8 - 12 samples, in my case they took eleven. Uncomfortable, but not painful, and my pee was tinted pink with blood for about 10 days (this is normal).
A couple of weeks later, I went for my results.
Who do you think I saw there?
None other than my GP - as a patient! No wonder he had "lowered his threshhold" for referring patients.
My results?
Of the eleven samples, ten were clear.
The eleventh showed signs of cancer.
I've since had MRI and bone scans, results in about 2-3 weeks.

But, going by the marginality (is that a real word?) of my tests, I'm hopeful (and hoping) that this potentially horrible condition has been caught early enough, not just to treat, but to cure.
Telling my wife and kids(all adults) has been the hardest part, and they've taken the news harder than I have done.

I still have to tell my mother and sisters, but I'll wait until I know more before giving them the news.


So, any of you approaching a 'certain age' - get your PSA tested, it could save your life.

I'll keep you posted.

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Best of luck, excellent advice regarding getting tested early, I had the news yesterday that a friend of mine has approx. 4 weeks to live (pancreatic) I was talking to him 2 weeks ago today about his plans for the future, a god damn awful disease that is taking far too many.

Nice one Bob :thumbup:

Really pleased for you and your family - now go and celebrate:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by blue matt

good news, happy for you

what is the " certain age " though / ??

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I seem to remember 50 being mentioned to me at the Hospital when I had my scare a couple of years ago, but if you're younger than that and find that you're getting up at least once most nights to take a piss, it might be worth going for a blood test

Cancer is a terrible disease but at you you have a few options to cure it.I was diagnosed with COPD which is a progressive non reversable disease

Fantastic news. :thumbup:

Great news !

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Originally Posted by welshwarrior

Cancer is a terrible disease but at you you have a few options to cure it.I was diagnosed with COPD which is a progressive non reversable disease

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My old man has COPD and he found that taking Serrapeptase gave him some relief, he could get about more, had more energy. The COPD is not going to go away, but he's improved a lot since taking the Serrapeptase and he's 80 years old. Might be worth looking into mate :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by blue matt

good news, happy for you

what is the " certain age " though / ??

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I am 61 now, 60 when I had my first PSA tests.

But leaflets I've picked up suggest any man over 50 can ask his GP for a test.

If there is a history of cancer (any type) in the family, I'd speak to my GP as early as possible - he may advise earlier tests to be on the safe side.
There isn't much to go on as far as symptoms, but, as mentioned elsewhere, a need to pee more often than usual can be a sign.

Great that you have the all clear and it's also really good that from now on you will have regular check ups.
Couldn't agree more on the advice. I have been checked for prostate cancer twice and had a finger inserted where the sun doesn't shine. It was uncomfortable but lasted for no more than a minute. One moments discomfort to potentially save your life is a no brainer.

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Originally Posted by bobh

I am 61 now, 60 when I had my first PSA tests.

But leaflets I've picked up suggest any man over 50 can ask his GP for a test.

If there is a history of cancer (any type) in the family, I'd speak to my GP as early as possible - he may advise earlier tests to be on the safe side.
There isn't much to go on as far as symptoms, but, as mentioned elsewhere, a need to pee more often than usual can be a sign.

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Yep I was 50 and that is the age when doctors take it seriously.

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Originally Posted by bobh

I am 61 now, 60 when I had my first PSA tests.

But leaflets I've picked up suggest any man over 50 can ask his GP for a test.

If there is a history of cancer (any type) in the family, I'd speak to my GP as early as possible - he may advise earlier tests to be on the safe side.
There isn't much to go on as far as symptoms, but, as mentioned elsewhere, a need to pee more often than usual can be a sign.

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Is the need to pee just in the night?By the way so glad you had good news.

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Originally Posted by jeepster

Is the need to pee just in the night?By the way so glad you had good news.

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No - any time, just more often than usual, and especially the need to go back just after you've been.
One of the first tests at Urology was a "flow rate" test. You have a few glasses a of water, when you feel like you are 'busting', you pee into a machine that measures the flow. a constant flow that trails off is normal, stop-start could be a problem.

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Originally Posted by bobh

No - any time, just more often than usual, and especially the need to go back just after you've been.
One of the first tests at Urology was a "flow rate" test. You have a few glasses a of water, when you feel like you are 'busting', you pee into a machine that measures the flow. a constant flow that trails off is normal, stop-start could be a problem.

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Thanks for that i need to go more but still piss strong as hell.

Great news. The regular checks offer peace of mind as well as making sure it doesn't come back.

Brilliant news! I think all men past a certain age start worrying about this and I've known two people who died of this nasty little disease after it had spread. So good advice to keep getting tested and certainly a great call to have the biopsy early.

I hope that's it with the big C for the rest of your life and you can go back to an increased appreciation of the good things that life has to offer :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Mrs Steve R

That's great news, well done Bob :-)

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Just to say well done Bob.
There are a few of us old blokes on here with prostate cancer. Can I just suggest one thing, that you get in touch with your local support group, who are a mine of support and information.
And to all you blokes over 50 on here, get yourself down to the doc for a check up. There can be no obvious symptoms.
And to all the wives on here, make sure your old man goes. Refuse conjugal rights, if necessary, until he listens.

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Originally Posted by jeremy corbyn

Just to say well done Bob.
There are a few of us old blokes on here with prostate cancer. Can I just suggest one thing, that you get in touch with your local support group, who are a mine of support and information.
And to all you blokes over 50 on here, get yourself down to the doc for a check up. There can be no obvious symptoms.
And to all the wives on here, make sure your old man goes. Refuse conjugal rights, if necessary, until he listens.

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:yikes: Steve is going to love you for that :hehe: He's not 50 yet but I will definitely add it to my list of things to nag him about.

This was on the Beeb's site this morning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36105272


I hope this thread has done something towards addressing this 'unawareness'.

Great to hear your news Bobh.

I thought I knew a bit about it but was then surprised to learn that black men are twice as likely to suffer from the disease.

I did know about the stop-start peeing being a strong indicator of PC and regularly see blokes down the football or pub who struggle at the urinal and take ages to go, whilst I (fortunately in this case it seems) still pee like a Karcher jet washer, but if that changes I'll be straight down the doctors.

Is it right that they feel for an enlarged gland as proof?

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Originally Posted by Arfur Europe

Great to hear your news Bobh.

I thought I knew a bit about it but was then surprised to learn that black men are twice as likely to suffer from the disease.

I did know about the stop-start peeing being a strong indicator of PC and regularly see blokes down the football or pub who struggle at the urinal and take ages to go, whilst I (fortunately in this case it seems) still pee like a Karcher jet washer, but if that changes I'll be straight down the doctors.

Is it right that they feel for an enlarged gland as proof?

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Yes. And no.:hehe:

The gland will naturally get bigger as you age without causing any problems, but cancer does cause it to enlarge as well. But the old finger-up-the-arse is one of the tests they do, I believe not just to feel enlargement, but to feel for lumpiness. (I could be wrong)

I can't understand why the NHS doesn't screen men at say over 60 for prostrate and testicular cancer as they do for women's cancers

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Originally Posted by Llanedeyrnblue

I can't understand why the NHS doesn't screen men at say over 60 for prostrate and testicular cancer as they do for women's cancers

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I asked this very question at Velindre - they couldn't give an answer.

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Originally Posted by bobh

I asked this very question at Velindre - they couldn't give an answer.

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I guess that as there's more awareness there's more funding?

And if a lack of awareness is a problem, there's an obvious UB40 track that they can use...

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Originally Posted by BlueWales

Made me think of that small fish in South America which swims up your piss if you slash in the river and then gets lodged in your penis. http://www.ccmb.co.uk/images/smiley_icons/sad.gif

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It's a myth, of course.

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Originally Posted by Arfur Europe

Great to hear your news Bobh.

I thought I knew a bit about it but was then surprised to learn that black men are twice as likely to suffer from the disease.

I did know about the stop-start peeing being a strong indicator of PC and regularly see blokes down the football or pub who struggle at the urinal and take ages to go, whilst I (fortunately in this case it seems) still pee like a Karcher jet washer, but if that changes I'll be straight down the doctors.

Is it right that they feel for an enlarged gland as proof?

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Do you hire yourself out for patios?

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

Do you hire yourself out for patios?

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:hehe:

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Originally Posted by bobh

I asked this very question at Velindre - they couldn't give an answer.

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National Institute for Clnical Excellence (NICE) issue guidelines for treatments of all sorts of conditions. As things stand there is some dispute over the worth of screening every man, given the psa test in itself is not that good a guide for the likelihood of prostate cancer.
Until a more accurate test is designed, and some are already under trial, it will not be the norm for men over a certain age.
Responding to an earlier question, you are right in saying that a swollen prostate in itself means nothing. However if the doctor feels lumpiness when a rectal examination takes place, that can be a good guide that a tumour is present.
I am a mentor for my local group in West Wales. I would strongly recommend that anyone with any concerns gets in touch with their group, even those whose cancer may have been dealt with. The psychological problems sometimes never go away.

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Originally Posted by jeremy corbyn

National Institute for Clnical Excellence (NICE) issue guidelines for treatments of all sorts of conditions. As things stand there is some dispute over the worth of screening every man, given the psa test in itself is not that good a guide for the likelihood of prostate cancer.
Until a more accurate test is designed, and some are already under trial, it will not be the norm for men over a certain age.
Responding to an earlier question, you are right in saying that a swollen prostate in itself means nothing. However if the doctor feels lumpiness when a rectal examination takes place, that can be a good guide that a tumour is present.
I am a mentor for my local group in West Wales. I would strongly recommend that anyone with any concerns gets in touch with their group, even those whose cancer may have been dealt with. The psychological problems sometimes never go away.

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Is there any research going on to find a better test?

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Originally Posted by Arfur Europe

And if a lack of awareness is a problem, there's an obvious UB40 track that they can use...

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Bumbadingmadonna?

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.

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.

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).

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Originally Posted by 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).

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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.

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

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

Benefits of early discovery, eh?

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Originally Posted by 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).

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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.