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Great news !
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
Yes. And no.
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
And if a lack of awareness is a problem, there's an obvious UB40 track that they can use...
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.