Prostate cancer

TShed said:
Good luck I’m still waiting results of MRI scan probably end up getting the call while on my speed awareness course …… Thursday in Glossop
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Firstly the best of luck mate for the mri scan keep me updated pal,where bouts in Glossop is your course ?
 
A57 the snake said:
Just on my way to the Christie for the first day of a month’s radiotherapy , onwards and upwards. Hopefully this time it’s the beginning of the end of this effing thing.


Up the blues.
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RobMCFC said:
Saw the consultant tonight and he says that he’s pretty sure it’s prostate cancer.

Good news is that the MRI showed that it hasn’t spread to the pelvis, lymph nodes, or anywhere else they can see. Going to have a bone scan to make sure, but he’d be surprised if it shows anything.

What the MRI did Show was a nodule on the cusp of breaking out of the prostate, and another abnormality that he’s less bothered about.

Biopsy on 11th April, results about 10 days later. Likely treatment is radiotherapy but he is leaving the possibility of surgery open.

Overall I feel relieved. I don’t mind telling you I was nervous when I walked through that door - it could have been life-changing. Admittedly, it is going to be a battle probably for the next year, but I feel lucky it has been caught relatively early.

If it needed saying again - don’t leave it too late - GET IT CHECKED.

I suspect that they could have caught this earlier if I’d gone after my 55th birthday, like I told myself I would. But it looks like I’m lucky that it is still treatable.
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Good luck lads. Hope everything goes to plan.
 
A57 the snake said:
Firstly the best of luck mate for the mri scan keep me updated pal,where bouts in Glossop is your course ?
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They do them in the Old Coop Building think they now call it the Glossop Business Centre it’s off the market square opp where The Trap used to be, think they’ve just started doing them I usually go to Debdale Park lol
 
fulabeer said:
After reading these posts before Xmas, i thought i better check with my GP if i've ever had a PSA check. (thanks OP)
I'm 54 now, and had a MOT at 50 etc. The only thing that came back then was raised blood pressure and pre type 2 diabetes. I was 16.5 stone, so decided weight loss was the route to sorting that. I managed to lose 3.5 stone in 9 months.
Both BP and pre T2 diabetes went away.

I had been suffering acid reflux for years, and H.Pylori tests came back negative. Eventually my GP decided a camera down the throat was needed. Within 20 minutes of the biopsies being taken, the nurse said i did in fact have H.Pylori.
I was given two strong antibiotic drugs to treat it. Well it worked!
The downside was that it wrecked my stomach and lower bowel. I got thrush infections above and below that lead to a few piles and an anal tear. That then lead to two surgeries to sort out. (including a camera up the bum)

That was about a year ago. Because i felt "different" down below, i wasn't sure if my changed bowel/urine habits was normal. I had the odd "after" dribble when weeing. But sorted that by making sure i was totally empty and not being rushed/lazy. I then started having the odd "hesitancy" during the night. I decided to contact my GP about my prostate.

Turns out that the PSA wasn't part of the 50 MOT. But i was entitled to a check after 50 years of age.
Just before the PSA check, i got a bout of food poisoning from some buffet food my wife brought home. We were both ill for a week. She recovered, but i went worse.

About a week later, i had the PSA check, and it came back as 3.1. I now know this is the low end of high.
I was told that the limit for further action was 2.9. So i would need another test.
I will admit i was a little worried. I didn't have a good Xmas as i was still ill, and this played on my mind.
A couple of weeks after Xmas i had my second PSA test. This came back as 2.8. Great i thought!
However, this didn't explain other symptoms i had developed. I had been suffering lower back pains for a few months, and pain in my pelvis and right hip. I had just put it down to my age and job. But with the dribbles and hesitancy, i again contacted my GP via the online form.

To my surprise, i got a message back the next day to say come in! I explained everything, and i was asked if i minded being "examined". The only bit i wasn't sure about it was the receptionists being asked to be a chaperone. Apparently they are trained to do it! She found the prostate was slightly enlarged (the GP, not the receptionist!). I was told i would be referred to the hospital for further tests.

I somehow ended up getting seen within two weeks. On arrival i was asked for a Urine sample. I then saw the consultant. I was shocked with his attitude. He explained he was a cancer surgeon and why was i here. He went on to explain that his time was valuable and why did i think i needed to see him!
Taken aback, i explained my symptoms route to his office and that the messages everywhere was get yourself checked out, and that is what i had done. I told him that i had also developed a swollen and sore testicle since my GP appointment. I also said if he wasn't happy, maybe he should take that up with my GP.
He said he "may as well examine me since i was here". After the "examination", he changed his tune. He said that yes i was enlarged, and further tests/scans would be needed. Just then, the results from my Urine came back with blood/protein/Glucose in it. I was told these tests would be done in about two weeks.

The worse part was that i was still very ill since before Xmas. I hadn't been able to work.
I will be honest, although i'm fairly level headed, i was starting to think the worst. My whole pelvic region on the righthand side was painful, i was struggling to eat, and was completely run down.
Because i assumed it was all prostate related, it didn't even occur to me to contact my GP about it!

Amazingly, i kept being offered cancel appointments, so i got all my tests/scans done within days.
With only the camera into bladder taking 14 days. I was so impressed with the speed.

I was told the camera was about the size of a pencil. Fucking liars! It wasn't any smaller than i had had down my throat and up my bum. Hopefully NOT the exact same camera!
When i saw it, i did comment that i didn't think my japs....."penis hole" would take it. He just smiled!
Just to put anybody's mind at rest who may have to have it in future, don't worry.
Yes it will fit. No there is no pain. It is weird and slightly uncomfortable. But compared to the one down your throat, i would have this all day long!

So, that was a few weeks ago.
The results so far are all good. No sign of bladder or prostate cancer. The prostate is enlarged, but that will be dealt with later. Not sure how/why as they are writing to my GP etc.
My testicles have both got fluid surrounding them. They think that will absorb back into the body with time.
They think i've had a Urinary Tract Infection since the food poisoning. If the poisoning gets into the blood, it can cause some of my pelvic problems. My urine has gone from dark tea to almost clear over the last two weeks. I have slowly been feeling better too. I'm going to try and get back to work next week. This might have been earlier if i didn't just put it all down to the prostate and got antibiotics!

I'm also now on Metformin for type 2 diabetes.
I have put some weight back on with the two surgeries i had to have. I couldn't run, so some of it crept back.
I'm hoping to come off them when i can shift the weight again.

So get checked out. It isn't always cancer. The fear of that is putting some off etc.
I always said that no fingers up my bum until i was at least fifty. I think that was just a silly "lad" thing.
We have all had the jokes about having it done. It's a bit of banter, but might be stopping people.
Fingers up the bum and cameras are just not that bad. I dreaded it, but these people doing it are incredible.
At no point did i feel embarrassed. Your dignity is respected at all times.
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Wow. Thanks for this very detailed description of your troubles, and I'm pleased things are starting to improve for you.

My story is not quite as complicated. I fainted twice after running (end of Manchester Marathon, and a month later after running 1km up a hill) so got checked out and found I had low iron in my blood.

I had camera tests in my bowels, and also down my throat. To reassure people, the bowel one is really no big deal. The throat one was very uncomfortable though. No cause was found. I went on iron tablets for about two years, then came off them last year, and when tested again, iron levels had not dropped. I still have no idea what caused the low iron levels.

Like others, I feared having the finger test for prostate cancer. My doctor t told me I could have a blood test for prostate cancer, so I opted for this instead. When I reached 60, I just thought what the heck, have the finger test and eliminate the wait for the results. And it's not too bad after all. I was offered a chaperone, but I declined as there is really no reason not to trust the doctor. The test takes about five seconds, and there is barely any discomfort - probably no discomfort, just a little embarrassment, but the doctor isn't bothered as he/she had done hundreds of these before.

Best wishes to you all of you are going through medical problems. For those of you with any slight concerns, as others have said - get it checked out. It's much better to be safe than sorry.
 
fulabeer said:
I just wonder if PSA tests are so easy to do, why aren't they done routinely?
Even from just this thread, the myth that it's an old mans disease is no longer valid.
The awareness is rising, but GP's need to understand that men are still willing to ignore symptoms.
Therefore we need to start PSA testing much earlier. Even if it's to only give a baseline of when thing start to change.

I'm one of them who never saw his doctor between 20 and 50 (they thought i had left the practice at one point!), yet seem to live there lately. I feel i've had to push them all the way to get the right treatments.
I laugh when i see adverts saying discuss any health concerns with your health care provider. Good luck getting past the receptionist first!

I'm not completely out of the woods yet. I still have many symptoms, and will have to deal with my enlarged prostate eventually. But for now, i hoping for a period of much better health.
I now realise i've been ignoring and neglecting my health. Work pressures and the need to provide for my family have always come first. But reaching 50 has meant that i just cannot do that anymore.

One trick i have found is don't try to book GP appointments. This "phone back tomorrow as all appointments are now gone" bollocks needs to be sorted.
I've found it's best (at least at my doctors) to fill out the online form. They respond within two days, and you can get answers/medicine or a quick appointment.
I've found i'm more willing to discuss something, or get answers to something, that i would never bother getting an appointment for.

The basic fear i've gone through since my pre Xmas PSA test has been awful. I was ok at first, but as the symptoms grew i found it hard to dismiss it. I had three separate things all going on at once etc.
I have every sympathy for people who are dealing with this, or those who are just starting with it...
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My wife is on week nine of an Italian speaking course. The WhatsApp chat with her classmates highlighted that they have never known her without a bad cough. Can she get a doctor's appointment though? No, too late, try again tomorrow. Thanks for the tip about filling out a form. I'll make sure she does that.
 
TShed said:
In keeping with our long history of dark self effacing humour …. Then this article should be very reassuring to us all

www.bbc.co.uk

Japan nappy maker shifts from babies to adults

Since 2011, sales of adult nappies have outpaced those for infants in Japan as its population ages.
www.bbc.co.uk
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I saw that earlier and it set me thinking about a bbc interview with a professor of medicine some short years ago.
He was asked, what is biggest cause of cancer?
His simple reply was, getting old.

I fear that in a competition for NHS services the simple blood test for prostate cancer whilst advertised as needed is not always easily made available.

Caught early prostate cancer is easily treated but when it is left for symptoms to happen it has possibly / probably spread to other areas of the body.

If a standard blood test in the UK now always has a psa check as well I apologise otherwise please fight for this test.

Just an opinion.
 
TShed said:
Lost 10 lb in 10 days diet was ok except post 5 pm stopped all the shite even if it means going to bed at 7 pm lol
Feel better than ever but guess that will be railroaded will get results I guess before Easter
When do you expect yours thought it might have had them already?
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10lbs in as many days is brilliant. Well done. Are you following a particular eating plan?
 
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