Prostate cancer

A57 the snake said:
Wes streeting is asking the NHS to look at the possibility of lowering the age of PSA testing, especially for those who have a history in their families of prostate cancer , on the Back of Sir Chris Hoys sad story.
Although this is welcomed it doesn’t go far enough as I know for a fact that in my local GP practice I’ve had friends and work colleagues who have been refused PSA tests as they have had no symptoms. I know PSA testing can carry false positives, but surely it’s better to have a false positive than never to be checked until symptoms appear that can be found to be too late in many cases .
My story is that I was 52 when diagnosed with no symptoms . The oncologist from Christie’s was adamant that I’d had this for a few years due to the advancement of it.
Every man should be allowed to be tested from 45 upwards the financial costs of a false positive will far out way the full treatment what I’ve been luckily to have.
I’m emailing my MP to look into this hopefully it will bring more awareness into prostate cancer,
If these people could see the pain and emotional toil it takes on families in the diagnosis when it could have been prevented at an earlier stage hopefully things will change.
Sadly it’s too late for Sir Chris but it doesn’t mean it’s got to be too late for other Men.
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A routine blood test with PSA check showing elevated levels turned out to be a great indicator of prostate cancer in my case. Like you say, so what if there are some false positives, people are better in the system where they can move on to the next levels of checks to rule cancer in/out.

It will be all about money and capacity of course. Is the NHS set up to do loads of routine blood tests and then follow-up scans? Probably not.
 
Also a note to anyone who wants a test, as I've said previously just tell them any bollox to get it done . It could be the best lie you will ever tell . It's in the family or your pissing all night. I got to the point where my doctor was saying the blood test could be a false positive so they won't do it . But they said I could go and pay for a blood test. So I then said so if that's a positive/ false positive where do i go from there . You just have to have a physical examination first. So tell them what they need to hear to get it .
 
RobMCFC said:
A routine blood test with PSA check showing elevated levels turned out to be a great indicator of prostate cancer in my case. Like you say, so what if there are some false positives, people are better in the system where they can move on to the next levels of checks to rule cancer in/out.

It will be all about money and capacity of course. Is the NHS set up to do loads of routine blood tests and then follow-up scans? Probably not.
Click to expand...
Rob
I had quite a few symptoms, urgency, dribble, getting up in the night to pee and when tested had a high PSA (17). Then biopsy and confirmed prostate cancer.

There is a problem relying on PSA as a scanning technique. You can get plenty of false positives. It’s a very difficult decision for clinicians to make. Do you follow up every raised PSA result? How much would that cost the NHS?

When I was diagnosed, my best mate who was quite a bit younger decided to get tested. He had no symptoms at all, a low PSA, but had biopsies which confirmed prostate cancer. Had treatment with HIFU, and is now clear.

It’s a real dilemma for the NHS.
 
CityFil said:
Rob
I had quite a few symptoms, urgency, dribble, getting up in the night to pee and when tested had a high PSA (17). Then biopsy and confirmed prostate cancer.

There is a problem relying on PSA as a scanning technique. You can get plenty of false positives. It’s a very difficult decision for clinicians to make. Do you follow up every raised PSA result? How much would that cost the NHS?

When I was diagnosed, my best mate who was quite a bit younger decided to get tested. He had no symptoms at all, a low PSA, but had biopsies which confirmed prostate cancer. Had treatment with HIFU, and is now clear.

It’s a real dilemma for the NHS.
Click to expand...
Yes, I understand the issues for the NHS and said that in my post. In my case, the PSA was a 100% indicator of Prostate Cancer.

Interesting about your mate. With no symptoms and a low PSA, why did he have further scans and a biopsy? There must have been something that made the doctors want to go that far. Was it a physical exam? No harm in having both if that’s what it takes but yes, it will be a big cost to the NHS.

But then they regularly screen for bowel cancer (from 54) and breast cancer (50?). Why should prostate cancer be any different? Let’s face it, there is currently no screening programme for this - it’s totally reliant on people asking the doctor, which is what happened in my case.
 
Rob
My mate had private health insurance and could have all the tests he needed and yes I think it may have been a digital rectal examination and then a scan, but can’t recall accurately. I’ll try to find out.
 
RobMCFC said:
Yes, I understand the issues for the NHS and said that in my post. In my case, the PSA was a 100% indicator of Prostate Cancer.

Interesting about your mate. With no symptoms and a low PSA, why did he have further scans and a biopsy? There must have been something that made the doctors want to go that far. Was it a physical exam? No harm in having both if that’s what it takes but yes, it will be a big cost to the NHS.

But then they regularly screen for bowel cancer (from 54) and breast cancer (50?). Why should prostate cancer be any different? Let’s face it, there is currently no screening programme for this - it’s totally reliant on people asking the doctor, which is what happened in my case.
Click to expand...
www.nhs-galleri.org

Detecting cancer early

The NHS is trialling a new blood test to detect cancer, often before symptoms appear. Volunteer to take part if you are invited.
www.nhs-galleri.org www.nhs-galleri.org
I was part of this trial and gave my last bloods in July. I received a phonecall in August to inform me that they had detected a dna signal from my prostate and referred me for further investigation, within three days. Finger, bloods mri, psa at 91.5. So hopefully the trial maybe a future screening option. I had no symptoms and to my knowledge no family history.
 
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well i had my prostatectomy yesterday and ive just got home.feeling a bit sore and tryin g to get used to catheter but im having that removed next monday so not the end of the world.ive got to say ive been really impressed by the nhs from the moment my psa came back raised.it shows the importance of early testing.they said they think its contained within the prostate but ill get the results in the new year.
 
city saint said:
well i had my prostatectomy yesterday and ive just got home.feeling a bit sore and tryin g to get used to catheter but im having that removed next monday so not the end of the world.ive got to say ive been really impressed by the nhs from the moment my psa came back raised.it shows the importance of early testing.they said they think its contained within the prostate but ill get the results in the new year.
Click to expand...
 
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