Prostate cancer update GET TESTED! PLEASE READ

[Graham Orm]

If my brother had not been routinely screened he would be dead now. That's all the information I think I need. My judgement will be based on first hand personal experience....not a book.

There will always be varying opinions, but to try and talk people out of having a check for cancer just for the sake of appearing knowledgeable is insane. As I stated earlier, (again from first hand experience), waiting for symptoms is often fatal.

 

[bugbear]

If my brother had not been routinely screened he would be dead now. That's all the information I think I need. My judgement will be based on first hand personal experience....not a book.

What - because induvidual cases trump collated statistics?

I'm afraid I want health policy based on careful analysis, not gut feel, no matter how upsetting.

BugBear

 

[Flynnwood]

If my brother had not been routinely screened he would be dead now. That's all the information I think I need. My judgement will be based on first hand personal experience....not a book.

What - because induvidual cases trump collated statistics?

I'm afraid I want health policy based on careful analysis, not gut feel, no matter how upsetting.

BugBear

What makes this so difficult and complex, is that:

It depends on which side of the statistics you are on.

Best regards.

 

[Graham Orm]

If my brother had not been routinely screened he would be dead now. That's all the information I think I need. My judgement will be based on first hand personal experience....not a book.

What - because induvidual cases trump collated statistics?

I'm afraid I want health policy based on careful analysis, not gut feel, no matter how upsetting.

BugBear

What makes this so difficult and complex, is that:

It depends on which side of the statistics you are on.

Best regards.

Correct.

 

[johnphilip]

Two months ago i was treated for prostrate cancer. i chose to have the seed implants. There is only two hospitals in scotland. I was very thankfull that i was chose to have this done. It was done in edingburgh, they only do two ops a week.
Time will tell how things turn out.

 

[KevM]

Two months ago i was treated for prostrate cancer. i chose to have the seed implants. There is only two hospitals in scotland. I was very thankfull that i was chose to have this done. It was done in edingburgh, they only do two ops a week.
Time will tell how things turn out.

Best of luck, I've heard great tthings about that treatment protocol.

 

[Graham Orm]

Two months ago i was treated for prostrate cancer. i chose to have the seed implants. There is only two hospitals in scotland. I was very thankfull that i was chose to have this done. It was done in edingburgh, they only do two ops a week.
Time will tell how things turn out.

My brother made a full recovery. Best of luck, glad they caught it.

 

[bugbear]

If my brother had not been routinely screened he would be dead now. That's all the information I think I need. My judgement will be based on first hand personal experience....not a book.

What - because induvidual cases trump collated statistics?

I'm afraid I want health policy based on careful analysis, not gut feel, no matter how upsetting.

BugBear

What makes this so difficult and complex, is that:

It depends on which side of the statistics you are on.

Best regards.

The odds of head vs tail on a coin toss are 50%.

If you toss a coin and it come up heads, the odds were still 50%, even though 100% of your tosses were heads.

An induividual coin toss is CLEARLY either head or tail, not "half a head".

BugBear

 

[Graham Orm]

Each to their own BB. My conscience is clear having brought this to peoples attention.

 

[gregmcateer]

All good that we are keeping aware of as much info as possible.
Thanks to Grayorm and Bugbear for keeping the debate going and maintaining polite, no-insulting discussion - I certainly appreciate all input, whatever 'side' one is on.
Thank you
Greg

 

[Flynnwood]

What - because induvidual cases trump collated statistics?

I'm afraid I want health policy based on careful analysis, not gut feel, no matter how upsetting.

The odds of head vs tail on a coin toss are 50%.

If you toss a coin and it come up heads, the odds were still 50%, even though 100% of your tosses were heads.

An induividual coin toss is CLEARLY either head or tail, not "half a head".

BugBear

You can't simply compare the statistics of health and diagnosis/treatment with the tossing of a coin because of "time".

If a coin was tossed in the year 1736 or 1842 or 2014, the statistical probability is the same.

With health (and time) the statistics change.

The statistical probabilities of successful cardiac treatment (in the 1970's) were a certain number based on the knowledge at the time.

The statistics today (with current treatments) are very different to back then.

If you don't believe me, go speak to a senior cardiac consultant who is old enough to know how heart conditions were treated in the 1970's compared with today.

So it really does "depend on which side of the statistics you are", because at any point in time there will be a certain 'position' in relation to the probabilities.

Best regards,

 

[lanemaux]

Hi Johnphillip , great to hear you got the treatment course you wanted (or so I read it ) .Am I correct to think this is the pellets of radiation therapy type? Would love to know how you get on with that. They have me on abdominal needles monthly of the type they give pedophiles to kill their testosterone completely. I can attest that they work fine , in that regard at least. Not had a genuine impure thought in near 2 years now. As far as the prostate cancer goes , still a bit up in the air. Got a really good PSA last month , but that was the first that the doc gave without a shake of his head since this gymkana started. My number one tip once you already know you have the disease is humour. Depression is sneaky as hell and a genuine PITA that harms you in real and tangible ways. There is no sense in letting it in easily. That may sound simple , and it really isn't, but it has helped me and by extension many others around me (if my reviewers can be trusted). So go out and do things that make you smile amigo , best medicine without prescription you can find.

 

[bugbear]

What - because induvidual cases trump collated statistics?

I'm afraid I want health policy based on careful analysis, not gut feel, no matter how upsetting.

The odds of head vs tail on a coin toss are 50%.

If you toss a coin and it come up heads, the odds were still 50%, even though 100% of your tosses were heads.

An induividual coin toss is CLEARLY either head or tail, not "half a head".

BugBear

You can't simply compare the statistics of health and diagnosis/treatment with the tossing of a coin because of "time".

If a coin was tossed in the year 1736 or 1842 or 2014, the statistical probability is the same.

With health (and time) the statistics change.

The statistical probabilities of successful cardiac treatment (in the 1970's) were a certain number based on the knowledge at the time.

The statistics today (with current treatments) are very different to back then.

Agreed completely - I was implicitly talking about the current health stats in the links provided by RogerS.

BugBear

 

[johnphilip]

Hi Johnphillip , great to hear you got the treatment course you wanted (or so I read it ) .Am I correct to think this is the pellets of radiation therapy type? Would love to know how you get on with that. They have me on abdominal needles monthly of the type they give pedophiles to kill their testosterone completely. I can attest that they work fine , in that regard at least. Not had a genuine impure thought in near 2 years now. As far as the prostate cancer goes , still a bit up in the air. Got a really good PSA last month , but that was the first that the doc gave without a shake of his head since this gymkana started. My number one tip once you already know you have the disease is humour. Depression is sneaky as hell and a genuine PITA that harms you in real and tangible ways. There is no sense in letting it in easily. That may sound simple , and it really isn't, but it has helped me and by extension many others around me (if my reviewers can be trusted). So go out and do things that make you smile amigo , best medicine without prescription you can find.

hi mike, and thanks, yes its the treatment that the O P was saying his brother had. Brachytherapy
years ago when you went to see a specialist they said were are going to do this, now they give you the choice of how you would like it treated . the treatment i had can only be done if the cancer is still in the prostrate ,and how you score on the tests they do.
i was very gratefull the young lady doctor at the practice picked it up. some doctors would just keep an eye on it i.e. your psa levels.
ok the op, they inplanted 62 seeds into me , the amount of seed depends on how bad it is .one of the last tests the do is a pee test to see how your "flow" is . if you pass that test then every thing goes ahead. why they need to do this is because after the OP ,your pee slows down for want of a better word, you are given a 10 day course of antibiotics.
and some tablets to help you pee.
after 2 months the seeds go down to 50% . and in about 8 to 12 months they then become zero. the seeds are metal covered in plastic , and stay there for the rest of your life . you get tests every few months to see how your psa levels are, they say for the first maybe 6 months the level will rise . it can take over a year for it to come back to normal. after about six to eight weeks after the OP they become more aggresive ,and you start to feel more tired. i am lucky i dont have to go out to work.
to be honest at the moment i do not think to much about it , i have been luck to be treated and am trying to get on with my life . i have loads of hobbies from woodwork to metal detecting to clay pigeon shooting . some i can do and others i get tired , so the ones i can not do , i am members of forums like this , and keep intouch with my friends on them .i am 63 and belive i have lived a good life had my ups and downs, the ones i feel are the young children who get cancer and have a very short life . they are the ones to me who bring a tear .bless them ...........................last thing to all get it checked

 

[Mr_P]

Just watched a Bill Bailey prostate cancer ad on the telly

http://menunited.prostatecanceruk.org/

Take a quick online test and they donate 50p

Only 5 questions, must be busy stuck /locked on no.5

Edit oops clicking the figure not the man helps

 

[finneyb]

BBC Radio 4 9.00pm tonight - Inside Health includes '.......Also in the programme Mark talks to Mark Emberton at University College London Hospital in London about the PROMIS trial into the benefits of using MRI to scan men's prostate gland to detect cancer. '

Or you can listen later at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03s742d

Brian

 

[stevebuk]

Hi all
I have just turned 60 and everything functions perfectly well with me so I am asking if there are symptoms that you need to look out for that would make you want to take the test, or do you just go for it..

 

[finneyb]

Hi all
I have just turned 60 and everything functions perfectly well with me so I am asking if there are symptoms that you need to look out for that would make you want to take the test, or do you just go for it..

Try para 4 & 5 http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Cancer-of- ... ction.aspx

Brian

 

[lanemaux]

I thought that I might use this thread to impart some positive news on the subject. It seems as though the treatment program they have me on is having some effect. For the last 2 years and a bit I have been getting needles in the abdomen , radiation (2 months last year ) and a newish drug called Xtandi for the last 6 months or so . There were a number of other things that were tried as well , just can't name them (memory is not what it once was). A year ago my PSA was coming back in the 250 range. My last PSA was 40 . The graph looked like a profit chart for Blackberry. RESULT!!!