'GUYS' ----- and significant others. You may find this worth reading.

[Jeriatric]

Questioning Medicine:

Prostate Cancer Screening
http://www.medpagetoday.com/hematolo.../47939?xid=ob_

[cuznjohn]

as a prostate cancer survivor for the past 17 years i say go for it. i had a digital exam and everything felt normal to the doctor, but my PSA level was high. after a few weeks the PSA came down and i was told nothing was wrong. but i still didn't feel that was good enough for me being i was 46 at the time. i kept forcing them to do more PSA blood work and it kept fluctuating and the doctor finely did a biopsy, sure enough they found a tumor and off to Sloan Kettering i went to see a surgeon. he told me there was no benign prostate tumors and at 46 the cancer would run through me like a freight train and i need to remove the prostate. he also said the older you are the slower it progresses. so if your a man and want to stay around i would strongly suggest you go for testing and find the best doctor you can find

[wyliec]

My brother's prostate tumor was also caught with the PSA blood test, and was handled with chemo therapy. His PSA numbers fluctuated like yours cuznjohn. Also, some medications, such as testosterone gel, can drive up your PSA, and cause prostate cancer. Blood work is required to monitor the PSA numbers when on this medication and others. This article makes no mention of induced prostate cancer from various medications.

I do agree, however, that the DRE is invasive.

[SNOOPY]

For lack of understanding any of this, is it saying not to have a regular colonoscopy, but to have a blood test to check these PSA numbers?

[cuznjohn]

For lack of understanding any of this, is it saying not to have a regular colonoscopy, but to have a blood test to check these PSA numbers?

your psa level should be between zero and about three to be normal. the day of my surgery the psa was so low the surgeon said if i saw him with a psa level like i had that day, he would of told me to go home and relax. as far as testosterone goes, my testosterone is very low but i can't get a shot to raise it because i had prostate cancer. so if there is one prostate cancer cell in my body the testosterone can activate it and i will be screwed.

back when i had my surgery it was more cut and run not like it is today. men today with the robotic surgery can still function as a man, but for me, there was so much nerve damage done that i have had a dead you know what since the surgery. one of the main reasons i don't date any more, lets face it a lady wants a man that can be a man. but as everyone says, i am here to talk about it so be happy. NOT!!!!!!

PS. if anyone wants or needs info on this please PM me and if i can answer the questions i will

[bruiser]

Ran in to an acquaintance yesterday who told me about his PSA test and resulting prostate cancer. He received radiation therapy only and is now cancer free. I've seen other articles on this same subject saying the same thing. I just had a DRE and PSA test in July. All negative. I don't know many men who care for the DRE. It's very uncomfortable and the only thing it shows is if the prostate is hard or soft. Here's my take, if you can go 10 years between colonoscopies you can go at least that long between DRE exams.

[Jeriatric]

I found the statistical data informative and perhaps helpful.

Am sure we all have a personal story or two to tell. My father was the longest survivor post prostate cancer surgery that I personally have known. I know several who have tried alternative procedures. None with long term, sucessful outcomes, and each passed in five years or less.

Posted this for information purposes only. We all have to react in a way that suits us best. If, and when the time comes.

[cuznjohn]

every man has a different outlook on life. my surgeon, Paul Russo told me i had 3 options, now remember we are talking about 17 years ago. he said i could forget it and let life take it's coarse, i could try radiation or seed implantation, but at the time it was not proven yet to work well, or to put it in the words he used, you can get it the F out of your body. my ex wanted me to go for other opinions but Dr. Russo was a year older than i was, and the way he said it just made me like him, so i had the surgery. i had to wait 5 weeks for the operation, and they were the longest 5 weeks of my life. so like i said if you would do one thing and someone else another it is your decision and no one else

[SNOOPY]

I'm not following, perhaps i thought this was about something else. Guess I need to look up what prostate cancer is.

[Yazz]

If you have a high PSA, some doctors now-days will do a MRI before biopsy to look for cancer and get a better understanding of where to take samples. Better than the old hit and miss type procedure.

*****

On a lighter note...

Went to a Highly Certified Houston Medical Center doc once. Told him I didn't have a prostate. He didn't believe me. Had to check for himself, then charged the insurance $300 for a two second process.

For all you Gents wondering, no it wasn't a good feeling and it didn't save my life. Just put shekels in someone's pocket...