Reply With QuoteGo back and redo the questions
*Not the Timelord!*
Speaking with my Doctor today on another matter and asked that given my age, family history, etc, etc, would it be advisable to have a PSA (prostate) test?
Do I get up in the night to wee? No
Do I wet myself at times? No
Any change in bowel habits? No
Any abdomen/groin pain? No
Doctor: "Sorry, there is no pathway for me to recommend you have a PSA test".
I thought that was the point - to get a test before any symptoms occur. So there you go, you gotta have 'a pathway'.
Go back and redo the questions
Aren't there a lot of false positives with that test?
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Go back and insist. I answered no to all of those but insisted on a test as I had three mates at the time of similar age all with prostate cancer.
I have the opposite issue with my docs
I have just turned 40 and they are on the phone every month asking to drain my blood and put their finger up my fundament .
I asked if this was due to the family history of prostate and bowl cancer and they said no, its their standard procedure. I just hope when I do go, he /she has small hands and takes their watch off first.
I had prostate cancer, and had my prostate removed 7 years ago.
At the time, I was getting up in the night to go to the loo more etc.
Went to see the doctors, he did the "finger" thing...said it could be a number of things, prostate cancer among them etc.
Obviously it was cancer. Im pretty sure though, that throughout all my treatment, with surgeons consultants nurses etc etc..I was told that there arent "really any specific symptoms for prostate cancer"..Im eternally grateful for my local G.P. that he sent me for further tests etc, where it was obviously confirmed.
I would have "assumed" that any man of a certain age, regardless of if they are having any symptoms etc, should be able to have a simple P.S.A. test? "Maybe", it will be down to covid? I mean , its hard as hell now ...(for me at least!).. to get an appt. with a nurse....?
Cue the 'What watch should one wear to do a Prostate exam?' thread...Originally Posted by Sinnlover
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
if he wont do a PSA test just ask for a DRE - either /or both of you might enjoy it and your GP can do it there and then.
Obviously a Rolex as you have your trousers taken down just to get one in the first place!
Last edited by Sinnlover; 10th November 2020 at 18:06.
I was thinking of a prostrate test but knowing my doc wears a Ploprof I’m giving it second thoughts!
Seriously though, at 46 I’m thinking of a good MOT as I rarely see a doctor, probably count on one hand how many times I have seen a doctor in the last 20 years..
I would hope you are lying down to have one.
Cheers..
Jase
Prostate cancer is a complex issue - many doctors would not have a prostate exam and even if they found out they have prostate cancer would not do anything about it.
The DRE mentioned elsewhere is not seen as a particular reliable test for most people and in the US at least there have been calls to stop doing it.
I’m going to chime in and say that if you are a middle aged bloke please have a prostate test every year. Either PSA or finger up the bum, much better both. Insist as firmly as you can that your GP does it, or if you are lucky enough to afford it privately, say as part of an annual health checkup, then do that.
I know we can all sound a bit pious and preachy about stuff we feel personally. Even so I’m making no apologies.
I’m coming up to 60. Two of my oldest friends were diagnosed with prostate cancer in the last 5 years. One had it picked up in an annual health check. His PSA was up a little up on previous years. On further investigation some cancerous cells were found. He has it regularly checked and eventually it will need treatment but he has no other ill effects.
My other friend didn’t have annual checkups. He went to the doctor feeling under the weather, as a generally fit and strong guy. His PSA was 100x the normal level. He died less than 12 months later.
Forgive the sermon, but please get checked, just like women do for cervical and breast cancer.
https://prostatecanceruk.org
I was recently prompted to consult my doctor by the Missus to get a prostate examination, so called them up and they immediately forwarded me a blood test form and details to book in for the test. The doctor said that the rectal examination wasn't really used much nowadays as it is far from accurate, unless one already has a substantial issue in that department. The PSA test seems to not be particularly foolproof either , but a place to start. She ( the Doctor) couldn't have been more helpful and I am sure she and her colleagues were busy ,in their North London surgery. A conversation is to be had next week about the results , which will include a number of other blood related tests.
I answered no to the questions a few years back,my psa is very high,get it checked gents.
Our local pub held a PSA day, went for a test confident that all was well. It turned out that I had prostate cancer. My sister had breast cancer and this was a family link.
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DO you really want a test that is not as useful as you think, may make you worry more than the disease itself and isn't available "on demand" in our NHS for a reason?
" The United States Preventive Services Task Force has analyzed the data from all reported prostate cancer screening trials, principally from the PLCO and ERSPC trials, and estimated that, for every 1,000 men ages 55 to 69 years who are screened every 1 to 4 years for 10 to 15 years (7):
About 1 death from prostate cancer would be avoided
120 men would have a false-positive test result that leads to a biopsy, and some men who get a biopsy would experience at least moderately bothersome symptoms from the biopsy
100 men would be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Of those, 80 would be treated (either immediately or after a period of active surveillance) with surgery or radiation. At least 60 of these men would have a serious complication from treatment, such as erectile dysfunction and/or urinary incontinence.
Source: https://www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/psa-fact-sheet
There is a right time for the test, and you by the sounds of things aren't at it.
Screening tests are very carefully controlled by Professors. Not us.
Have a read of this: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-popu...ening-timeline
and have a look at the science behind screening.
or, just go with what your GP says
Last edited by The Doc; 10th November 2020 at 19:22.
Digital, obviously.
I’m 62 and have prostate cancer, missed by many of my Dr’s until a young locum Dr, four years ago felt it was necessary that I was tested.
I was diagnosed with a slow growing tumour. My PSA is checked every six months and at the moment ‘we’ are happy, my team are brilliant. It’s called active surveillance.
Every male should get checked at forty and every five years after.
Or in the words of Clint Eastwood “Do you feel lucky punk? Well do yer?”
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No, I'm sorry, but they shouldn't.
In the absence of symptoms it is a poor test and please read this everyone.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prosta...r/psa-testing/
Get test
Get result you can't interpret or trust
Have unnecessary biopsies and incontinence or erectile dysfunction.
Wife worries without reason
Die 25 years later of something else.
That's the conundrum about PSA
I had my prostate removed seven months ago. PSA test results started rising over the past few years, but no significant symptoms. Doc ordered a biopsy in January, found some small tumors on one side. Tumors were rated moderate in January. I had the surgery in April and the pathology report indicated the tumor(s) reached Stage 3.5! I was lucky to catch it in time - - no residual cancer and PSA of <0.01.
Over 40? Get annual PSA tests and digital exams, if possible.
Really.
Two of the mates I referred to earlier got a check because the third one had been diagnosed. They both tested positive and one ended up having seed brachytherapy.
That doesn’t sound unnecessary.
So as The Doc says it probably isn't in your best interest to have it done without any symptoms. False positives (i.e. a positive test despite there being no disease) will likely lead to an unnecessary biopsy which could have lots of complications including pain and erectile dysfunction. That is why pathways exist and why we don't screen for everything all the time.
The UK Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme specifically says that:
- GPs should NOT proactively raise the subject of PSA testing with asymptomatic men.
- Asymptomatic men over 50y can have a PSA test if they request it, after carefully considering the implications of the test.
- Before PSA testing, men should be told the advantages and disadvantages of testing.
Last edited by watchstudent; 10th November 2020 at 20:28.
The problem is not about individuals - the debate is that if you look as men *as a group* its contested if testing causes more problems overall than they solve.
Investigation and treatment options have changed in recent years. A special type of MRI scan is increasingly offered before a biopsy. If your PSA is only up a little it may just need monitoring regularly.
By all means make an informed decision about what you do after a positive test, but not wanting to know if there is a decision to make seems a bit short sighted to me.
Check out the website I linked to earlier for pros and cons of testing.
I read pretty much everything medical study I could after my dad got prostate cancer - the treatments ruined his life - so I don't plan to have one and I'll work off the odds - that something else will kill me before prostate cancer.
ok so i am 64, just diagnosied ( 6 weeks) with PC ( i acually went to doc with no symptoms , but a shoulder complaint! thats not related), glesson 6, low grade, low volume, T1&T2 cells in left side only, put on active surveillance which is latest thinking at my stage of PC,i will test every 4 months MRI once a year . got a letter from the consultant which states i will likley need on treatment in my lifetime ! two ways to read that, LOL
its likley i have had it for a while ( years)but has been picked up now so it can be monitored
its important you know and deal with it, it does mess your head up be warned ! but DONT leave it too late !
time line, physical exam ( the finger) was ok, PSA test 7.9 sent for MRI, MRI ( showed areas of concern to warrent biospy), biopsy ( most unpleasent i found but i am a wuss) confirmed PC inleft side. all undertaken, diagnosied & plan put in place within 6 weeks.
Last edited by mitch1956; 10th November 2020 at 20:44.
You're wasted here.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
You are two-thirds correct Matthew.
This post is sponsored by Hecks Farmhouse Cider.
What he said - he's spot on.
Screening is an extremely complex subject, and there are good reasons for the protocols/recommendations currently in place.
(DOI: I've been an Intensive Care doc for 30 years, and have a little experience of harms arising from medical interventions)
Best wishes,
Martyn.
Some people will pay good money for that!
That reminds me - your club subs are due. Can you put them in the box next to the lube tube next time you are in.
I had one from the Graham Fulford Charitable Trust as part of a radio programmes I was producing. They attended a 3 day even across the county to deliver tests to people who may not have been able to have one delivered by a doctor.
They do similar events so if you do want one, and your doctor won't give you a test, then it's worth looking them up.
My GP wont do it, their health check that they offer for men over 40 is a height/weight and blood pressure , nothing more.
Had mine removed 5 years ago, now 5 more yearly PSA tests till I hit the magic 10 years.
Just so you all know, I was told the following by the Urologist that did my op "Almost every man when he passes away will have some form of prostate cancer, it might not have caused the death but it will be there"
My first one was carried out by the Harley Street company doctor of the place where I worked at the time. His equivalent smalltalk was to tell me, at the critical moment, that he had had this same finger up the bums of the entire senior management team.
Last edited by alfat33; 12th November 2020 at 15:42.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I hope he'd washed it!
______
Jim.
I’m very sorry to hear about your dad, it sounds a horrendous time for your family. I can understand why you don’t want one.
My mate was in hospital yesterday for an op on his prostrate, seems to a 6 monthly thing, I asked can’t they just take it away? Seems his doctor prefers this regular treatment method and won’t do the major type surgery, it’s a pity because my mate suffers for several weeks after a flair up before he gets surgery.
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