prostrate biopsy

[tcar]

Originally posted by RickM
That was an answer to the prostate health question not PSA level.

Yes, sorry, I wasn't that clear.

There is some (a little) evidence that taking vitaman E, selenium, eating soy, brocolli/cauliflower, tomato paste (catsup/spaghetti) over a long period of time may help prevent it.
The Japanese, who eat lots of fish, soy and rice have very low rates of prostate cancer.

[Leader]

I too was in my mid-50s when diagnosed with prostate cancer last summer. My PSA score had been inching up, but its increases had become more dramatic, often an indicator of something going on. However, my PSA was only 4.2 which is just a little on the high side.
Thankfully, my internist's digital exam during my physical prompted him to refer me to a Urologist at UCLA. Following a biopsy (not my favorite procedure), I was diagnosed with cancer. At my age the radical prostetectomy (surgery) was clearly the best solution.
They removed my prostate, my seminal vesicles, and several nearby lymph nodes. Sounds awful, but it was not.
Following surgery your blood and urine are checked at regular intervals and the PSA is calculated. Almost a year later, I'm still at PSA zero, which simply means, if any of the prostate cancer escaped into my system before the surgery, it hasn't manifested itself yet.
The PSA test is easy and painless...it's just another panel on a routine blood workup. I'd encourage any of you over 40 to ask your doctor to do this extra test every time you have a physical. Then as you age, you can see if your PSA is going up, and more importantly, how fast it's going up.
This form of cancer has NO REAL SYMPTOMS until it's pretty late in the game.
Prostate cancer rates in this country are going up dramatically. I'm betting within a few years, we'll know why. I sure hope it doesn't turn out to be beer.

[stevepaa]

When I get my results, I'll get two opinions. I'll probably want to talk to you guys that have had this. thanks

[BlueSkyJaunte]

So WTF am I looking at here at age 30?

[RickM]

Blue, don't panic until you get it looked at. It's likely nothing.

Even if it is a concern it's better caught now than ten years from now.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Well, I'm not panicking...the Uroxatral lowers my BP which keeps me from getting worked up anyway.

Still, I'm possibly the unluckiest human alive when it comes to beating the odds...

In the past I've suffered a spontaneous pneumothorax...
I've got celiac disease (which also led to IBS)...
Have a nodule on my prostate at age 30...

Fortunately I'm blessed with a loving, supportive wife who also lets me keep a 911 in the garage.

[expat]

Originally posted by BlueSkyJaunte

I've got celiac disease (which also led to IBS)...

Hey Blue..

My daughter now 12, was diagnosed with Celiac's at 6yrs old. What's IBS? (Sorry if I missed this somewhere previous in the thread)

Thanks
Mark

[RickM]

Irritable Bowel Syndrome.......


(from Gluten intolerance?)

[tcar]

Stevepaa and others...

This is a great book - options, causes, choices. Read the parts that apply to you. Excellent

Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer by Dr. Patrick Walsh. There's also a "Dummies" book that's not bad

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by RickM
Irritable Bowel Syndrome.......

(from Gluten intolerance?)

Yep. Severe symptoms started, um, about 3 years ago. Through sheer ineptitude on the part of my doctor(s) it took 4 months to find someone competent who would give me the required blood tests (in the meantime I suffered thru 3 CT scans, an upper GI scan, an ultrasound, and numerous blood tests for everything from H. Pylori to liver cancer). An upper endo confirmed after the endomysial antibody blood test.

My small intestine was dumping so much poorly-digested food into my large intestine that I now have a "sensitive stomach" in addition to having to keep a gluten-free diet. It's mostly under control but when I get stressed out it's a complete nightmare.

[tabs]

Testerone is the culprit.....as we age the male hormone turns against us and is the agent that causes the cancer to grow..thus most lines of treatment are designed to inhibit Testerone...the Pitutary, the Testicles etc....that is the shots and pills line of treatment....of course you cna have your nutz cut off too...But I like removing the Prostate better...as I said a friend of mine has had it done with NO ILL EFFECTS...

There has been a long term Scandinavian Study that is being followed by a new American Study on the effects of Vitamin E...The Scandanavians found a 35% decrease in the incidence of Prostate Cancer from long term use of Vitamin E....10 years or longer to be exact..

Mostly Prostte cancer is contained deep with iin the Prostate...once it hits the Limp nodues it has spread....ironically when Prostate cancer settles somewhere else...the line of treatment is like that of Prostate cancer and not like a cancer that developes in the region it settled in....

[RickM]

Originally posted by tabs
....of course you cna have your nutz cut off too...But I like removing the Prostate better...

If only removing the prostate were as straight forward as nut removal.

Saw the procedure on the tube...it ain't easy.

[stevepaa]

Update

Biopsy shows small cancer probably about the size of a pea. My urologist recommends surgery and he does it by a vertical slice and cut it all out. Other options are do nothing or radiation. I'm 56 and in excellent health otherwise. Any oncologists in the forum?

[jyl]

Hopefully - sounds like - it was caught early? If you want the contact info for my father's oncologist, let me know. He was apparently very good. At UCSF.

[Moses]

Couple of points;

Recent sexual activity can cause an elevated PSA. Abstain from sex for a few days before your test to avoid a false positive test.

Only 3% of men with prostate cancer die from the disease.

Get checked!

[Mule]

Will they be able to get your brain re-positioned between your ears to help correct that left wing thinking of yours?

[Leader]

With all due respect to everyone who's contributed to this thread - there is a lot of myth and misinformation being offered here as fact. While I am no expert, I have been through the process and I learned all I could about the disease before I chose surgery last year.
There are a lot of excellent internet resources on prostate cancer, amazingly, PelicanParts is not one of them.
Talk to your doctor. Talk to a second doctor. Talk to people who've had prostate cancer. Make an informed decision based upon facts.

[Grady Clay]

Note that this is my first OT post ever – I like the 911 Forum much
better. I feel I should add and reinforce here (thanks pwd911s.)

I am a 7-year survivor of my second round with the disease. First
time I opted for radiation therapy. It was pitched to me as
being “less intrusive” by (naturally) a radiation oncologist. Not
only did it not work but damaged other structures.

I had regular 6-month PAS tests and all of a sudden my PSA was
53 and increasing 2.3% of reading per week. I lit in and did my
homework this time. I consulted with all the top Urologic
Oncologists in the country. I read all their papers. I interviewed
them (some weren’t used to that but tough.) Yes, including
Walsh.

After much testing to attempt to determine if there was
metastastic disease (see if it had spread) I opted for Radical
Prostatectomy (surgery.) That worked as hoped and my PSA is
still undetectable (<0.01) after almost seven years. I have no
adverse effects from the surgery.

I am convinced that had I opted for surgery in the first place I
would not have had the very substantial risk of dying form the
disease. Docs will (naturally) espouse the treatment they know
best; surgeons surgery, radiation oncologists radiation therapy,
etc. They are also loathe to bad mouth other therapies. I got to
know the euphemistic phrase “It is up to you to determine the
best therapy for you” as meaning I should follow someone’s
advice. The only way you can make the best decision is armed
with as many facts as possible. Gone are the days where you
nod your head and follow any single person’s advice.

The key is educating yourself. Read the professional papers, talk
to those involved (patients, researchers, docs, etc.) This is a
rapidly changing field and today’s accepted practice may be
changed tomorrow.

Tabs, tcar, joeaska, leader and others are right on with their advice.
The internet is full of worthless junk and just plain bad information.
Be careful. Choose your sources with care. Question everything.

OK, my 2c.

Regular PSA tests are your best advance warning system to
date. These are usually covered by your health plan. I
recommend to my friends (any age) to have quarterly PSA tests.
If your insurance won’t cover that many, they are only $35 if you
beat the bushes. When you don’t have any indication of
prostate cancer you should be collecting this long-term baseline
data. A single elevated PSA measurement is not conclusive. It is
the trend that is indicative of a problem or not.

Lets say you have periodic PSA tests and these are the results:
1.3, 0.4, 1.2, 1.8, 0.3, 1.2, 0.8, 0.4, and 1.3. A little 5th grade
math will tell you the average (mean) is 0.94. If you graph this,
you can see the trend.

IMAGE PSA01


Even if your first test had been 5.0, the mean would still be 1.35.
Looking at the trend you can see that 5.0 would be what the
statisticians call an “outlier” and should be disregarded.

IMAGE PSA02


This is where you should develop consistency prior to PSA tests.
The 5.0 could be due to a 5K bike tour the previous weekend,
great sex the night before, stress, or many other possible
reasons. Don’t believe one test.

IMAGE PSA03


For example you are collecting the results of several years of PSA
tests and all of a sudden you have a PSA 6.0! Not to worry.
Perhaps a few extra tests (“x” marks) will confirm that was an
outlier or the tech misread the result 0.6 as 6.0. A few extra
tests are worth the peace of mind.

IMAGE PSA04


Lets take the example where you had been collecting data 1-20
and you started getting measurements as indicated by the “o”
marks. Note that there isn’t a measurement higher than
previous outliers. It isn’t the absolute number, it is the trend.
When you graph the results, you can clearly see the trend.
Needless to say somewhere about points 23-26 I would start
testing much more often.

Note that 23 is the first point where it is above the new arbitrary
PSA 2.0 number and half the old 4.0 arbitrary number.

IMAGE PSA05


When we track our Porsches, we meticulously graph lap times,
tire pressures, oil temperature, etc. We should do no less with PSA.


Every man dies with Prostate Cancer; no one should die from it.

Best,
Grady

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally posted by Mule
Will they be able to get your brain re-positioned between your ears to help correct that left wing thinking of yours?

It's official, you're the OT board *********.

[pwd72s]

Thanks Grady. With all here now knowing your analytical mind from your tech board posts, I'm sure your input has been well appreciated!