For Older Blokes
Created | Updated Jun 24, 2003
You may be interested in this email that I sent to my cousin in Canada.
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Thanks for yours just before christmas it crossed Bet's annual message.
Sorry we haven't emailed you before but if you read the following account you will realise that we have been otherwise occupied.
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Introduction : Generally fit, enjoying a reasonable quality of life. Usual old age problems, a bit of backache, fall asleep watching TV, only need about 5 hours of sleep a night, more if I play golf or do other exercise during the day. Loss of sex drive and peeing pressure. Reasonable appetite and regular bowel movement. Nothing to complain about. Annual medical check (Mid Dec. 02). This year doc. added prostate check (PSA level) to a normal collestoral and sugar blood test.
Result : PSA high, see consultant, body scan, biopsy. Bad news prostate cancer, good news it is contained to the prostate area but can not be left on 'wait and see' policy. Needs treatment.
Outcome : End Jan.03 - Signed up for an ongoing Clinical Trial. Medical definition " A randomised trial of hormone therapy plus radical radiotherapy versus hormone therapy alone in non-metastatic prostate cancer ". Which means that I am to undergo long term hormone therapy. This is basically chemical castration to stop production of testosterone ( the cancer feeds on this ) and aims to reduce and hold the PSA value below 4. It is the standard treatment recommended by the consultant. There are side effects but nothing life threatening. I can have Viagra on prescription if needed. There are hundreds of men on this form of treatment. A computer will decide whether I am to undergo radiotherapy as well. The trial is to see if this has any added benefit. My consultant is of the opinion that it doesn't but is in favour of the trials. The benefit to me is constant specialist attention and supervision with services on call if needed at any time.
Facts: 4 out of ten men over 70 have prostate cancer. Many die with it but not because of it, something else catches them out. Ideally the PSA reading in your blood should be less than 4. Mine is currently 40+ but it can be in the high hundreds even 1000+ (you would be seriously ill at that level). This simple PSA level blood test is not an infallible check but the book says that levels over 7 can be suspect. Our GP refers levels over 7 to the specialist and is offering checks to all men over 40 years old.
Prognosis : Don't worry. Can be controlled but not cured. Keep up the treatment and lead a normal life.
I've started phase one - A 14 day course of pills with the first injection to come after 7 days.
Bet and I are well in command at the moment. Will keep you posted.
No sympathy please.
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And his reply.
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Thank you for yours, and OK, no sympathy.
Strange to relate, the first paragraph or so, it could have been an account written by myself. A good deal of backache, a lot of falling to sleep watching TV. Sex drive went a while back and I have to get up through the night to pee, and I pee two streams instead of the usual one.
So, I went to the doctor, and this goes back a couple or three years, and had that indignity of the fickle finger, on several occasions, I was getting some irritation in the urethra, so off to see the specialist, a Dr. L''', who put me up in birthing stirrups and along comes a big ugly nurse with a white wash brush and an, "is that all" look on her Polish face and then Dr. L''' came in with an endoscope, which was two sizes too big and went to work. It was not too bad until he turned the corner, but he pressed, no pushed, on, right up to the maker's name, said I had benign prostate enlargement , gave me a prescription and sent me on my way rejoicing.
Well, his pills did not clear the irritation, but a load of antibiotics from the family doctor did, and we never did find out what the cause was.
Then this having to get up through the night continued to bother me, our Pete has the same problem, so back to the family doctor, now we are talking as recent as last summer, and he has had the old chimney swept too. Had the fickle finger again and he said the prostate was OK, so I said, do a PSA, which he did, and it went away and came back within limits. Then I got him to put me on a pill, Terazozin, which did some good, but not enough, so he upped it to 2MG, and now I can sleep through to about 6 a.m. They told me that this pill was actually developed for heart problems, but found it was good for benign prostate enlargement too. I do find that I can't hold my water as well as I used to, I often have to stop on the way home after a beer, and I never drink more than a pint at a session, Ditto, working around the house, you get the feeling you have to go; if you can think of something else you can get by, but usually it is get in there before you pee your pants, and for Christ's sake, never put your Y fronts on back to front!
Your statement that something else will get you before the prostate cancer does is quite true, from all I hear. The gentleman who sits next to me in the choir, is now about 84, a retired orthopaedic surgeon, and actually you met him at Huddersfield, was up in the stirrups same day as me three years ago, and he has had it for years, and they told him the very same. Come to think about it, Uncle Hib had some sort of prostate trouble back in 1956 or 57, had an operation, but died of something else altogether, thirty years later.
Sister Kath's husband has just been treated for trouble in the same area, and is doing just fine, doesn't have to go back for another year.
Well, we do hope that everything goes well with the course of treatment you are starting, they do seem to be giving you the best of attention.
You know, the PSA test is something that is getting to be very important, highly recommended and all that, but the Ontario Health Scheme does not pay for it, you have to get it done, pay for the lab fee, and claim it back from your insurance company, seems bloody stupid to me.
All the best and keep us posted.
.
I could and should go on , but it is getting late and I come from doing a plumbing job in the basement, which did not go without snags.
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Thanks for yours just before christmas it crossed Bet's annual message.
Sorry we haven't emailed you before but if you read the following account you will realise that we have been otherwise occupied.
-------------------------------------------
Introduction : Generally fit, enjoying a reasonable quality of life. Usual old age problems, a bit of backache, fall asleep watching TV, only need about 5 hours of sleep a night, more if I play golf or do other exercise during the day. Loss of sex drive and peeing pressure. Reasonable appetite and regular bowel movement. Nothing to complain about. Annual medical check (Mid Dec. 02). This year doc. added prostate check (PSA level) to a normal collestoral and sugar blood test.
Result : PSA high, see consultant, body scan, biopsy. Bad news prostate cancer, good news it is contained to the prostate area but can not be left on 'wait and see' policy. Needs treatment.
Outcome : End Jan.03 - Signed up for an ongoing Clinical Trial. Medical definition " A randomised trial of hormone therapy plus radical radiotherapy versus hormone therapy alone in non-metastatic prostate cancer ". Which means that I am to undergo long term hormone therapy. This is basically chemical castration to stop production of testosterone ( the cancer feeds on this ) and aims to reduce and hold the PSA value below 4. It is the standard treatment recommended by the consultant. There are side effects but nothing life threatening. I can have Viagra on prescription if needed. There are hundreds of men on this form of treatment. A computer will decide whether I am to undergo radiotherapy as well. The trial is to see if this has any added benefit. My consultant is of the opinion that it doesn't but is in favour of the trials. The benefit to me is constant specialist attention and supervision with services on call if needed at any time.
Facts: 4 out of ten men over 70 have prostate cancer. Many die with it but not because of it, something else catches them out. Ideally the PSA reading in your blood should be less than 4. Mine is currently 40+ but it can be in the high hundreds even 1000+ (you would be seriously ill at that level). This simple PSA level blood test is not an infallible check but the book says that levels over 7 can be suspect. Our GP refers levels over 7 to the specialist and is offering checks to all men over 40 years old.
Prognosis : Don't worry. Can be controlled but not cured. Keep up the treatment and lead a normal life.
I've started phase one - A 14 day course of pills with the first injection to come after 7 days.
Bet and I are well in command at the moment. Will keep you posted.
No sympathy please.
========================================================================
And his reply.
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
Thank you for yours, and OK, no sympathy.
Strange to relate, the first paragraph or so, it could have been an account written by myself. A good deal of backache, a lot of falling to sleep watching TV. Sex drive went a while back and I have to get up through the night to pee, and I pee two streams instead of the usual one.
So, I went to the doctor, and this goes back a couple or three years, and had that indignity of the fickle finger, on several occasions, I was getting some irritation in the urethra, so off to see the specialist, a Dr. L''', who put me up in birthing stirrups and along comes a big ugly nurse with a white wash brush and an, "is that all" look on her Polish face and then Dr. L''' came in with an endoscope, which was two sizes too big and went to work. It was not too bad until he turned the corner, but he pressed, no pushed, on, right up to the maker's name, said I had benign prostate enlargement , gave me a prescription and sent me on my way rejoicing.
Well, his pills did not clear the irritation, but a load of antibiotics from the family doctor did, and we never did find out what the cause was.
Then this having to get up through the night continued to bother me, our Pete has the same problem, so back to the family doctor, now we are talking as recent as last summer, and he has had the old chimney swept too. Had the fickle finger again and he said the prostate was OK, so I said, do a PSA, which he did, and it went away and came back within limits. Then I got him to put me on a pill, Terazozin, which did some good, but not enough, so he upped it to 2MG, and now I can sleep through to about 6 a.m. They told me that this pill was actually developed for heart problems, but found it was good for benign prostate enlargement too. I do find that I can't hold my water as well as I used to, I often have to stop on the way home after a beer, and I never drink more than a pint at a session, Ditto, working around the house, you get the feeling you have to go; if you can think of something else you can get by, but usually it is get in there before you pee your pants, and for Christ's sake, never put your Y fronts on back to front!
Your statement that something else will get you before the prostate cancer does is quite true, from all I hear. The gentleman who sits next to me in the choir, is now about 84, a retired orthopaedic surgeon, and actually you met him at Huddersfield, was up in the stirrups same day as me three years ago, and he has had it for years, and they told him the very same. Come to think about it, Uncle Hib had some sort of prostate trouble back in 1956 or 57, had an operation, but died of something else altogether, thirty years later.
Sister Kath's husband has just been treated for trouble in the same area, and is doing just fine, doesn't have to go back for another year.
Well, we do hope that everything goes well with the course of treatment you are starting, they do seem to be giving you the best of attention.
You know, the PSA test is something that is getting to be very important, highly recommended and all that, but the Ontario Health Scheme does not pay for it, you have to get it done, pay for the lab fee, and claim it back from your insurance company, seems bloody stupid to me.
All the best and keep us posted.
.
I could and should go on , but it is getting late and I come from doing a plumbing job in the basement, which did not go without snags.
