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The beginning of a journey


Aussiex

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Well here goes, nothing can strike fear into a mans heart like the words from your doctor that you are more than likely getting around with a dose of Prostrate cancer.

 

I know I am not the first nor likely to be the last and there are probably some here who have suffered much more than me, I consider myself lucky.

 

The signs? None, nothing, no signals to say hey mate, drag your sorry arse in and get tested......the only warning, the old man getting a very large growth removed, along with his prostrate in what the doc described as a 9/10 seriousness case.

 

So cruise in and ask my doc for a check, rubber glove, ky and a finger up the date....all clear, whew. But, we will send you for a blood test just to be sure.

 

Blood test comes back and it's an elevated PSA reading, alert but not alarmed, get another test in 6 months and we'll see.

 

6 months later, back for another test and the reading has gone up by 50%....fuck! Another test to check for free psa, a better indicator of the likelihood of the big C and it's well out of whack....fuck! Best we get you looked at by a urologist Mr Aussiex.

 

Living in remote areas is such a joy when you need to see specialists, hours of driving, overnight, drive back.

 

Urologist is pretty matter of fact.

 

Family history - Strike one

Rising PSA - Strike two

Free PSA up to shit - Strike three

Prostrate has a nice lump on it - Strike four

 

Well now, we need to look a bit further, most likely scenario is cancer, biopsy is the next step to see what's going on there.

 

So that's my first blog post. Head to town tonight and tomorrow get the biopsy done.

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Feeling for you Aussie.

 

All men should treat prostate checks like women with their breast screening - start getting it checked from age 50 on-woods.  The moment my dr. felt my prostate getting slightly enlarged, started annual PSA checks. Mine has been rising slowly for 15 years, but now at 65 getting close to the top of "normal" range, so going to monitor it 6 monthly. Putting off biopsy for now.

Started taking "Prostate Ease Max" 6 mths ago and my PSA level has now stabilised, so will be interesting to see the next 6 mthly test results.

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Chin up. A close family member of mine was cured of Prostate Cancer several years ago.

 

Agree with Sir Tom that all men should get checks from 50 yrs. I seem to remember that there is a very good average survival rate if it is caught early enough.

 

Some general things that I have heard on the topic recently.

 

I was advised by a friend to go see a Urologist early (before 50) so he could establish a base-line of what my healthy prostate felt like. Apparently they vary a lot from person to person. I arrive at the Urologists office and he is surprised to see me, and he tells me just get PSA tests every year until I'm 50 will be good enough.

 

Apparently the prostate examination is not a very good test because the Doc can only feel about 33% of the Prostate. If the lump forms away from your rectum he won't be able to detect it.

 

The PSA tests can give false positives and this has been the cause of many a freak-out apparently. My Urologist was quite clear that the PSA test seriously needs improving, but it is still worth having them done regularly.

 

Good luck with it though.

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Thanks for your post. This is an important issue for all men. A guy I went to school with died two weeks ago from prostate cancer at age 54. He had been battling the disease for about 4 years.

I have a strong family history so have been aware of the risk for some time. Got my latest blood test results yesterday. All good. PSA had a slight rise over two years ago but still low. Doctor says no reason for concern.

I hope all goes well with the biopsy.

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Wishing you all the best for the biopsy aussie and hopefully you're all good. Thanks for your blog.

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Thankyou to those that have commented, I didn't know if the blogs are read by many but I can only hope to share the experience and encourage others to get themselves checked. Guess it means I will be growing a moustache this November for sure

 

The waiting game is on, had the biopsy done and when the doc says to you "it's a bit uncomfortable" he wins a gold star for understatement. It's a big spring loaded needle, similar to the one they use to prick your finger for a blood sugar test, except it's used to take 18 samples of the prostrate to see where and how bad the problem is.

 

That's the bad news, 6 hrs after and it was feeling pretty normal, except for pissing and crapping a bit of blood, The weird thing is the news that it takes a while for the blood to clear the system in other areas, namely when you ejaculate. Doc says to me how you clear the pipes is up to you but it's a numbers game, the more you do it, the faster it's back to normal. So apologies to the two lovely ladies I had to cancel on for this weekend as while function is normal, it might freak even the best out to see blood on the money stroke.

 

So now I wait. Results should be back in a day or two and then the decision about the best path to take.

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Sorry to see you are going through this, Aussiex; hopefully all will go well for you. At least it's been treated already, so chances are better. I reckon that from 50 onwards, prostate check blood tests should be included alongside sugar and cholesterol tests regularly, and bypass the idea of the GP checking manually. I'm sure it's the latter that keeps guys thinking not to bother until they feel some symptom themselves.

 

I should start worrying about this too; maybe like some past government figure said, it's a matter of finding a female GP with small hands. ;)

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Monday night sitting watching telly and phone rings about 8.00pm....hmmm, who rings me this hour? Specialist is on the phone, tests back positive, two tumours...fuck!

 

Another cross country drive Tuesday for bone density scan and CT with the warning to not nurse small children or hug pregnant women for 2 days due to radioactive shit they pump into you to highlight the bone densities. Other than that a painless day of tests.

 

Call from Urologist in the morning to say he wants to see me once done. Sit down and he says the best option is to have the prostate out. No plan B, no other option but a much better chance of zero future problems.

 

Can't help myself and blurt out that the number one thing I am shit scared of is losing the sex mojo. Apparently things have come a long way in this respect and nerve sparing surgery means that in most case, function returns over time.

 

So now, need to wait for the prostate to settle down after the beating it copped from the biopsy and schedule surgery for about 12 weeks time. In the meantime, have read everything I can find on natural or jungle juice cures and have been stuffing my face with them......can only hope can't you?

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Assiex,

 

Hopefully you've got an understanding woman, along with some great friends, who can help you through the follow up process.

The medico's are great at this stuff, these days, so you should expect a successful conclusion.

Good luck!

 

Bye the way, the statistics indicate that at 50, 50% of men have prostate cancer. They just don't know it. A very small proportion of them will die of prostate cancer, most will die with it.

 

All men should have it checked by an intelligent doctor and specialist. Good luck with that....

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I feel for you, Aussie.  Best of luck with this.   I totally applaud the natural approach.  Why not?  You don't even need to be thinking about a cure necessarily... the healthier you are, the better you will be at dealing with whatever comes your way.  Having said that, there are a lot of claims that lifestyle, including diet and nutrition can help in a big way... including total remissions.  This is what I would do if I were in your position. 

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Thanks for the eye opener Aussiex, we all think it will never happen to us I suppose. Its a male thing to just pretend we'll be rite.

Hope it all goes well.

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Aussie ,Like they said things have come a fair way .Again very tough on you with surgery but we can only hope everything pans out well for you. Good luck with everything.

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Thinking of you hon.

I know what this kind of battle is like. It's scary as hell and you'll be out of action for a little while, but well worth it in the end. And with the advances they're making in medicine these days, particularly surgery, I'm sure you'll be back in the saddle in no time ;)

Stay strong babe <3 xxx

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Lucie, Iva, Jaqueline and all who have commented, thankyou so much for your words of encouragement, very much appreciated. Have had the opportunity to talk with two guys who have had the  same surgery recently and strangely enough, the chance to share the journey here amongst people, some of whom I have met, others I have not, has been a great tonic in a stressful time.

 

So now waiting for a chance to talk to the surgeon in Brisbane, book some dates and get this shit done. Despite my specialist who has done the work so far being wonderful, I have asked to be referred his associate as he does the robotic method of surgery, 4 small cuts, less intrusive, less recovery time and the fact he is one of the best in the country gives me some level of comfort.

 

Thanks again to everyone, it means a lot.

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Hey Aussiex, only just found your blog and been going through it, wishing you all the best and sure you will bounce back as good as ever. I understand the feeling when the doctor tells you that you have cancer as I am a cancer surviver myself. Not prostrate but testicular cancer, but still when the doctor says you have cancer it can be quite shattering, it was for me at least. You seemed to find yours early, which is a major factor in recovery I believe, it was in my case and I know the feeling of "will it all work again" as I have had the affected one removed altogether. In my case I got over it very well and quickly, with the only side effect being, I have to carry my car keys in my left pocket for balance so I don't walk around in circles :) But seriously all is fine with me as you may find with a few reviews that I have written, and I am sure you will be back into it soon enough yourself, writing a few for us. Keep us informed as you are going through this with a lot of support here.

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Cheers Pat, thanks for the info, the fear of the "what if's" is the worst of it. I know most / many come through it and out the other end and I have gone with one of the best surgeons so have done my best to stack the odds in my favour.

 

Have bought a very expensive bottle of red in anticipation of the second coming, labelled "erection wine".

 

First review post surgery will be a celebration for sure

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