I have 2 friends with prostate problems. One had zero symptoms until he found blood in his semen, then tests etc showed cancer. Luckily it hadnt spread but the surgery and after effects are very unpleasant and debilitating. Other guy had a test after this happened and found his prostate was not happy so went into a drug programme, the effects of which are also unpleasant. But catching it earlier is much better than the surgery. Both my father and grandfather had prostate problems which luckily didn't develop further in the time between finding this and them passing for other reasons. After seeing the result of late discovery I want to know earlier. And if it means paying or being a nuisance to the NHS, so be it
...so now it's out there - blood present within semen is an extremely strong indicator that you might have cancer, and every GP would take this extremely seriously and requests further tests immediately. This is not a scaremonger post and i know second-hand that with the help of Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP) it's possible to reduce and stop any further growth often for the remainder of life, even with the above symptoms.
So I will speak even slower. Your “head in the sand” attitude is not my opinion but quoting your very own words. if your GP surgery actively discourages you phoning them you definitely need to complain either to the practice manager and/or the NHS. I’m sorry to hear that you also have psychological problems but at the end of the day you need to get yourself tested one way or another.
With a family history your odds are less than one in eight or one in four if you are black. If you are over 50 your right to a test is written into the NHS constitution even if you don’t have any symptoms. Do not delay.
@Chris I had never heard of HoLEP until you included it in your recent post so I investigated it further, being an inquisitive bugger. I found that It’s basically keyhole surgery to remove a large percentage of the prostate gland with a laser. The one major difference to other keyhole operations is they don’t have to cut themselves a keyhole as they use an existing orifice! Helpfully this document gives you in’s and outs of the procedure. One further piece of information I came across that piqued my interest was about the magnitude and trend of cyclic PSA testing levels. Previously I had mentioned that it wasn’t just the magnitude of the reading but also how that fitted in with the other previous and subsequent measurements but wasn’t sure of what they were looking for. This paper explains what BUT I’m very conscious of the publication date which is over a decade ago. However, if you read it you will see that their data was limited and with further examples they hoped to be able to draw firmer hypotheses. I will investigate further and come back with my findings.
Did you know that the drug Abiraterone is available if you live in Scotland or Wales. In England you can go whistle. Why? Because our politicians won’t pull their fingers out. Meaning 670 guys will die every year solely because they live in England. “Two years ago, the drug’s patent expired – meaning the cost of each pack to the NHS plummeted from thousands of pounds to around £77. An independent study by The Institute of Cancer Research said the drug would not only save lives but actually reduce NHS costs because more men would be cured and no longer need life-long treatment for more advanced prostate cancers.“ So money is not the issue. I won’t bang on about it anymore as you can read the PCUK Newsletter for yourselves.
Not long ago I buried my dad following a very fast and aggressive throat cancer. Today, I got a call from my biological dad who informed me he, and his brother have prostate cancer. Looks like it's time to get checked!
You may find that a PSA test is all that is needed to decide on future action. However, the DRE is nothing to concern yourself about, doesn’t take long and doesn’t hurt.
