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  2. Had mine checked this year, my father died aged 74 from prostate cancer and started with symptoms about the age I am now.

    I didn’t want my son to go through what I had to go through when my dad was ill so I had the blood test, blood test but happily a negative result.

  5. Another voice to add to the chorus recommending to get it checked. It’s one that can be easily curable if caught early (and not spread out of the prostrate).

    I remember reading somewhere that it’s generally considered that most men will get prostate cancer if they live long enough (although for most it will not cause any problems) and that a “rule of thumb” given in medical school was that 60% of 60yr olds, 70% of 70yr olds etc etc would have some level of cancer. This may be apocryphal and so I will leave to some of the medical professionals on here to correct / comment…..

    • The devil’s in the details. By the rule of thumb above (assuming it’s correct) 80% of 80-year old men would be found to have prostate cancer. That is not to say that it killed them, or gave them symptoms, or that they were ever even aware of it. Hence the problem: if it’s symptom-free, then how to you know you’ve got it? So you have Sir Chris Hoy given a terminal prognosis, with stage 4 cancer that he didn’t know he had: while Feargal is (we assume) caught early and able to be treated. Hence: why not improve your odds and get it checked?

      I admit that I’ve become a prosletyser – anyone following my recent “Blogger Takeover” entries will know why.

  7. It may well be implied in people’s comments but get it checked out and then keep getting it checked every year. The problem with the PSA test is that it’s a snapshot and ideally you would need to be able to time travel back a year and see what it was then.

    • At what age? I’m 58 and it’s never been suggested by the NHS. I can’t remember the last time I saw a doctor but I had my 2 yearly MOT with a practice nurse a couple of months ago. I’ve just had a letter telling me to expect my next bowel cancer screening kit in the post soon but a PSA test doesn’t seem to be automatic in the same way.

      • In your 50s, so go and get one, unless there is any history of it in the family, in which case people should start in their 40s. Not only is it not automatic in my experience for it to be suggested but, for some reason, you may get pushback from the GP surgery.

  8. Like Faeland, I have contrary view, at least until PSA, or its successor, becomes more sensitive, or MRI becomes a more widespread vehicle of screening.
    Most prostate cancers, increasingly so with the age of the “owner”, are relatively benign, indolent even. Many can be watched and waited on to see if they are going to co-exist or want to exert a take-over. This is why screening does not officially exist, the sop being that men over 60 who ask for one should be granted one. If it is subsequently shown to be present, men are offered a choice between “watchful waiting” and instant action. Of course, the c word tends to scramble rational thought, and most men opt for instant surgery. Whether needed or not, not that one can second guess. Risks of surgery include impotence and incontinence, neither of which may have happened with a slow growing pussycat of a cancer.
    Having said, symptoms trump any of this, they tending to suggest an already progression, and so need attention. Often palliative, which, bizarrely, often to has a reasonably long time frame, given the efficacy of hormonotherapy.

    • I understand that PSA is not the most accurate test, but surely it’s still worthwhile as an indicator – especially if it continues to increase over a couple of years. After all it’s a simple blood test (it is standard in most annual health screenings here in Singapore)

      Whilst it should not be used in its own for diagnosis, if it indicates that further investigation is needed – via MRI and subsequently a biopsy if needed – and that catches in the early stages when it’s totally curable, then surely it’s a good thing.

    • I was diagnosed (via a biopsy) in 2008 and opted for watchful waiting, despite the enthusiastic prompting of a Sweeney Todd-alike who was all for whipping it out. I thought about that, but rather to my surprise I was enjoying a fairly active sex life at the time. Elevated PSA 8 years later, by which time I was in Oz, prompted the divine Tania, my specialist with whom I was half in love (it creates a bond, you know), to recommend radiotherapy. 9 years later and my PSA is still bumping around zero, and she said she’ll sign me off if September’s test is good. I’m the poster boy for not hanging about. So it looks like it’ll be the COPD that’ll do me in…

  9. I’ve had the test done by my GP and I’ve had cameras up my Swiss three times in the last few years. Having polyps spotted and removed from my piping got rid of symptoms that I had feared would be a permanent fixture. Regular blood testing by the GP and more recently my workplace are embraced. The only thing to fear is not knowing. I’d do ads for it if asked.

    Does anyone remember the classic joke “it’s not a ring, it’s my watch”?

  10. A reminder that PCaSO do regular testing, round here at least and only ask for a donation. Results are sent quickly via an email link and while the test itself may be imperfect, it’s at least an annual reminder to keep an eye on things.

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