Long read, but read it all! it will save some lives on this forum.
Basics about your Prostate, the only function of your prostate is to supply the creamy fluid when you ejaculate, sperm is added to it down the line, thats it! Now since it is part of your digestive system everything you eat goes thru it in the chemical form. there lies the problem! our diet is the leading cause of Prostate Cancer. Number one cancer in men! Prostate cancer usually takes 12-15 years to grow and grows slowly and it is very treatable if you catch it early and keep it from getting outside your prostate. it is still curable if you dont catch it early but the treatments are much harder and something you really dont want.
PSA, every guy over 40 should know this word and what it means. Prostate Specific Antigen, that is a chemical your prostate puts out and is very easy to read in any blood work up. Cancerous cells put out higher PSA than normal cells and will reflect in you blood work and will throw up a flag that more testing is needed.
Digit check, plain and simple the doc puts his finger (or Digit) up your ass and feels your prostate for any inlargement, DO NOT think that that is the only test you need, you must get your PSA numbers also. I had a digit test every year from 40-52 years old and it never reflected anything, it was my high PSA number that got my Doctors attention.
So my PSA comes in at 4.1 at my annual physical (start at 40 no matter what your doctor says) doc says your PSA is high, what is high I say, 4.0 is the threashold he says, you need to see a uroligist. so he has my attention, I dread going to get possible bad news, but hey I have always been proactive about my health. go to another doc and he instantly wants to do a biopsy. HOLD on I say, I need to educate my self. so I wont bore you with all the details, but I proceded to educate myself over the next 6 months and talked with all the friends who had it or a family member who had it and so on. Read the book Surviving Prostate Cancer by DR. Patrick Walsh, about as thick as a phone book but very informative. fired the first doctor and found the best in the country for a second opinion. I still had not proceded to the next step, Biopsy. after meeting with the new doc and learning all I could, I had to know so I set up the biopsy.
Biopsy, anywhere from 8-24 very long needles (10-12inches)up your ass thru your colon wall into your prostate to extract tissue samples. not pleasant and you are not put under. Week later results back-POSITIVE!
Little bit about me, 52 very active, work out at the club 3-4 times a week since I was 19, competative Racquet Ball, excellent condition 6-2 228 pounds. I take my health very seriously and live life to the fullest. HOW can this happen to me? THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART, Prostate cancer does not only pick on sick people or fat people or who ever. So I have it, my only thought was, get it out of me.
Options
-have it removed completely (thats what I had done)
-radioactive seeds implanted in your prostate (dont want radiation)
-drastic diet change (does not get rid of the cancer)
-Syber Knife radiation (dont want radiation)
-Cyrogenetics (freezing it)
and there are a few more, all but the surgery have to many unknowns for me, and surgery is not for everyone. you must be healthy enough for it, it is major surgery when they remove a organ from your body,even though it is very small.
long story short, I had it out, I blazed thru recovery and was home the next day, helped alot that I was in good shape. the side effects are not what i want, but I am alive and cancer free and never had to have any radiation. to this day a year and a half later, I wear a pad for urin leakage and have never had an erection since surgery and probably never will.
so, start getting checked at 40 and ask for your PSA numbers. you must know the number so when it starts up you can get ahold of it and beat it. there is so much more I could tell you all about diet and death that I have seen from guys who did not pay attention. If any of you have questions I can answer I would be happy to on a IM message. I am not a doctor, but when you are told you have cancer you learn all you can about it and you become very passionate about it.
Basics about your Prostate, the only function of your prostate is to supply the creamy fluid when you ejaculate, sperm is added to it down the line, thats it! Now since it is part of your digestive system everything you eat goes thru it in the chemical form. there lies the problem! our diet is the leading cause of Prostate Cancer. Number one cancer in men! Prostate cancer usually takes 12-15 years to grow and grows slowly and it is very treatable if you catch it early and keep it from getting outside your prostate. it is still curable if you dont catch it early but the treatments are much harder and something you really dont want.
PSA, every guy over 40 should know this word and what it means. Prostate Specific Antigen, that is a chemical your prostate puts out and is very easy to read in any blood work up. Cancerous cells put out higher PSA than normal cells and will reflect in you blood work and will throw up a flag that more testing is needed.
Digit check, plain and simple the doc puts his finger (or Digit) up your ass and feels your prostate for any inlargement, DO NOT think that that is the only test you need, you must get your PSA numbers also. I had a digit test every year from 40-52 years old and it never reflected anything, it was my high PSA number that got my Doctors attention.
So my PSA comes in at 4.1 at my annual physical (start at 40 no matter what your doctor says) doc says your PSA is high, what is high I say, 4.0 is the threashold he says, you need to see a uroligist. so he has my attention, I dread going to get possible bad news, but hey I have always been proactive about my health. go to another doc and he instantly wants to do a biopsy. HOLD on I say, I need to educate my self. so I wont bore you with all the details, but I proceded to educate myself over the next 6 months and talked with all the friends who had it or a family member who had it and so on. Read the book Surviving Prostate Cancer by DR. Patrick Walsh, about as thick as a phone book but very informative. fired the first doctor and found the best in the country for a second opinion. I still had not proceded to the next step, Biopsy. after meeting with the new doc and learning all I could, I had to know so I set up the biopsy.
Biopsy, anywhere from 8-24 very long needles (10-12inches)up your ass thru your colon wall into your prostate to extract tissue samples. not pleasant and you are not put under. Week later results back-POSITIVE!
Little bit about me, 52 very active, work out at the club 3-4 times a week since I was 19, competative Racquet Ball, excellent condition 6-2 228 pounds. I take my health very seriously and live life to the fullest. HOW can this happen to me? THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART, Prostate cancer does not only pick on sick people or fat people or who ever. So I have it, my only thought was, get it out of me.
Options
-have it removed completely (thats what I had done)
-radioactive seeds implanted in your prostate (dont want radiation)
-drastic diet change (does not get rid of the cancer)
-Syber Knife radiation (dont want radiation)
-Cyrogenetics (freezing it)
and there are a few more, all but the surgery have to many unknowns for me, and surgery is not for everyone. you must be healthy enough for it, it is major surgery when they remove a organ from your body,even though it is very small.
long story short, I had it out, I blazed thru recovery and was home the next day, helped alot that I was in good shape. the side effects are not what i want, but I am alive and cancer free and never had to have any radiation. to this day a year and a half later, I wear a pad for urin leakage and have never had an erection since surgery and probably never will.
so, start getting checked at 40 and ask for your PSA numbers. you must know the number so when it starts up you can get ahold of it and beat it. there is so much more I could tell you all about diet and death that I have seen from guys who did not pay attention. If any of you have questions I can answer I would be happy to on a IM message. I am not a doctor, but when you are told you have cancer you learn all you can about it and you become very passionate about it.
