First Prostate Cancer Indications - July 2006

It was July 2006 that I first saw a Urologist. I knew I had an enlarged prostate which I thought was normal for my age at 60 and especially as my father had operations to reduce the size of his prostate. My doctor had found that my PSA results were a bit high at 7.6 and he urged me to have a biopsy to check for the possibility of Prostate Cancer. As it happened this was just a few days before I was due to leave for an extended stay in Indonesia. A possible business opportunity and a romantic interest in an Indonesian guy was the motivation for the trip. I had sold most of my furniture, packed all my belongings,  given notice to my landlord that I was shifting out and paid for my plane ticket. A biopsy could not be organised in the time I had left in Sydney. What to do? The Urologist advised that the PSA reading was still fairly low and if it indicated cancer it was still at a very early stage. He said it would be ok for me to go on my trip and when I came back in 12 months, arrange to have the biopsy.

Whilst I was away, I did lots of research on the internet and found a lot of advice warning not to rush into decisions about radical prostate treatment. I've since learnt it is not a good idea to delay testing. It's better to know where you stand and get appropriate treatment early. At that time most information indicated that prostate cancer was very slow growing and most men would actually die from other causes before the prostate cancer got them. Also there were many comments that PSA tests were not a reliable indicator of cancer and there had been a tendency for the medical community to over diagnose the problem and rush to radical prostatectomy too soon.

This attitude caused me to not follow up with a biopsy when I returned to Sydney. I was also influenced by comments from acquaintances and also from one doctor, that at my age my prostate was probably not much good to me any more. What ignorance! Maybe heterosexual men are not aware that the prostate is a sexual pleasure centre, but it is a big part of a gay guy's sexual experience.

Other subjects which I will be adding to the blog as I get time to write them.

Rising PSA results

The Biopsy

The Diagnosis

Active Surveilance and Monitoring

The second Biopsy

The Big Decision

Treatment

After Effects

Living with the After Effects

It's Movember. Time to act.

It's Movember.

I should do something to contribute to raising awareness of the men's issues that Movember supports. I was a couple of days late coming to this conclusion, but better late than doing nothing at all. So I started growing my moustache on the 3rd November  and will see how it will progress until 30th November.

It is important to me to raise awareness about the issues with Prostate Cancer for men, especially since in the last 18 months I was diagnosed and eventually treated for Prostate cancer. The treatment finished a few months ago, but I am still struggling with some of the after effects. I was lucky that my cancer was caught before it became too aggressive and it is likely that that the treatment I have had will satisfactorily deal with the cancer. One of the biggest problems for me apart from the initial trauma of finding out that I had cancer was getting my head around the after effects of treatment and dealing with the knowledge that hey would severely affect my lifestyle for the rest of my life.

I would appreciate your help with my Movember campaign. Guys, please consider joining my team and growing a moustache for my team. Girls, you can help by joining my team  and raising awareness and encouraging donations from your contacts and friends.

Join my team at http://au.movember.com/team/1396365
Donate to my team at https://www.movember.com/au/donate/payment/team_id/1396365
Donate to me at https://www.movember.com/au/donate/payment/member_id/8429997/

I have started this blog so I can go back to the beginning and document my recollections of the feelings and issues that had to be faced along the way. Do some research on what the future might bring in dealing with this cancer and mostly make a start on raising awareness of how big this issue is for men and start discussion about it so more attention research and fund raising can be brought to bear to improve the diagnostic tools and treatment options available.