Best Posts in Thread: Prostate Cancer

I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer about 6 years ago, before coming the the Philippines. I started my research by visiting 3 specialist in Southern California. each being the leader in a different approach to cure it: Robotic surgery removal of the prostate, use of radiotherapy beads, and radiation therapy. However it was soon apparent that the medical field is not a warm and fuzzy care field but a infomercial commercial endeavor. At least one doctor puts the bums rush on me for an operation. I then visited a fourth a group of doctors that specialized in Prostate Cancer but did not do any invasive surgeries. Their comment was that I would "die with it, but not because of it". I am currently living not as a survivor of Prostate Cancer, but a person living with prostrate cancer surviving in me, as I enjoy a good quality life.

Cancer is a scary word, but must be put in perspective. Prostrate Cancer can be very slow growing, but there are various types. My suggestion would be to monitor it. Do research on where you prostate cancer is located within the prostrate, and the type and speed of growth. Most people die from prostate cancer that escapes into the bones, and other locations of the body, which is why location is important. I also suggest carrying a baseball bat into any doctor's office where the conversation will include Prostate Cancer, because they will try to get you on the operating table, particularly here in the Philippines. When I looked into the eyes of the doctors I talked about prostate Cancer with i generally do not see compassion, I kept seeing seeing "" staring at me and a big smile on their faces. The worst was the one in Dumaguete who immediately want to operate on me, without any information but my comment that I have been diagnosed with prostate Cancer. Prostate Cancer is the Cancer that has built mansions for doctors.

I take it seriously (my brother died from it, my dad had it when he died at 92 years old) but I would not further risk my life here in the Philippines by having it operated on prematurely, by anyone that I did not have the highest confidence in the medical ability. First and foremost after you heart has returned to a normal pumping process after hearing you have prostate cancer is to determine what type you really have and location. There are many types and they are definitely not the same. Yes, people die from it, as my brother did, but monitoring it and getting second opinions is as important as stopping an unqualified doctor cutting on you, because of emotional panic.. DO NOT PANIC.. We can pretty much agree that medical procedures, particularly in Dumaguete and the Philippines in general can be risky, so do not increase your medical health risks by being operated on too early, or with un-qualified medical programs.

Anyone interested in more information please feel free to PM me here. Prostate cancer is no more of an immediate death sentence than eating those high cloestral eggs we have warned about for year until recently.

PS: Just to put thing into perspective, after being diagnosed I applied for a life insurance policy of half million dollars that will extend to when I am 85 years old, currently I am 43, opps that was a keybroad blunder , I mean going on 70. . I was approved for insurance. They had my medical records in making their judgement to insure me, and risk their money. I do not think insurance companies take unfounded chances or risks. I trust the insurance companies educated guess on my survival rate to be better than most doctors that want instant income through operations. So again stay calm and talk to your local insurance bookie.

PS2: I was told that if I had an operation, I may never get an erection again, may lose control of my bowels temporarily , and may have a hard time controlling my urine flow , thus requiring the wearing of diapers. I am a salesman in the past, but not that good of a salesman. I just could not figure out how I could make the pitch in Why Not to some young beauty that she should accompany me the the closest hotel. I could not figure out how to convince her that we would have a great time, even if did not get erection, while pissing and shitting all over the bed. If some good salesman here in Dumaguete can teach me how to make that sales pitch, maybe I will have an operation. In the meantime, I will enjoy life as I live it; knowing if I lose the battle my loved once will be well taken care of by the life insurance. (actually doctors told me those consequences, but a varying rates from 6% to 95% as possible outcomes depending on the size of their own personal house payment requirements).

PS3: PSA test are no longer bench mark test in the US. Protein levels in the Urine have much more reliability. From the internet:"
But PSA testing is problematic because it has low specificity, which generates high false positive rates and leads to unnecessary surgical and radiotherapy treatment.
A U.S. study published last year found that routine PSA prostate screening has resulted in more than one million American men being diagnosed with tumors who might otherwise have suffered no ill effects from them."

 

This is an important topic for many forum members. I have at least four friends here with prostate cancer. I recently went to a Dumaguete local clinic for a minor problem and asked if I could get a PSA blood test. The doctor said they do not do the special blood tests but gave me a prescription and said to go to Holy Child or Silliman. I went to Silliman Medical Center, after fasting for 12 hours and had the PSA blood test. The cost was 2090p. I got the results 5 hours later. Thankfully, my level was under 4.0 which points to a lower risk of prostate cancer but of course not bullet proof.
I urge all males over age 50 to get the test if you haven't the last year. Actor Ben Stiller, age 50, recently announced he has prostate cancer that was caught early enough to save his life.
Best wishes to Lorraine's partner for a speedy recovery and thank you for the post.

 

In another thread I wrote about my experience with prostate cancer. In short, I had been running a high PSA for many years, and had had 3 needle biopsies in the US, all negative, when I moved to the Philippines in ’08. I continued to watch my PSA in Dumaguete and when it climbed again, I had a transrectal ultrasound at Silliman which didn’t seem to indicate cancer. My urologist prescribed a drug which lowered the PSA score and supposedly aided in preventing prostate cancer. When my PSA shot up to 45 this past spring, my urologist ordered another ultrasound which again proved inconclusive. When it reached 90 and I was in some pain, I returned to the US. I was immediately diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, and have been receiving various combinations of drugs and chemo since. Overall I am doing OK now, though there have been some down times. The chemo is not nearly as bad nor incapacitating as some might think. The point I wish to make is this: if your PSA is fluctuating wildly and you think you might have prostate cancer, get it checked out – sooner rather than later. I know the saying, “more men die with prostate cancer than of it,” but if you have it and you don’t watch it carefully to see if it’s moving toward the prostate wall, you may be in danger of having it metastasize into the blood stream, as mine did. In retrospect, though I thought I was being careful, evidently I was not careful enough, and I will be paying the price for not identifying it and taking action before it metastasized for the remainder of my life.

 

I have seen my father experiencing the pain while fighting with the prostate cancer. My father was diagnosed at the stage 2 prostate cancer, a few years back. The oncologist at the Best Radiation therapy New York suggested for prostate cancer treatment options Long Island for his recovery. He was recommended for radiation therapy Bronx along with the brachytherapy, combined. Now, he has totally recovered from the disease and is having very good health, as well living a happy life.

 

My doctor at VA used to do a PSA every year but as Dave said they ar not reliable. I just read another article yesterday that was in agreement with what Dave said. Most men will die with prostrate cancer but not from it. I think it was 60% that will have prostrate cancer. The author of the article stated that men should not have surgery......I don't know but as for me I will not have that surgery because it leaves nasty side effects that never go away.

 

Dave, the first bone scan I had was here in California. Prior to that in Dumaguete, I had been checking my PSA every 6 months or so. When it rose from a steady 9+ or- to around 18 my urologist recommended Dutasteride. It dropped the PSA back down to around 9 for a couple of years. The first signs I had of anything remiss was last March when I began to feel some pain on my right side, and started having to get up every several hours during the night to urinate. That's when I had another PSA test done (it had been about 8 months since the last). It was 45 then, and as I have said, in a month's time it doubled to 90. My ultrasound at Silliman during this time was inconclusive. That's when I returned to the US for further testing. I don't have any suggestions for the members there - I can only relate my personal experience. In retrospect, I should have come back to the US when the PSA first jumped to 45. I think that by the time I started to have symptoms, the cancer had already metastasized.

 

After a PSA test in Thailand,(4.6) I went through a battery of tests, including a 10 needle biopsy(5 in each lobe), followed by Nuclear X-rays, Radioactive Isotope MRI's etc etc This was after the biopsies showed aggressive cancer 9/10 on the Gleason Scale, (4/5 on left, 5/5 on the right). Including the prostectomy, 12 days in a top hospital in Bangkok(Samitivej), due to complications, the cost for my insurance was a little under THB 900,000(USD 26,500 approx in those days).

The HRT therapy for 2 years after the operation(16mm ball, injected into one's stomach area every 3 months), also covered by my insurance, was about PHP 224,000, done in Dumaguete. I get an annual PSA test at Silliman for the same cost as stated in a previous post. My Insurance per year is up to USD 500,000/year, through my ex company, costs around USD5,000 annually, but covers myself, my wife and children in full time education.

From a personal point of view, I would not go to any hospital in this country if needing internal medicine treatment, despite many of my friends being local doctors, surgeons etc. This is reflected by my company's refusal to pay even for St Luke's in Manila, as it is not recognized as a 'competent' hospital medically or financially.

As a post note, I have had 3 friends, who have been sent to St Luke's, none of whom came out alive, but that's just a personal experience. However, having said that, local hospitals do a reasonable job with road accident trauma, as I have also found out personally on a few occasions.