ouch

Let’s see… one relo died a while back of prostate cancer which had metastasised [i.e. the dread spread of cancer]. His son quite sensibly had regular PSA tests. Guess what? False negative. Yup.

Went north last week where I met 2 of The Others relos who have both had radical prostatectomies [at different times]. The older chap never had regular tests but the younger one did – PSAs. Guess what? False negatives. Yup. Ouch.

Came home via a convoluted route to visit mother then drop in on one of my cousins and there in his kitchen sat a neighbour of his who had a radical prostatectomy last year.

Sheesh.

The way The Other explains it, a TRUS biopsy [appropriately pronounced “truss”] is what always finds the prostate cancer in the end. Well, not in the end, but very close by.

It involves needles and some local sedation, so on a scale of one to ten after sedation – and invasion of personal space – that makes it the boy equivalent of a girl’s PAP smear.

So, gentlemens, get with the program. If the water pressure starts to fall, don’t piddle around relying on PSAs. TRUS your instincts or at least talk to someone qualified to give you six good reasons why you should trust PSAs and not bother with the occasional TRUS.

Well, okay, let me spell it out for you – this is not just about mains pressure. I found this on a website so it must be true:

There are four main disorders of the prostate. All can have similar symptoms, which may include one or more of the following:

·         Waking frequently at night to urinate

·         Sudden or urgent need to urinate

·         Difficulty in starting to urinate

·         Slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping

·         Discomfort when urinating

·         Painful ejaculation

·         Blood in the urine or semen

·         Decrease in libido (sex urge)

·         Reduced ability to get an erection

No, The Other is not a urologist and even if she has this all right I might have misunderstood. This is just an unpaid community service announcement.