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I don’t know how many, if any, of you have read a story that always moves me when I read it. It that of a man who called himself A PRIVATE GENTLEMAN
Things have changed a little since this unfortunate man told his tale, but many of the basic issues that troubled him are seem to be still not adequately explained to men diagnosed today.
Those who do not or cannot access the relevant information on the Internet must find themselves in this kind of hopeless position.
That is a sad situation and surely could have had a better story to it and his wife has to handle the issues of losing him early and life without him. Surely a burden on her life too. We need to keep hope alive for others in any level of this disease and hopefully face it straight on with dignity, if that is possible....we cannot walk in another mans shoes and know his total burdens in life either.
Support systems are very important in this journey and helps one another as being connected, which also could make a nice difference in someones life.
Yes, that's a tragic tale. I've read his story more than once and it touches me each time. His wording spoke of a man with great wisdom, but maybe not about prostate cancer. In my research about this disease so many things don't make sense and I'll put some quotes below that illustrate what I mean. I'll also add a link to the source if anyone wants to read them.
Quote
Only about 3 to 5 percent of men with prostate cancer die from the disease.
I recently ran into the oncologist who five years ago said that watchful waiting was not a good idea for me. He said that today he would probably have a different opinion on the matter.
Another Quote from watchwait.com
Among other things, he told me he had never heard of anyone dying from a Gleason 6 prostate cancer.
I'm not sure how to take all of this so please understand I'm just quoting and linking information I found interesting. The big question is, if Gleason 6 cancer is generally non life threatening then why does virtually all doctors recommend curative treatment? Of course that's the 64 thousand dollar question.
I just wish I knew why The Private Gentelmen decided to take his own life. By that I mean had his condition worsened.
This statistic is inaccurate. About 16% of men get prostate cancer, of those approximately 16% die of the disease. This equates to about one in thirty six men in the OVERALL MALE POPULATION, or 2% to 3% of all men will die of the disease, not 2% to 3% of men with prostate cancer.
This does not take into account that modern treatment is prolonging life to the extent that many more prostate cancer sufferers are dying with the disease that ever before due to their treatment. It is statement like the quote above that give the medical community the excuse to avoid diagnosis, research and treatment.
We need to take a close look at funding for prostate cancer detection, particularly research into separating the "pussy cats" from the "Tigers"
As you may have guessed, I had a "Tiger" removed, despite being told I have nothing to worry about by three doctors. They (none of them) conducted a thorough examination or question me on my family history. One doctor,despite being given a physician's report indicating an abnormal prostate on DRE. He than (later) refused me a referral to an urologist. I had to resort to a family member (doctor, prostate cancer victim) to refer me.
In summary, it is the misrepresentation of statistics such as this quote that give the medical community the ammunition to treat prostate cancer as a minor problem!
I note that you had a tiger removed. May I ask your initial gleason, psa and staging.My husband has a tiger of a gleason 9 psa 93.5 stage t3b. He has been told there is not a surgeon in the uk who would operate on him. When did you have your surgery.Many thanks
My "tiger" wasn't as bad as your husbands. My PSA was 2.6, Gleason 4+3. No extra prostatic extensions and clear margins after RP. Staging was upgraded after surgery to T2c. Advice I received (finally) was that the cancer was not one to leave alone, that it would spread eventually. Since PC killed my father after extensive treatment, I did not want to take the chance.
Good catch, thanks for your reply. This shows you can't necessarily trust any source. I went to the ACS website and after reading what they said it bears out your comment.
The ACS 2008 estimates
186,320 new cases of PCa in the US
28,660 men in the US will die of PCa
Which is 15.38%
I agree, we need more research and better educated doctors on prostate cancer. Hopefully you're doing well and will continue to do well.
