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Re: Terry's response on ProstaVysion - a genetic test for determining PC aggressiveness
Hi Terry. Thanks for your post. I agree with you that association is not proof, but where is their proof in the world of PC? Allow me to site a few examples: 1) are biopsy results proof of how much cancer you have? No, they can only give you insight as results can fluctuate from biopsy to biopsy as they have in my case. 2) are Gleason results proof of how aggressive your cancer is? No, because post-operative Gleason results have been found to be different from the biopsy results. 3) are PSA results proof of cancer, or the seriousness and/or progression of your cancer? No, of course not. Not only is it not cancer specific, some like me, have a very low PSA while their biopsy shows a lot of cancer 4) are PCa3 numbers proof of cancer? Close, but Bostwick Labs states the following: “If the sample is positive for PCa3, then the patient has a very high likelihood of having prostatic cancer.” 5) one more: is there proof that a “PC” diet helps fight against PC progression? There is strong evidence, but the studies always point out that the results are inconclusive.
Sadly, as men with PC, we live in a world of uncertainty, but as the saying goes: “God, grant me the wisdom to accept the things I cannot change” (or something like that). Insight is, in my mind, a much better word than proof. Lacking proof, I will take as much insight as I can get. The bottom line is that for some, like me, there comes the time when you have to make that treatment decision, and you don’t have the luxury of waiting around for the proof.
Terry, if you feel I am wrong about this, or am missing part of the picture, then set me straight. I don’t claim to be an expert and I welcome your, (or anybody else’s) feedback. I am always willing to learn.
Re: Terry's response on ProstaVysion - a genetic test for determining PC aggressiveness
Alan,
No one who has been diagnosed with PCa and who has started trying to gain an understanding of the disease can fail to understand very quickly that the uncertainties of life are carried over into the prostate cancer world. As a recent article - see link below says succinctly with regar to hindsight:
.... there is no way in this life to know what might have been — not in politics, baseball, romance or the stock market, and certainly not in sickness and health.
What concerns me is when claims are made in this welter of uncertainty which are not backed up by good research and review. So when Bostwick say, in part:
....ProstaVysion is able to provide .... the patient’s .....long-term prognosis.
I say
Show me the long term studies that demonstrate the accuracy of this claim
It may well be that Bostwock are far ahead of the game and do have demonstrable proof to back up their claims, but the studies to which they refer do not seem to do this.
So all I was saying in response to your enthusiastic post was
Be aware that this may be yet another commercial for something that doesn't work that well. - Like PSA tests, like Gleason Grading, like PCa3 tests, for all of which startling claims have been made in the past.
I mentioned an interesting newspaper article above. It is in the New York Times and it concerns Steve Jobs' decision not to have immediate surgery, the decision you and i made on our diagnoses. It is here and worth reading I think A Tumor Is No Clearer in Hindsight
