Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[DJ123]

Originally Posted by Craig380

Nye Bevan was right.

And Guy Fawkes. i mean, whats everyone up to in a couple of days time

*alibi may be needed

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by Craig380

Simple blood test which assesses the level of Prostate-specific Antigen, which is a protein only made in the prostate.

Low PSA levels (i.e. under 3ish) = happy prostate
Higher PSA levels (over 5) = prostate is probably fighting an invader

It's a fairly crude test - a bit like a low-fuel warning light is crude compared to a fuel gauge - but reliable.

Along with a doctor's finger up the bottom test.

[redtrummy]

Our GP will not do a PSA test unless you have been designated high risk (your Dad had it) I am into 'the bonus time' (70+) and cannot get one.
If you have an enlarged Prostate that can give a false positive.

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by redtrummy

Our GP will not do a PSA test unless you have been designated high risk (your Dad had it)

I'd ask another GP - a genetic connection raises the risk of prostate cancer but it's common in men without it, too.

My Dad didn't have it (he had dementia and cancer of the salivary glands), I just asked for a PSA test and got one (about 3 years ago). My PSA was 9 and the NHS has a fast track policy for you to see a consultant (where you get the dreaded DRE - digital rectal exam) if your PSA is high.

I then had an MRI which took us in a whole new direction because of a shadow on my colon (the prostate looked ok). One sigmoidoscopy and one colonoscopy later they decided it was a machine fault. (I had asked for the colonoscopy since my Mum had suffered colon cancer). Meanwhile my PSA is still in the 9's (slowly climbing).

I keep getting different consultants who tend to pull in different directions and the last one wanted me to have a multi-parametric MRI (same machine but they inject you with a tracing element for greater resolution). Didn't show anything and I'm due another PSA test and consultant chat imminently.

Your prostate gets bigger as you age and the bigger the prostate the higher the PSA. The problem with the PSA test is that it can give false positives and false negatives but it is all we have. As Craig mentioned the next step can be a biopsy (6-12 needle injections into the prostate via your derriere). Painful and there's no guarantee they will hit the tumour although the multi-pMRI is their guide. It can also introduce infections.

As the prostate grows it presses on the urethra which is often linked to the need to frequently urinate at night. The prescribed drug Tamsulosin helps with that.

[garynortheast]

Covid booster yesterday. Feeling like crap all night and this morning. Paracetamol and back to bed for a while.

[redtrummy]

Re PSA
This was in my news feed for what it is worth
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/t...-test-the-psa/

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by redtrummy

Re PSA
This was in my news feed for what it is worth
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/t...-test-the-psa/

Interesting article, thanks.

My PSA was 2.9 in the US but then I didn't get it checked for 5 years after I returned to the UK at which point it was 9 and I felt the need for someone to "do" something.

I do remember reading an article saying that some prostate cancers are so slow growing that you're more likely to die from something else than the prostate issue. All well and good, but then you read about someone 20 years younger than you dying of prostate cancer and the worries re-ignite.

A better, more accurate test is desperately needed.

[garynortheast]

And....https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59163961

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by garynortheast

And....https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59163961

I was just reading this, the sleazefest rumbles on. For the first time ever, I typed up a letter and snail-mailed it to the local Tory constituency headquarters expressing my disgust with Boris and with my MP (who voted for it). I suggested they need to look for their mislaid moral compass.

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by Seeker

look for their mislaid moral compass.

Don't think this lot ever had one.