Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

Thanks Mags. I was just going to post that as I remembered that it was Prague.

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

So sorry to hear about your friend. I would like to wish him all good luck with whatever treatment he decides to have.

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

Sorry about your friend Emjay, poor man.

My ex-husband has prostate cancer and it had spread by the time he was diagnosed. We are still good friends and I shall be extremely upset if/when his time comes.
Another friend's husband, both very old friends of mine, also has this horrible disease, and his has spread also. Very,very sad.

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

The problem is that it has to be diagnosed early.
A while before I was diagnosed, I had a blood test and the PSA was 5. The Dr said "if it was 10, then it would be a worry".
I feel that at that time further tests should have been done.
The future test the PSA was 10, so action was taken.
I think that many men are embarrassed and do not go to their Dr until it is too late.
I went because I had read an article in one of my trade papers. I thought at the time, that can't be me. It was only that I had to go to The Dr for something else, and mentioned that I was peeing more often than normal.

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

Emjay, Chemo is a poison that cancer cells struggle to survive in but, if it manages to kill all the cancer cells it is almost a cure. Four years ago I went through Chemo, surgery and radio therapy and, although the chemo left me with minor health problems, I am still here and there has been no sign of the cancer returning. I can't say the Chemo was a pleasant experience but as soon as the course was completed ( usually about 12 weeks) I started to improve immediately and apart from suffering some symptoms like hay fever occasionally, within 18 months my body was back to normal.
Try to persuade your friend to talk to somebody about his fear of Chemo, because they should be able to give him an honest opinion on what to expect.
I hope he makes the right decisions for him, but only after he has gathered more advice from people in the know.

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

Thanks Twink. He is going to see his original specialist tomorrow.
Why he wants it removed, is because we had friends and know of people with this disease that had chemo and radio therapy, and note I said HAD.

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

I wish him well, but he needs to think about all the options carefully as there will also be a risk if he has surgery and his heart cannot cope with the effects of the anaesthetic. His specialist should be able to offer some advice.

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

I understand what you are saying, and wasn't suggesting it was benign but could be relatively so. But his specialists will know more from the biopsy and scoring that they use.
I hope he gets all the information he needs from the specialist tomorrow. Removing the prostate is very major surgery with significant risks, so a hard decision to make.
Best wishes to you and him.

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

Just a thought matey, but I too have medical problems which make General Anaesthetic a no, no - however I've had a lot of surgery to replace both hips and knee joints. The operations were entirely painless being done under an Epidural. Your friend might like to enquire of his consulant as to whether an operation under an epidural is a practical proposition???

Re: My best mate has prostate cancer.

I am so sorry about your friend with prostate cancer. I know what he's going through.
I've had two members of my family sucumb to cancer, my son and a granddaughter, both with brain tumers.