CANCER............. do we men take enough care ?

[rona]

Hi all,
I have just spent an hour reading 'Tassie Kiwi' article on depression, this is an item all of us should read and also be aware of, because it can be just around the corner.
This has prompted me to write a few lines about my problems during the past 4 to 5 months. One Saturday afternoon while playing with the computer, I sneezed, and the second time I tried to stop myself, as we have all done, and ended up breaking a rib. After about two weeks, I decided to go and get it x-rayed, sure enough one broken rib, about two weeks later similiar pains started on the other side so of to the Doctor again and another x-ray, this time nothing so I was the booked in to the Ballarat Hospital for a bone scan the next day. I had this and the Doctor also decided to give me a CT scan as well, so I came home and early next day he visited me to give me the 'good' news;
I had 95% Cancer to my bones throughout my body, and Prostate cancer as well with a PSA reading of 1966; the normal reading is 4.

[rona]

Up until this time I had no signs or indications that I had any problems, no prostrate problems, which I thought would have been noticeable and certainly no aches or pains with my bones or body.During the past three months following treatment I have got the PSA reading down to just over 1000, this is
derived from blood tests.
There are basically 4 solutions to this, 1 Hormone injections 2, surgery, 3 radiation 4 chemo; I chose no 1, and so far things appear to be going OK.
Had to have a complete change in diet, no red meat, only fish and chicken and plenty of juices. On 5 different lots of tablets, plus 6 monthly injection which costs $2097.00.
OK, the message here is................ we men do not look after ourselves the ladies regularly go for checkups, pap tests,breast scans etc,any slight pain or problem off they go to the Doctor. Now us men need to get into a routine and have a blood test at least every 6 to 12 months, probably starting from when you are 40 !If there is a problem with Cancer get it early!
I hope this has been of interest, Kind Regards, Ron.

[Shedhand]

Sorry to hear of your travails mate. Know what your going through. My bro (53) had major surgery for oesophagal cancer 12 months ago. He had no idea untill he started flatulating from his mouth. He was a body builder and fit as a mallee bull. He now has no stomach except for a small sac the size of a squash ball. They gave him 6 months. Still kicking on with a radical diet, radiation and pills from a quack in the US which he bought off the internet. He seems content and has lived 6 months past his use by date. I guess being positive is a big part of recovery cobber so stay bloody positive and may good things happen for you.

[dan_tom]

http://www.prostatehealth.org.au/

http://www.menshealth.org.au/

http://www.mydr.com.au/default.asp?S...=mens%60health

Some useful websites that give pertinent and correct information about men's health screening that I thought may be useful to some members.

Cheers
Dan

[TassieKiwi]

Jeez rona, that's a raw deal. I trust that you have family and friends to help you through what must be a bloody awful time. Thanks for the heas up on screening - you're quite right. After all, the car goes in for a checkup every 10,000 k's, why shouldn't we? All the nice tools in the world are useless if you're too crook to use'em.
Best wishes for your treatment mate.

[Ironwood]

I too have had a few problems lately.
June last year I decided to get my knee repaired after a motorbike accident 20 years ago had damaged the anterior cruciate ligament. Got a ligament reconstruction, 2 weeks later I was due to go to the doctor to get the brace off, during the night I developed chest pains, got a stab of pain in my left side if I took a deep breath. It was only a couple of hours until I was to see my doctor, so I waited till then.

Told her of the pains and she rushed me in for a CT scan, they found I had pulmonary embollisms (blood clots in lungs), presumeably from the knee surgery, that meant 3 days laying in bed (hospital) while injections and tablets thinned my blood.(my lungs had partially collapsed by this time)

On the CT scan they also picked up that my Thyroid gland was enlarged, they did a fine needle aspiration on that and tested it. Turned out I had Thyroid cancer. This had given me a blood disorder which caused the clots.

They told me I had to have surgery to have the thryoid removed, but they couldnt risk it while I had the embollisms, so I had to wait until they thought the blood clots had dissolved, but because I was on Warfarin tablets (to thin my blood) and had to stay on them for 12 months, There was risk that I would bleed to death on the operating table, beacause my blood wouldnt be able to clot.

In August I went to Brisbane and had the operation, which lasted 7 1/2 hours. They took my Thyroid out, and 30 glands out of my neck and chest. Also had blood transfusions.

I have since had radioactive iodine treatment, which didnt manage to nuke it all. Am going back to Brisbane soon for another dose, hopefully this lot will get what is left.

So I went from a supposedley fit and healthy person, to that, in the blink of an eye.

Theres a lot of things to deal with while this sort of thing happens, we also had 2 deaths in the family. Depression tries to take you over, you need to stay positive, and have goals to work towards.

This forum was a big help to stay sane through it all, as it gave me somewhere to go to get away from my other problems for a while.
Thanks Ubeaut. (edit: and all members who add to the forum)

[journeyman Mick]

.............................This forum was a big help to stay sane through it all, as it gave me somewhere to go to get away from my other problems for a while.
Thanks Ubeaut. (edit: and all members who add to the forum)

I'll second that, no serious health problems myself but I've been nursing my sick wife for some time now and the forums have been a good escape.

Mick

[TassieKiwi]

It's easy to say things like 'If you haven't got your health you've got nothing' etc, but living it would be a totally different thing.

Thanks for sharing fellas, and godspeed with recovery. Don't let the black dog take over - keep talking, and keep checking on these bunch of twits - there's distraction/trivia/laughs aplenty!

[pawnhead]

This forum was a big help to stay sane through it all, as it gave me somewhere to go to get away from my other problems for a while.
Thanks Ubeaut. (edit: and all members who add to the forum)

It's good to have people who will lend an ear, and the members here all seem like beaut people.

I'll second that, no serious health problems myself but I've been nursing my sick wife for some time now and the forums have been a good escape.

Ditto here. I was on my back for a year after a three story fall, but an operation fixed me up. My back's still a bit crook though.
Now I'm a full time carer for my frail and aged mother who suffers from bipolar and depression. I've got nothing to complain about though, and life, though it has been better, is still pretty sweet for me.

It's easy to say things like 'If you haven't got your health you've got nothing' etc, but living it would be a totally different thing.

I'll second that.

I hope you guys that are suffering some ailments have a swift recovery.

Keep your chin up.

[meerkat]

Well first off I'm sorry to hear of all these health issues and we are here to help to keep you sane.

Secondly, do we take enough care ????



Some stats for y'all

"Men are half as likely as women to see a doctor – they are less knowledgeable in general about health and symptoms of specific diseases, less responsive to health care information, and less likely to utilize the health care system. In one study, in a 15 minute conversation with a medical doctor, the average number of questions a woman asked her doctor was six, whereas men averaged near to zero questions."

http://www.menatrisk.org/health/endangeredhealth.html

[Iain]

Had a few problems lately with a wog that just wouldn't go away, went to see the Dr who sent me off for XRays, came back, I got the X Rays he got the results, I looked at chest X Rays and saw a bloody great big shadow and wouldn't go back.
SWMBO threatened Dr with castration with a blunt knife if he wouldn't tell her what the problem was.
Chest X Rays all clear but sinuses are blocked.
I feel such a cockhead..................SWMBO says I should because I am
However, she is not a Dr, so I am probably half right, still have to go back this weekend after CT scans to the head (probably to look for the logic part of brain).

[steb]

Had a few problems lately with a wog that just wouldn't go away, went to see the Dr who sent me off for XRays, came back, I got the X Rays he got the results, I looked at chest X Rays and saw a bloody great big shadow and wouldn't go back.

AAAARGH. The big white shadow in the middle is yer heart. Just as well for the other half........

but this does make the point rather well. We dont tend to followup on things and we do tend to bury the head in the sand...

[Five Thumbs]

I fully support the message that we men must have regular checkups. After I turned 60 in August 2004 I decided to get my GP to do a '60,000 mile service' on me. No rush of course so the checkup occurred in April 2005! A blood test resulted in me having a colonoscopy a week later that revealed a stage 3 tumour in the rectum. Apparently tumours are graded from 1 to 4, with 1 being the 'least serious'.

Radiation and chemo treatment in May/June 2005 followed by surgery in August that year to remove the tumor and attach an ileostomy bag. In May 2006 an operation to remove the ileostomy bag. I also needed further chemo treatment for 6 months between operations. I also needed many months to recover from each operation and the second lot of chemo really took a lot out of me between the two ops. So all in all not a very pleasant time and of course a very worrying period for my wife and children. However my last blood test in November 06 showed me free of cancer so I am looking forward to plenty of good years in the future.

Interesting comment on maintaining a positive outlook by my Oncologist. He said, that although there is no scientific evidence that having a positive attitude helps to defeat cancer, it certainly makes you feel better and also helps your family to cope with life whilst you undergo all the treatment.

Like others mentioned above I was fit, going to the Gym three days a week, played golf twice a week, gave up smoking in 1990 and drinking in 2001. Still got cancer despite all that and no family history of cancer. However if I had started having blood tests at, say 55, the cancer would have been detected earlier as polyps in the bowel that could have been dealt with during a colonoscopy.

So I add my voice to the need for regular checkups for our own sakes as well as for our near and dear.

Cheers

5T

PS. Some medical terms - ileostomy - from the Ileum or small bowel. Colostomy from the colon or large bowel.

[ciscokid]

This post has certainly given me food for thought. I was supposed to go in for the full blown checkup when I hit 45. I'll be 46 in three months. Still no visit. I guess I'm just afraid of what he might find.

[rona]

Cisko Kid,
Don't hesitate, I must admit I was a bit hesitant also, but you must do it, because if there is a problem it needs to be sorted out as early as possible. If I had gone much earlier I would not be in the situation I am in now.
In my thread, I didn't mention that I now have a lot of pain in my legs, I spend all but 2 hours a day in bed, can't sleep on my side, etc I managed to catch mine in time, all the aches and pains started about three weeks after I was diagnosed, but I feel as though I am improving if I can get this PSA reading down further in the next three months I should be rid of a lot of the pain. OK now off to the Doc and don't be nervous, because there are others out there that care also, so let me know how you go........ and goodluck.
Cheers, Ron.