Hang in there Kevin, you'll be back over to Melbourne before you know it. Single digit cases again today, we Melburnians are well and truly sick of this s*** but by god we're going to bury it f***ing properly this time
Totally OT, Prostate Cancer
- Thread starter PLCnovice61
- Start date
PLCnovice61
Member
OP
Thanks ASF, when we had the outbreak in Burnie l was driving backwards and forwards thru there down to the west coast, which postponed my initial biopsy, l can still go to Melbourne if it was important, but would need to quarantine for 2 weeks in Tas, at this stage it isn't super important (l hope).
On the news we get nothing but Victoria's lock down, l can only imagine what it can do to peoples physical health let alone their mental health. So best wishes to all suffering thru this nightmare.
On the news we get nothing but Victoria's lock down, l can only imagine what it can do to peoples physical health let alone their mental health. So best wishes to all suffering thru this nightmare.
Hi Kevin,
I hope this Covid thing clears and you get to PMCCC and get moving on with your treatment plan. I wil be at PMCCC on Oct 30th in the NHL clinic I've been on that trip since 2012. I am sure you know but you will get the best of care and advice there.
Ray
PLCnovice61
Member
OP
Cetronic, by the sounds of it you know the place intimately. Tasmania is open for business no earlier than Dec 1, so it will be well after that, but we may still catch up. Best of luck in your treatment.
Also getting this thread bumped is the best way to bring it to the attention of men and maybe give the incentive to get a PSA test done, which may extend their time doing what they like doing best.
Re PMCCC, all the dealings l have so far been evolved with them, have been nothing but first class and all the staff have been very empathetic.
Regards Kevin
Also getting this thread bumped is the best way to bring it to the attention of men and maybe give the incentive to get a PSA test done, which may extend their time doing what they like doing best.
Re PMCCC, all the dealings l have so far been evolved with them, have been nothing but first class and all the staff have been very empathetic.
Regards Kevin
Last edited:
Hi Kevin,
I hope this Covid thing clears and you get to PMCCC and get moving on with your treatment plan. I wil be at PMCCC on Oct 30th in the NHL clinic I've been on that trip since 2012. I am sure you know but you will get the best of care and advice there.
Ray
geniusintraining
Lifetime Supporting Member + Moderator
Bump....
Hey Kevin, just wondering how's going? its been awhile since the last update
Mark
Hey Kevin, just wondering how's going? its been awhile since the last update
Mark
EICS
Member
about 12 months on and Melbourne is in another lock-down our 6th one. hope you got to "Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre" for treatment mate.
PLCnovice61
Member
OP
gt and EICS, as you can see l am still kicking, and thanks for inquiring, which of course puts this back in front of someone who may need to read this.
An update, covid settled down in December 2020 in Melbourne and l went over to the Peter Mac Hospital to get do the biopsy while in the MRI, of my early stage prostate tumour.
So l flew over to Melbourne the day before as flights were limited due to covid, which then meant l had time on my hands, which for me means, "lets go and do a pub crawl around Melboure CBD".
So after a great drink fest in fantastic Melb CBD from about 2 in the arvo until about midnight, l wasn't really looking forward mentally to going into the MRI machine, as l found out the first and only time l went in one to see if l had a tumour, they can be a bit freaky, with all the noise and the roof of the unit just above your eyes. A doctor had given me so Valium if l required it before leaving for Melb, but l still have all of them, so l survived.
The advantage of getting something put up your rectum, is that you need to be on your stomach and by being on your stomach you can look out of the MRI machine, so l am now aware that you maybe able to do most MRI laying on your stomach (ask before you go there, l believe they normally say to lie on your back because it is more comfortable) it is way less freaky being able to look out of the MRI and l don't suffer from claustrophobia, if you did it wouldn't be much fun at all.
For people who haven't had a MRI, they give you a squeeze switch for you to press if you can't handle the procedure, squeeze the switch and they will pull you out pronto.
I flew home that arvo and the next day, Tasmania locked down to Melbourne because Melbourne had again had a covid case, so l only just got it done.
Australia Prostate Center (APC) got a small x against their name as they were supposed to contact me inside a week and didn't. By then it was Xmas and the new year, then they got hold of me early into January 2021 and apologized that they hadn't followed up correctly.
The APC specialist said " but we have some great news, we found no cancer" which of course sounds great, but l said it sounds like the radiologist didn't needle my tumour, the whole reason for going to Melbourne was that while in the MRI they have real-time pictures so they can identify the tumour properly and put the biopsy needle thru the middle of the small tumour (about 12 mm). The specialist then agreed maybe it wasn’t such great news, he said he didn’t do the biopsy but the radiologist was very experienced and needled what he though was the most likely place that he could see on the MRI. So ultimately going to Melb was a waste of time, a small amount of money (l need to supply flights and accommodation, plus a wallet full of beer money, but at least l was able to help the pubs that had just opened, they had gone thru 4-5 months of being shut due to covid) and a good hangover.
I will reiterate, when l had the initial MRI scan, the radiologist said he saw nothing of interest, it was the specialist/surgeon in Launceston that showed me on the MRI scan picture what he though looked dodgy and suggested it should be needled, so ultimately 2 radiologists couldn’t see the tumour, so a pat on the back for the surgeon here.
I did say to the APC specialist that maybe my original diagnosis of level 1 prostate wasn’t correct as they couldn’t find anything, but he said NO, if something was needled and came back positive it must be there. If the person looking at the biopsy thought it was “maybe” cancerous they would say something along the lines that the cancer reading “maybe” due to inflammation or the something similar and to be retested for confirmation at a later stage.
So long story now shortened, over the last year l have been on active surveillance, which in my case means a PSA test every 4 months and monitor symptoms. Symptoms being, needing to get up in the night to have a pee (as this wanting to pee is a sign that the tumour is pressing against the urine tract, making you feel you need to have a pee, you go and try to have a pee and nothing much happens, but you feel you still want to pee. Other common symptoms below
Trouble passing urine.
Frequent urge to pass urine, especially at night.
Weak or interrupted urine stream.
Pain or burning when passing urine.
Blood in the urine or semen.
Painful ejaculation.
Nagging pain in the back, hips, or pelvis.
My PSA test’s results have increase, but fluctuate, my last 3 readings were 5.7, 5.3, 5.8. Early in the thread l incorrectly said about people not wanting to do anything radical until PSA was >=10 (this was all l could find on Dr google) the surgeon told me this was not correct and leaving that late is to late. This is due too, the whole idea about cutting out the tumour, is to do it while the cancer is still confined in the prostate, the reason people die from prostate cancer is not the prostate cancer, it is when the cancer escapes from the prostate and enters the blood stream, it general latches onto the Bladder and lymph nodes, after this happens you are in big trouble, hence why l started this thread, to make men aware that prostate cancer isn’t a death sentence. Not doing something about the above symptoms most likely will lead to a doctor saying “l suggest you go home and make sure all your personal matters are dealt with as l am afraid you have less than 6 months to live”.
Prostate Cancer is classed as a non aggressive cancer and as such it generally tells you there is a problem i.e. above symptoms and you need to do something about it, before it becomes life threatening.
Didn’t l say l was going to give the short version just before!
So l am symptom free but PSA rising and shortly (hopefully not) when my PSA is in the 6’s l will need to reassess what my approach will be. I will first up have another MRI and if the scan looks suss will follow with a biopsy, if that isn't looking too positive, l will be heading down the path of robotic removal of the tumour, l now don’t think seeded radiation is the best choice for me because of later complications. I can handle knowing l have cancer in my body, but for some people that is not the case and want it removed post haste, so you need to do what you need to do.
I am not a doctor, so don’t take what l have written literal, but l will reiterate what l said earlier to drive the point home, think about yourself (I'm sure you have lots of great things you want to do when you finally retire) and your loved ones, when you could have gone to the doctor because you have had some symptoms, possible for years and you have to sit down with your family and say “my doctor said l needed to come home and make sure all my personal matters are dealt with as l am afraid l have less than 6 months to live”
SO TO ALL YOU MEN READING THIS THREAD, GO AND GET A BENCH MARK PSA TEST AND IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS, DON'T THINK ABOUT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT NEXT WEEK, DO IT IMMEDIATELY, YOU MAY JUST CATCH IT BEFORE IT KILLS YOU.
Best of luck to you all, me, l am as happy as l can be, off sailing shortly and l don’t go to work. Life is better than good. Regards Kevin
An update, covid settled down in December 2020 in Melbourne and l went over to the Peter Mac Hospital to get do the biopsy while in the MRI, of my early stage prostate tumour.
So l flew over to Melbourne the day before as flights were limited due to covid, which then meant l had time on my hands, which for me means, "lets go and do a pub crawl around Melboure CBD".
So after a great drink fest in fantastic Melb CBD from about 2 in the arvo until about midnight, l wasn't really looking forward mentally to going into the MRI machine, as l found out the first and only time l went in one to see if l had a tumour, they can be a bit freaky, with all the noise and the roof of the unit just above your eyes. A doctor had given me so Valium if l required it before leaving for Melb, but l still have all of them, so l survived.
The advantage of getting something put up your rectum, is that you need to be on your stomach and by being on your stomach you can look out of the MRI machine, so l am now aware that you maybe able to do most MRI laying on your stomach (ask before you go there, l believe they normally say to lie on your back because it is more comfortable) it is way less freaky being able to look out of the MRI and l don't suffer from claustrophobia, if you did it wouldn't be much fun at all.
For people who haven't had a MRI, they give you a squeeze switch for you to press if you can't handle the procedure, squeeze the switch and they will pull you out pronto.
I flew home that arvo and the next day, Tasmania locked down to Melbourne because Melbourne had again had a covid case, so l only just got it done.
Australia Prostate Center (APC) got a small x against their name as they were supposed to contact me inside a week and didn't. By then it was Xmas and the new year, then they got hold of me early into January 2021 and apologized that they hadn't followed up correctly.
The APC specialist said " but we have some great news, we found no cancer" which of course sounds great, but l said it sounds like the radiologist didn't needle my tumour, the whole reason for going to Melbourne was that while in the MRI they have real-time pictures so they can identify the tumour properly and put the biopsy needle thru the middle of the small tumour (about 12 mm). The specialist then agreed maybe it wasn’t such great news, he said he didn’t do the biopsy but the radiologist was very experienced and needled what he though was the most likely place that he could see on the MRI. So ultimately going to Melb was a waste of time, a small amount of money (l need to supply flights and accommodation, plus a wallet full of beer money, but at least l was able to help the pubs that had just opened, they had gone thru 4-5 months of being shut due to covid) and a good hangover.
I will reiterate, when l had the initial MRI scan, the radiologist said he saw nothing of interest, it was the specialist/surgeon in Launceston that showed me on the MRI scan picture what he though looked dodgy and suggested it should be needled, so ultimately 2 radiologists couldn’t see the tumour, so a pat on the back for the surgeon here.
I did say to the APC specialist that maybe my original diagnosis of level 1 prostate wasn’t correct as they couldn’t find anything, but he said NO, if something was needled and came back positive it must be there. If the person looking at the biopsy thought it was “maybe” cancerous they would say something along the lines that the cancer reading “maybe” due to inflammation or the something similar and to be retested for confirmation at a later stage.
So long story now shortened, over the last year l have been on active surveillance, which in my case means a PSA test every 4 months and monitor symptoms. Symptoms being, needing to get up in the night to have a pee (as this wanting to pee is a sign that the tumour is pressing against the urine tract, making you feel you need to have a pee, you go and try to have a pee and nothing much happens, but you feel you still want to pee. Other common symptoms below
Trouble passing urine.
Frequent urge to pass urine, especially at night.
Weak or interrupted urine stream.
Pain or burning when passing urine.
Blood in the urine or semen.
Painful ejaculation.
Nagging pain in the back, hips, or pelvis.
My PSA test’s results have increase, but fluctuate, my last 3 readings were 5.7, 5.3, 5.8. Early in the thread l incorrectly said about people not wanting to do anything radical until PSA was >=10 (this was all l could find on Dr google) the surgeon told me this was not correct and leaving that late is to late. This is due too, the whole idea about cutting out the tumour, is to do it while the cancer is still confined in the prostate, the reason people die from prostate cancer is not the prostate cancer, it is when the cancer escapes from the prostate and enters the blood stream, it general latches onto the Bladder and lymph nodes, after this happens you are in big trouble, hence why l started this thread, to make men aware that prostate cancer isn’t a death sentence. Not doing something about the above symptoms most likely will lead to a doctor saying “l suggest you go home and make sure all your personal matters are dealt with as l am afraid you have less than 6 months to live”.
Prostate Cancer is classed as a non aggressive cancer and as such it generally tells you there is a problem i.e. above symptoms and you need to do something about it, before it becomes life threatening.
Didn’t l say l was going to give the short version just before!
So l am symptom free but PSA rising and shortly (hopefully not) when my PSA is in the 6’s l will need to reassess what my approach will be. I will first up have another MRI and if the scan looks suss will follow with a biopsy, if that isn't looking too positive, l will be heading down the path of robotic removal of the tumour, l now don’t think seeded radiation is the best choice for me because of later complications. I can handle knowing l have cancer in my body, but for some people that is not the case and want it removed post haste, so you need to do what you need to do.
I am not a doctor, so don’t take what l have written literal, but l will reiterate what l said earlier to drive the point home, think about yourself (I'm sure you have lots of great things you want to do when you finally retire) and your loved ones, when you could have gone to the doctor because you have had some symptoms, possible for years and you have to sit down with your family and say “my doctor said l needed to come home and make sure all my personal matters are dealt with as l am afraid l have less than 6 months to live”
SO TO ALL YOU MEN READING THIS THREAD, GO AND GET A BENCH MARK PSA TEST AND IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS, DON'T THINK ABOUT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT NEXT WEEK, DO IT IMMEDIATELY, YOU MAY JUST CATCH IT BEFORE IT KILLS YOU.
Best of luck to you all, me, l am as happy as l can be, off sailing shortly and l don’t go to work. Life is better than good. Regards Kevin
drbitboy
Lifetime Supporting Member
what kind of sailing? 18ft skiff?
PLCnovice61
Member
OP
I currently have a Mottle 33, which l hope to upgrade to a Zeston 40 when l can find the right one. But really l want a Buizen 48, but l would need to sell my house to fund that, so that isn't going to happen in the short term or even in the long term unless things go pear shape.
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drbitboy
Lifetime Supporting Member
I lean towards dinghies and windsurfers myself, but I had half-interest in a 25-footer on Cayuga Lake a few years ago and we had a lot of fun with it, got it out in 25-30kt one day, whoopee! And I gotta say you have a good eye: those are three ex-TREME-ly "yar" keelboats.
That Buizen has me almost drooling; sell the house already!
All the best,
Brian Carcich
That Buizen has me almost drooling; sell the house already!
All the best,
Brian Carcich
PLCnovice61
Member
OP
Yes Brian, sell the house and get a Buizen 48, or maybe splurge and get a 52.
I now want any pilot house, the weather down here can at times be challenging, particularly over on the west coast of Tasmania (l live on the Tamar River in the north), not there is very much cruising to be done on that side, as there are only 2 places really that you can hide out of the continuous southern Ocean fronts that pound into the coast along there. They have a wave rider buoy there that before it was pulled free recorded about 20M wave. I am planning on doing another loop around Tas in summer (l had planned on going to Queensland this winter but covid outbreaks crushed that), when at least the west coast is a little more manageable. But the east coast of Tas is a delight, in my IMHO the further you come south from Queensland the pretty it gets, but QLD has the better weather (apart from cyclones).
I now want any pilot house, the weather down here can at times be challenging, particularly over on the west coast of Tasmania (l live on the Tamar River in the north), not there is very much cruising to be done on that side, as there are only 2 places really that you can hide out of the continuous southern Ocean fronts that pound into the coast along there. They have a wave rider buoy there that before it was pulled free recorded about 20M wave. I am planning on doing another loop around Tas in summer (l had planned on going to Queensland this winter but covid outbreaks crushed that), when at least the west coast is a little more manageable. But the east coast of Tas is a delight, in my IMHO the further you come south from Queensland the pretty it gets, but QLD has the better weather (apart from cyclones).
geniusintraining
Lifetime Supporting Member + Moderator
LOL, holy ****.... I love the water and have always had a boat, I am looking for a bass hunter, the pond I am moving near will hold some good fish and that is one of my passions but when I saw your post about a 20M wave just pictured myself on my 12ft bass hunter riding that one
Up here I am getting into fly fishing and hope to go the kayak route, the sucky part is my local lake damn broke with the last hurricane and it drained, it was a small lake but the lake trout were huge, I saw some 10-15lbs https://www.wbtv.com/2021/08/24/pri...arkway-is-still-draining-most-lake-now-empty/
Glad to see your still kicking Kevin!
Peter Nachtwey
Member
My uncle, my father's older brother, died of prostate cancer. My father had prostate cancer too but he was cured and is still kicking at 93, I am 68 now.
My father opted for a treatment where they strung a string of radioactive beads through is prostate. It worked without the usual bad side affects.
About sailing, I have sailed up and down the coast of Washington State 2 times ( two round trips ). I was on a 38 ft Catalina. The worst seas were 13ft following waves. The wind usually comes from the NW so sailing down the coast of Washington is easy because you are on a reach the whole time until the weather gets nasty and you have the high waves. Going over the Columbia bar is dangerous in rough weather but if you wait your turn to go through the 200 yd wide channel it is easy.
I am too old for sailing on my own so I bought a truck camper so I can sleep at night.
My father opted for a treatment where they strung a string of radioactive beads through is prostate. It worked without the usual bad side affects.
About sailing, I have sailed up and down the coast of Washington State 2 times ( two round trips ). I was on a 38 ft Catalina. The worst seas were 13ft following waves. The wind usually comes from the NW so sailing down the coast of Washington is easy because you are on a reach the whole time until the weather gets nasty and you have the high waves. Going over the Columbia bar is dangerous in rough weather but if you wait your turn to go through the 200 yd wide channel it is easy.
I am too old for sailing on my own so I bought a truck camper so I can sleep at night.
Waking up a 4-year old thread.
Sadly, I lost my best friend recently, September 2024. He was 63... Stage 4 prostate cancer. He may have avoided annual physicals, and recommendations.
Gentlemen.... GO to your doctor EVERY year, get a PSA check.
I am mad, because I wanted to beat his golf score one day....... (would never happen)
I am sad, because he was "my little brother"
Sadly, I lost my best friend recently, September 2024. He was 63... Stage 4 prostate cancer. He may have avoided annual physicals, and recommendations.
Gentlemen.... GO to your doctor EVERY year, get a PSA check.
I am mad, because I wanted to beat his golf score one day....... (would never happen)
I am sad, because he was "my little brother"
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