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

Hi Eddie,
About five years ago, I went to pay my health insurance. Had to send it off to Ballarat as there wasn't an agent in Stawell, so I posted it on the Thursday night, on the following Tuesday i received a letter from the ballarat office saying it was overdue and they cancelled my membership. Now it would have arrived at their office in plenty of time, however this b1t** who was the Manager would not back off, had been a member for 46 years at that stage so I told her to her face what I thought of her and also their insurance policies.So needless to say, havn't been a member since, but as mentioned earlier was a bit concerned there for a while.
Cheers,
Ron.

Hell Ron. You've drawn the bloody short straw mate. Listen, you just keep the positive thoughts flowing cobber. We're all pulling for you to get on the comeback trail. And don't just slide off into the sunset. Keep us up to date so we can keep supporting you.
All the best.
Cheers
Mike

Hello Mike,
Thanks for the Kind words,i haven't been sick all my life, then whammo you end up with something like this, I am getting plenty of support this way, which is great but still hard to handle. I have just upgraded everything in my workshop so I can perhaps spend 1 - 2 hours a day out there to get my mind of it. Also the fellas on this forum are terrific, its probably the only thing thats keeping me on track at the moment.
Thanks mike,
Cheers, Ron.

Hi,
Having written a thread on Cancer problems a few weeks back, and also had
over 800 members view the thread, and several replies along with many showing interest as to 'it's time they went for a check-up', I just thought I would
let you have an up-date view as to where we are at.
I started my first week of Chemo on Wednesday, now I had heard may stories in relation to this and was very unsure as to what was going to happen during the time you are in there and also reactions to it for the next couple of days.
Well, I was ushered into a large room where there were eight people in the same situation as me, all sitting in big comfortable armchairs, with four nurses in attendance atall times. You are put at ease by the nurses immediately, given a cup of coffee to relax and then about 15 minutes later the action starts. A pillow is placed across your knees and a drip is inserted into the back of your left hand, this remains in position until all the fluid has entered your veins; I had a further drip inserted after as they are putting a bone strengthener in as well as all my bones have become so fragile and if I fall, there is a big chance I'll break bones. When this also drains it is removed from your hand, and then after about ten minutes to stabilize yourself you are then allowed to go home.
I felt a little light headed and knees were aching as usual, but quite well apart from that, I went to bed approx two hours later and stayed there until next morning. (The actual time in the armchair was four hours) I have had no side effect at all so far, unfortunately some people are quite sick, loose there hair later, and suffer for weeks, hopefully I may be lucky.
So once again, I am saying if there is any indication of prostate problems go and see about it. My PSA was dopping quite well, however this has now plateaued at 1131 which still has a long way to go.
I am not trying to frighten anyone into the whole cancer scene, but please if you have any doubts, go and see about it.
If you are concerned and want to talk to me , for instance,do not hesitate to send me a PM, and I'll phone you back, no matter where you live.

All the best,
Cheers,
Ron.

Thanks for the update Ron ol' sock. Keep the chin up and the bum will keep pointing down if you get my drift.
All the best mate. :2tsup:
Mike

Ron,
I wish you all the best with the Chemo, I hope you are one of the lucky ones that doesnt get too sick from it.

I had my radioactive iodine treatment 2 weeks ago (2nd lot), it knocked me around a lot more than the first dose. They gave me a stronger dose this time.
Still unsure if it has gotten rid of all the cancer yet, I have to go back to Brisbane in May to talk to the Doc about whether I'll be needing a 3rd dose.

Ron,

Hope it all goes well for you. My daughter is a chemo nurse here in Bendigo, so I hear all about these things regularly and she is forever on my back for check-ups etc.
A couple of years ago I was building a pergola and lifting heavy beams, as I was doing this I was rubbing my chest. She saw this and asked whether I had chest pains, I replied that there was only a bit of discomfort. Well between her and SWMBO I was pushed to the doc the next day and had a strees test the day after. Two days later I was in Epworth for an angiogram, they found a 95% blockage in the left anterior artery, and the next day I had 2 stents inserted. Doctor said I was a walking time bomb and if it wasn't for the quick action of SWMBO and daughter I would have been a goner. Two days ago I had my final echo and stress test and got the all clear. Feeling as right as rain and have been bike riding a fair bit.

So this story reinforces your message, don't ignore any symptoms and don't play the big toughy, look after your health and have it checked out. Better to be a live wooz than a dead hero!

Ron, I hope things will go well for you, what I have seen of the health system has really impressed me despite all the negative stuff in the media and I know that all those dedicated health professionals will do their utmost to get you back on track.
Keep us updated on your progress, my thoughts are with you.:2tsup:

Fred

Ron
Hope all goes well, and you have a speedy recovery:2tsup:

Big Shed & Fred.n,
Fred & Fred,
Thanks fellas for your kind remarks and best wishes, It's a matter of hanging in there I think, pretty hard to do sometimes. Your comments re the dedicated professionals who are there to help you through it all is remarkable, They are truly dedicated not like in the system even as far back as five years ago where it was just a job to most, now they are right there their PR skills alone are fantastic.The local hospital is great, but the St.John of God Hospital in Ballarat is one in a million, absolutley fantastic.
In many areas now the word dedicated is meaningless, teaching for instance, I had 25 years in there and when I look at some of them today they are most certainly not dedicated it's purely a9.00 to 3.30 job.
Thanks again fellas, and best wishes,

Regards,
Ron.

Prostate Cancer Misdiagnosed

March 28, 2007 06:28am
Article from: AAP
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OVERWEIGHT men are far more likely to get misleading results to prostate cancer tests that compromise their treatment, new research has revealed.

A study has found that prostate biopsies commonly used to diagnose the extent of the disease regularly underestimate the severity in men carrying extra weight. The results, published by US scientists today, suggest that many men receive inadequate or inappropriate treatment that is not aggressive enough to combat the true nature of their disease. Cancer Council Australia chief executive, professor Ian Olver, said the findings were concerning, and urged clinicians to carry out more thorough testing on these patients.

The study compared biopsy results with actual disease in more than 1100 US men who had had their prostate removed as part of their cancer treatment. A biopsy - surgery to remove and test small slices of the organ - typically follows the standard PSA blood test used to indicate the presence of disease. The research, led by Duke University, showed that obese men were 89 per cent more likely than slim men to have a more aggressive form of prostate cancer than was indicated by biopsy.

Men who registered as overweight but not obese had a 44 per cent increased risk.

Study leader Stephen Freedland said the results were worrying because under-diagnosed men potentially miss out on additional treatment, like hormone therapy, that could save lives. It was already known that PSA test readings were less accurate in overweight men, he said. "These findings further suggest that we could be missing even more high-grade disease among obese men," Dr Freeland wrote in the latest issue of the journal Urology. The reason for the discrepancy was still unclear. But the researchers believe obese men's larger prostates could mean that the usual number of samples taken during a biopsy is insufficient to reveal the gland's actual status. Prof Olver said it was important clinicians were aware of the problem and conducted more biopsies on these patients to get a more accurate result. "It also underlines the fact that we need better ways to diagnose and predict the outcome for this disease," Prof Olver said.

Ron (and the rest of you sick buggers), just read through this thread and wanted to add my support. I've been lucky with health so far but I guess it is just a matter of time. I have a good friend at the moment who has lung cancer, and this has metastasized to her brain so the outlook is not good. But she is a fighter and doesn't give up easily.

So positive thoughts flowing your way, keep your chin up and stay alive! Hope the results keep improving.

On the subject of health insurance, I'm a fan of it actually. I've been a member for a long while of the Government Employees Health Fund, which is now called Australian Health Management (AHM). They are very helpful, and have forgiven us a couple of transgressions regarding being late with notifications and renewals (we've moved countries a couple of times in the last 5 years). Since I've been a member we've had two kids, I've had gall bladder surgery and a vasectomy and not paid a cent for any of this. They pay towards chiropractic, dental and orthodontic, and some of their benefits even rollover between years (not many funds do that). I reckon it has saved us a heap over the years. For example, when I had gall bladder surgery I went private because the public waiting list was over 12 months. I was in and out within a week and cost me nothing. I can't imagine how painful it would have been to have waited 12 months - I had two pethedine injections in the emergency ward within a week before I had the surgery.

Here in NSW the public system seems awful. Although our last babe we had in the public hospital on our doc's recommendation and that went all right. But they didn't even provide food for goodness sake! Very basic facilities too.

I have just finished reading all the posts in this thread and felt compelled to pass on my best wishes to all of you who are sick or otherwise incapacitated.

Good luck, and may you find better health and happiness in the very near future.

Regards

Richard

Any body regardless of age should go see doctor if they have any doubts about their health and don't be afraid to see a second doctor if first one doesn't diagnose problem to your satisfaction.

Two cases.

1. mate of mine 44 years old thought he had irratable bowell syndrome ignored it, diagnosed primary bowel with other cancers now has only a very short time to live.

2. son of one of my wifes clients, 17 year old now, severe headaches for a year, kept being diagnosed with migraines, mother took him to another doctor, cat scan straight away, has a brain tumour and has now had a stroke before they could operate.

If you won't do it for yourself do it for your family and friends.

I wish Ron and any one else who is ill that the outcome be positive.

As posted earlier in this thread I have been getting ongoing treatment for thyroid cancer.

I have just spent the last 3 days in an isolation cell in Royal Brisbane Hospital, while I had radioactive iodine treatment (3rd time in 12 months).

Got out yesterday after my levels were low enough to be around other people, had the full body scan, the doctor gave me good news, the spots I had which were in places that were inoperable, have been killed off by the radiation, I have 1 very small spot left in the side of my neck (which can be removed by surgery if need be) which he says will probably also be gone by the time the radiation is fully gone from my body.

They are just going to monitor with blood tests now and see what happens.

This news was like winning the lotto for me, hard to explain the feeling. :o :B :2tsup: :U :; :D :)

Good for you:2tsup: