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User
Posted 26 Mar 2023 at 07:29

Apologies, this question might sound stupid. I was just wondering, whether those of us who have had prostate cancer have a higher propensity to contract other unrelated cancers?

User
Posted 26 Mar 2023 at 14:27

I was just thinking about this too. From a cursory look into it if you are over 60 at the time of diagnosis of PC then there is the same general risk of other cancers, but I should caveat that with the possible increase in cancers from exposure to RT,  such as rectal or bladder cancer. 

User
Posted 26 Mar 2023 at 09:53

Yes. Once you've got one cancer, you are at a higher chance of having another. This is because factors that might predispose you to cancer usually predispose you to other cancers too.


However, another effect of having a cancer is that the medical investigations for it can often pick up other cancers or issues before they become serious. There are some studies which show that men diagnosed and successfully treated for early prostate cancer can live longer than those who never got prostate cancer, because of the medical attention they got also avoided some other causes of death. I think several people in this group have had incidental findings of kidney or bladder cancer during their prostate cancer scans, which were consequently treated much earlier than they would otherwise have been. I've also heard of aortic aneurysms being found when doing the scans.

User
Posted 26 Mar 2023 at 17:27
The increased risk of other cancers as a result of RT is tiny - men have a 1 in 15 chance of getting bowel cancer and it is estimated that this is increased by about 4% following RT (so in effect, the risk changes from 1 in 15 to 1 in 16). If a man was to get a RT elated second cancer, this generally seems to be between 5 -15 years later.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
User
Posted 27 Mar 2023 at 10:47

Not too long ago, I changed my private health insurance provider. Naturally prostate cancer is excluded, but they are covering any new cancer that may be diagnosed at no additional premium. I take this as an indication that they consider it to be low risk. 

User
Posted 27 Mar 2023 at 19:32
I was discovered to have an early-stage kidney tumour (completely unrelated to prostate cancer) during my prostate cancer diagnostic scans. Those scans saved my life: by the time kidney cancer starts showing symptoms, survival rates are poor, but since mine was found early, my kidney was removed and that was hopefully the end of it. My surgeon said I would probably have been dead in three years had it not been found - that was five years ago.

Chris
User
Posted 27 Mar 2023 at 21:02
Thanks all, I was hoping the chances were the same as everyone else, however, thanks for taking time out to respond.
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User
Posted 26 Mar 2023 at 09:53

Yes. Once you've got one cancer, you are at a higher chance of having another. This is because factors that might predispose you to cancer usually predispose you to other cancers too.


However, another effect of having a cancer is that the medical investigations for it can often pick up other cancers or issues before they become serious. There are some studies which show that men diagnosed and successfully treated for early prostate cancer can live longer than those who never got prostate cancer, because of the medical attention they got also avoided some other causes of death. I think several people in this group have had incidental findings of kidney or bladder cancer during their prostate cancer scans, which were consequently treated much earlier than they would otherwise have been. I've also heard of aortic aneurysms being found when doing the scans.

User
Posted 26 Mar 2023 at 14:27

I was just thinking about this too. From a cursory look into it if you are over 60 at the time of diagnosis of PC then there is the same general risk of other cancers, but I should caveat that with the possible increase in cancers from exposure to RT,  such as rectal or bladder cancer. 

User
Posted 26 Mar 2023 at 17:27
The increased risk of other cancers as a result of RT is tiny - men have a 1 in 15 chance of getting bowel cancer and it is estimated that this is increased by about 4% following RT (so in effect, the risk changes from 1 in 15 to 1 in 16). If a man was to get a RT elated second cancer, this generally seems to be between 5 -15 years later.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
User
Posted 27 Mar 2023 at 10:47

Not too long ago, I changed my private health insurance provider. Naturally prostate cancer is excluded, but they are covering any new cancer that may be diagnosed at no additional premium. I take this as an indication that they consider it to be low risk. 

User
Posted 27 Mar 2023 at 19:32
I was discovered to have an early-stage kidney tumour (completely unrelated to prostate cancer) during my prostate cancer diagnostic scans. Those scans saved my life: by the time kidney cancer starts showing symptoms, survival rates are poor, but since mine was found early, my kidney was removed and that was hopefully the end of it. My surgeon said I would probably have been dead in three years had it not been found - that was five years ago.

Chris
User
Posted 27 Mar 2023 at 21:02
Thanks all, I was hoping the chances were the same as everyone else, however, thanks for taking time out to respond.
 
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