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Well this will be interesting - Eastenders & PC

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User
Posted 14 Aug 2023 at 21:00

Will be interesting to see how they handle this - apparently it is being done to raise awareness

EastEnders: Shane Richie's Alfie Moon set for prostate cancer story

User
Posted 15 Aug 2023 at 14:03

When I looked around prostate cancer support groups, so few men had any symptoms at all at diagnosis. Actually, I was beginning to suspect the rate of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) was lower even than the population of all men of that age.

Then last year, this research was published, which confirmed that LUTS are not symptoms of prostate cancer, and actually if you do have lower urinary tract symptoms, which are symptoms of enlarged prostate, you are very slightly less likely to have prostate cancer than someone who has no symptoms.

Urinary symptoms and prostate cancer—the misconception that may be preventing earlier presentation and better survival outcomes

I spoke with the author just after this was published, and he said the reaction was no surprise from patients and some consultants, but GP's were up in arms.

User
Posted 14 Aug 2023 at 21:00

Will be interesting to see how they handle this - apparently it is being done to raise awareness

EastEnders: Shane Richie's Alfie Moon set for prostate cancer story

User
Posted 17 Aug 2023 at 11:39
Rogmartyn - I think that your pain was unlikely a symptom of the PCa (unless you were told differently) but it is so typical of the way that many men find out about their PCa - go for one unrelated thing and just happen to find out due to a blood test. I wish annual screening was in place for men in the same way that women have cervical smears and mammograms.
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User
Posted 14 Aug 2023 at 22:09

It gets off to a bad start...

"Macmillan Cancer Support's Dany Bell said the series could "raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of prostate cancer".

"Common symptoms include:

  • needing to urinate more frequently - particularly at night

  • difficulty starting to urinate, weak flow and it taking a long time"

Nope, they got that completely wrong.

Edited by member 14 Aug 2023 at 22:09  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 15 Aug 2023 at 13:18

I don't know - although I had the weak flow, I have had that for decades so I don't think it was a symptom in my case.

Those symptoms however are listed on a lot of websites, including respected sites such the CDC and Mayo in the USA, however in the UK, sites such as Cancer Research UK say that

"Urinary symptoms such as difficulty passing urine are rarely caused by prostate cancer. They are much more likely to be caused by a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)"

So maybe British PC is different from American PC :)

No wonder people are confused!

Edited by member 15 Aug 2023 at 13:19  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 15 Aug 2023 at 14:03

When I looked around prostate cancer support groups, so few men had any symptoms at all at diagnosis. Actually, I was beginning to suspect the rate of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) was lower even than the population of all men of that age.

Then last year, this research was published, which confirmed that LUTS are not symptoms of prostate cancer, and actually if you do have lower urinary tract symptoms, which are symptoms of enlarged prostate, you are very slightly less likely to have prostate cancer than someone who has no symptoms.

Urinary symptoms and prostate cancer—the misconception that may be preventing earlier presentation and better survival outcomes

I spoke with the author just after this was published, and he said the reaction was no surprise from patients and some consultants, but GP's were up in arms.

User
Posted 15 Aug 2023 at 18:38

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Will be interesting to see how they handle this - apparently it is being done to raise awareness

EastEnders: Shane Richie's Alfie Moon set for prostate cancer story

Apologies in advance, but it'll be interesting to see how Shane Richie handles a pump.

User
Posted 15 Aug 2023 at 19:05
OMG - I nearly fell off my chair - now that WOULD be a storyline!!
User
Posted 15 Aug 2023 at 19:37

We wait with bated breath for that episode 🙈

User
Posted 15 Aug 2023 at 20:16

Andy62's link to the research paper makes interesting reading. However I do hope any outcome going forward doesn't lull men with LUTS into a false sense of security about the likely hood of having PCa. In my case I had LUTS for a number of years. At the age of 64 I enquired about having a PSA test during a Wellman clinic at my GP surgery. I hadn't had a PSA test since my forties at that point. Whilst I wasn't refused a test I was persuaded not to have one, basically because LUTS was generally as a result of an enlarged prostate and that PSA gives too many false positives. I persevered with the symptoms for another couple of years until I was persuaded to insist on having a PSA test. This time there was no dissuasion. The result came back with a PSA of 37 and a subsequent diagnosis of T3bN1M0. My ignorance of prostate cancer at the time certainly resulted in a late diagnosis but if it hadn't been for the persistent LUTS I probably wouldn't have done anything.

User
Posted 16 Aug 2023 at 19:15

Just adding my tuppence here, It seems that most of the time PCa hits us with no symptoms at all. But for me? This was NOT the case. I most definitely DID have symptoms. There was a degree of stop/slow with urination, but I also had an overall ache that felt both unusual and troublesome across my lower abdomen. I also sweated far more than I realised was normal. All of this combined had me making that call to the GP.

I was 46, no familial history and it turned out I had a T3a cancer.

I was lucky.I continue to hope that im still lucky.

I say this only to those that might read these pages and who may have similar symptoms. 

If at all worried? You know what you need to do. No brainer.

Jamie.

 

User
Posted 16 Aug 2023 at 20:18

I went to my GP with a shoulder problem and mentioned getting up in the night, next thing I was laying on my side having a DRE. Cancer was confirmed three weeks later. In hindsight I also had terminal dribbling for 12 years before diagnosis. Were they symptoms or coincidence.

Thanks Chris 

User
Posted 17 Aug 2023 at 08:29
I was taking a walk in July 2021. All of a sudden my left leg below the knee started giving me extreme pain. So much I had to sit down for a period of time and then limp home. Long story short, appointment with GP, circulation OK, no obvious visual symptom’s, appointment booked with Physio. Finally GP’s throw away remark, “arrange a blood test with reception on your way out”. The rest is history now.
User
Posted 17 Aug 2023 at 11:39
Rogmartyn - I think that your pain was unlikely a symptom of the PCa (unless you were told differently) but it is so typical of the way that many men find out about their PCa - go for one unrelated thing and just happen to find out due to a blood test. I wish annual screening was in place for men in the same way that women have cervical smears and mammograms.
 
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