I see, as do most here, our initial lack of knowledge about PCa. While I knew some of my BPH problems, I still didn't make any connection to PCa until I had blood in my urine. I was 82 at the time and thought I had dodged the bullet. Just to start this year, I had an appendectomy which had been mis-dx about 8 mos earlier. It was initial missed since I was out of the age group, even though I knew it was appendice as the symtoms were drill in our heads as young kids. And I kept telling the drs what it was! I am my PCP oldest patient who had an appendectomy and he is no spring chicken!
A lot of med insurance has age restrictions for a lot of tests. Besides ignoring PCa ourselves, about the only commercials about it are peddling some medication. Generally and nearly daily, I see PAs incouraging ladies to get mammograms for breast cancer and this has been done for decades on TV. Think this should be done for PCa,too.
I personally tell all the guys and gals I meet about PCa. If I send a card or note to a friend from now, I am going to sign off by tell them to get their prostate checked.
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SpencerBoy11
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About the same percentage of men will get prostate cancer as the percentage of women who get breast cancer, but you wouldn't know it from all the hoopla you see about breast cancer. For breast cancer there are numerous public service announcements, charity events, ribbons, marches, marathons, mailings, stories in the media, etc., etc. For prostate cancer there is......................mostly silence. Men's health seems to take a back seat to women's health in this country (US), and maybe this needs to change.
The same applies in Australia, prostate cancer has overtaken breast cancer but there is very little media output. With breast cancer, there is so much happening regarding advice, organisations, treatment, etc. PC is rarely talked about in the media.
My older male friends who find out I have prostate cancer express that familiar mix of sympathy, pity and barely concealed relief that it isn’t them. Or they recall hearing it’s easily curable.
If I ask if they’ve had their PSA checked they either don’t know what it is, assume their PCP has done it, or say ‘yeah I know I should do that’ with little actual intention of doing it. Or they think a colonoscopy is the same thing.
Even my friends who have it often know nothing of their stage, Gleason, pathology etc. Men too often don’t go to the doctor until they’re incapacitated, and definitely don’t want to know about any problems ‘down there’.
It is against this backdrop that we try to increase awareness. So this is at least a big part of the reason breast cancer gets all the attention.
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