Since this forum appears a tad slow these days, I am bringing this topic up again. There is some confusion about when this 'awareness' is really supposed to happen, so I am disregarding that and going with now.
Guys should have their Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) measured via blood test beginning at age 40 - earlier if there are symptoms of any kind. You should then get it remeasured pretty much every year and watch for any upward trend. You should be aware that your age divided by 100 = the chance that you have Prostate Cancer (PCa). If there is an abrupt, steep or rapid increase in PSA, you will need to get checked for prostatitis (a local infection of the gland, often with urinary problems) or a biopsy (once an infection has been ruled out). If you have PCa there are a lot of interventions to avail yourself of.
Women should do self breast exams, as many breast cancers are found by the patient herself. They should also start getting regular mammograms starting about age 40. As with PCa, there are many interventional options.
Both of these cancers can be hard to detect, both can be 'sneaky' in that they can go unnoticed or undiscovered until it is too late to stop them.
Current surgical practices like Da Vinci robotic surgery minimize the physical impact of removing the cancers, radiation treatments have become vastly more minimal and efficient as have chemical treatments. There many new drugs and treatments under study at this time and the advances are almost daily now. The current state of the art in fighting cancer allows for much longer survival times as these new treatments come on line. Some of the new treatments even hint at a possible cure for these diseases - like Lutetium 177 and Actinium 255 PSMA therapies that actually kill the cancer cells involved.
Like other health issues, it is imperative that the patient be their own advocate. You must be proactive and observant. If you don't really trust the first doctors judgement or conclusions, move on to another doctor. No harm in getting that second opinion we all know we should get.
Guys should have their Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) measured via blood test beginning at age 40 - earlier if there are symptoms of any kind. You should then get it remeasured pretty much every year and watch for any upward trend. You should be aware that your age divided by 100 = the chance that you have Prostate Cancer (PCa). If there is an abrupt, steep or rapid increase in PSA, you will need to get checked for prostatitis (a local infection of the gland, often with urinary problems) or a biopsy (once an infection has been ruled out). If you have PCa there are a lot of interventions to avail yourself of.
Women should do self breast exams, as many breast cancers are found by the patient herself. They should also start getting regular mammograms starting about age 40. As with PCa, there are many interventional options.
Both of these cancers can be hard to detect, both can be 'sneaky' in that they can go unnoticed or undiscovered until it is too late to stop them.
Current surgical practices like Da Vinci robotic surgery minimize the physical impact of removing the cancers, radiation treatments have become vastly more minimal and efficient as have chemical treatments. There many new drugs and treatments under study at this time and the advances are almost daily now. The current state of the art in fighting cancer allows for much longer survival times as these new treatments come on line. Some of the new treatments even hint at a possible cure for these diseases - like Lutetium 177 and Actinium 255 PSMA therapies that actually kill the cancer cells involved.
Like other health issues, it is imperative that the patient be their own advocate. You must be proactive and observant. If you don't really trust the first doctors judgement or conclusions, move on to another doctor. No harm in getting that second opinion we all know we should get.
