Posted on 10/07/2011 10:56:02 PM PDT by neverdem
Now I've seen one of those malignant types in a VA hospital, and it wasn't pretty. It metastasized to the neck. The poor guy was probably terminal, and his tongue was permanently protruding out of his mouth! They need a test for those really malignant types, as most are rather indolent.
There's a video at the source.
Death panel.
The VA won’t give me Plavix after a 6X bypass and 2 stints.
Today they told me that heart stints don’t have any effect on whether I have another heart attack. Now they’re not going to check my PSA level. Death Panel is right.
I’m 52 now and I have been wondering if it’s time for me to get that checked, so this is an interesting article.
Other than having to get up more than twice a night to leak, I don’t have anything that could be considered a symptom. From what I understand, that’s not unusual at this age.
“At first, you start off with a biopsy to see if the guy actually has prostate cancer, and that’s usually not that big a deal to go through and pretty safe. But in some cases, there can be complications and it can take some time to recover from even that. And then it turns out that — if he has prostate cancer, then he has to undergo surgery or radiation. And that can have some very serious complications, the biggest ones being impotence and incontinence.”
That says it all, read it carefully, these people should be fired.
Between the rectal exam and PSA reading from blood tests, your GP will refer you to a urologist if they suspect prostate cancer. The urologist will likely take samples from your prostate. They stick a probe up your rectum and stab your prostate with small tubes taking tiny core samples. Make sure you go for the six sample test and not the 17 as you will bleed for months if you do. The lab will read the samples and determine dispersion and rates of growth from microscopic analysis. This is when you learn your choices of treatment. better hope this all happens before the cancer metastasizes, grows beyond the prostate sack into your body for then it's likely all over for you. The point about impotency in the article is rather silly when you consider the alternative. Most men will get prostate cancer. The trick is getting diagnosed if you have the rapid growth form or not.
Mercy, reading these comments want me to yell out loud! Since when does anyone deserve the right or requirement to get preventive care for possible problems?
If you go though life and only go the to Doctor when necessary, the guess what - costs lower and lawsuits are also diminished. Seems like a plan to me...
Forget all the malarkey about preventive examinations since you will only be subject to tests that the lawyers think is necessary - or they will sue.
Maybe it’s time to go back to the good ole days when we only went to the Doctor when there was an actual problem.
Wonder just how that would effect rates... (Of course, that would have to include medical lawsuit reform)...
I would conclude from that interview that employees of PBS and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force have received waivers from Obamacare.
go back and read it again.....there is one other piece missing, that they can retest to eliminate false positives.
Sorry... I think all those “preventive” tests are not only costly but not necessary. You might catch 1 in a hundred cases and even some of those are false positives. It causes undue hardship and certainly expands costs unnecessarily.
I have to say that almost ALL preventive tests are useless with what - maybe a 1-2% catch rate (and even those are often wrong). Really, you want to do all of these tests to catch 1 out of a hundred cases of actual disease? This is what Obama care wants - great for the Doctors and Hospitals money wise...
The PSA has no false negatives. That means for the majority of men under about 75, you get a negative PSA, and you have nothing to worry about.
Next level. They take a second test. PSA might show nothing this time. If so, again you're clear.
Next level. They do a biopsy. You get cleared and there's nothing to worry about.
Next level: and here is where the whole frakkin' thing goes sideways: there's evidence of cancer and some people have the nerve to actually get treatment for it! And those treatments may have less than thoroughly desirable outcomes.
This is so outrageously stupid, only a government board could actually come up with it. Is any consideration being given to the question: what are the consequences to your health, stress and anxiety level, and quality of life to be told "yes, you probably have cancer, but it may not be the kind to worry about, so, given that you might become impotent or have some discomfort for a while, we're recommending that you keep the cancer."
Wow. Just wow. Incredibly stupid.
No doctor does the biopsy without a second test, this isn’t the only test that has false positives.....there are hundreds of similar tests.
Undetected cancer is death.
You got it right, that is exactly my issue this this.
Sorry, I still contend that almost all preventive tests are useless and unnecessary but do contribute to the Doctors and Hospital funds. Mostly due to prevent lawsuits.
I can understand your arguments but in my experience, they are and have been useless in both my parents and myself. Your case may be different but do not extend them to everyone.
The test 2.50, with the lab draw 27.50, this isn’t a huge money maker for anyone.
That’s okay - seems that you are a believer in preventive medicine. That is okay for me and you. I just don’t believe in it as it is an unnecessary cost to both individuals and society.
Your way is okay but more expensive. we did not need this kind of preventive treatment until is was available. It seems that the more that is possible, the more we want...
And of course the more the costs...
your issue is that the government is paying for it, don’t get confused
I am more than willing to pay for it
routine doctor visits and preventative care, and routine tests should all be paid out of pocket.
you would have us consigned to the stone age out of your confusion.
Okay, finally something I can understand...heh, those comments by eyedigress had me totally confused...
Yes, I agree with you, if you want to do it yourself and pay for it, that is a good thing. No, I do not want us to go back to the stone age - just reasonable costs afforded by the government (really by you and me).
I applaud actions by individuals to pay for their own health care - it is the forced costs that the government does that really irritates me. It is not their money, but they insist on preventive care (go Obama care - pay for everything even if you only want catastrophic care - insurance)... Sorry to say, but it costs much more to do preventive care for everyone than it does to take care of those needing immediate care.
Yes, I may be on Medicare but have yet to use it and will not unless it is catastrophic...
dila813 - sorry, that response to me was meant for you - I think that I was totally confused by eyedigress. Ended up replying to myself...heh.
Spot on. My 70 year old father was flagged for prostate cancer earlier this year via PSA tests and finally a biopsy. They caught it early and he was treated successfully with the Da Vinci robotic surgery. (I advised him to go to the Loma Linda Medical Center and have the proton therapy treatment as it is much less invasive, but he wanted to get it over with.)
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