Sounds like a great name for a band.
You are a good writer. The style reminds me of Dave Barry.
No surprise. Doctor’s doing unnecessary procedures and raking in fees at taxpayer expense. Do some research on your own to verify whatever medical professional is telling you to see if they know what they’re talking about. If baloney, try and see another doctor. Then decide. You’re the boss. In the end, we’re all going to cash out anyway. Manage that expectation and the rest falls in to place. Assuming your retired that is. My two cents.
Thanks for the info, and how did the biopsy turn out?
I had to travel 250 miles to find a non-surgical solution to my prostate problems. A urologist inserted a sonic heater in my urethra and cooked the tissue. Most body cells are very close to a vein and an artery, which not only supply oxygen, but also keep the cell cool. Cancer cells reproduce faster than veins and arteries. The cells can survive with an astonishingly low oxygen level. But if you heat them up, they die.
With the machine he used there is no risk. Earlier machines could overcook and create problems. The tube itself is water cooled and two probes inserted in the prostate keep the temperature at the optimum level. It is an office procedure and requires about four days to recover from it.
You will have to find a urologist in a retirement area. Otherwise they can’t afford the machine. My doctor did four of these a week.
Meidcare, medicaid, obamacare... Nothing more than a government jobs program for unemployable people and redistributive schemes.
I would kill myself before undergoing something like that.
Nice story. However, you are not bound to that Primary Dr, have changed when I had to find a new one, first replacement was useless, wouldn’t listen. You have to be proactive today
I had that too, and this is exactly what they do together with the school age nurse. (must be some law) what were the results??
Semper Fi Marine, Been there and done that. I laughed at the way you described the situation, very good.
It’s a lot cheaper, and slightly more entertaining, to just hire a hooker to check it out for lumps w/her thumb.
Good job on illustrating just how F’d up this stuff is.
I work with retirees.
Tell you one thing, the more a client goes to the Dr., the more likely they are dead soon.
Granted, some people need care for an acute situation, but frankly more often than not the Health System is trying to find clients to charge, and get addicted or prescribe one drug after the other.
Being there is a history of prostate cancer in my family, I have gone through three of these at 5 year intervals. Got about 3 more years until my next one. Not looking forward to it.
LOVED this! But I am so sorry for your ordeal. You should seek to get it published somewhere.
This is one of those (admittedly well-written and funny) stories where I inadvertently blurt out after reading: “there has GOT to be a better way.”
Same with colonoscopies.
Good post. Your saga described my experience to a T, down to the middle school assistant. The only thing I would add is they don’t tell you until afterward that it’s completely unreliable. Unless you are riddled with cancer, the odds of them hitting the right area are slim to none.
You inspire me to a new measure of gratitude for my low PSA number.
They didn't find anything and my PSA number has gone down a bit since, so I haven't had a need for the procedure again.
Nowadays, I believe they don't do the procedure after just one high PSA reading. They do an MRI and then a few PSA follow ups first.
Very funny and accurate description of the procedure. I had a prostate biopsy and the pain I endured has only been exceeded by a root canal I had done by a dentist who neglected to freeze the tooth.