MY ACTION PLAN
I want to live!
easy as 1-2-buckle-my-shoe
WELL DONE you have arrived at your action plan rather than casting your fate to the wind.
TWO STEPS TO EARLY DIAGNOSIS
WARNING The information published throughout this website may not be relevant to your individual medical requirements. To rely solely on this information may cause you to have incorrect diagnosis and treatments, unnecessary treatments, and over-treatments of conditions. It is imperative you always seek advice for your medical needs and well being from your GP, doctor, or suitably qualified professional medical practitioner.
1 Be SYMPTOMS ALERT !
Learn the symptoms and act accordingly, always keep on the case, not just once but year after year.
2 Because MOST MEN DO NOT GET SYMPTOMS
From around the age of forty to fifty (at 40 for black men of Afro-Caribbean ethnicity) consider regular ANNUAL or BI-ANNUAL visits (not just a one-off) to your GP for:-
a: PSA BLOOD TEST
A simple blood test for Prostate Specific Antigen. Important - many GP's will be unaware of the 2016 lowering of PSA levels that should trigger a referral to a hospital urologist. These are now reduced to PSA 2.5 and 3.0 (depending on patient's age and risk) so record and be vigilant over your personal PSA TEST result figures.
b: The DREaded DRE
A finger up the proverbial you-know-where, a.k.a. Digital Rectal Examination anytime after giving the PSA blood sample. The DRE bothers some men, but usually it is very quick and without discomfort.
NEVER BE FOBBED-OFF OR ACCEPT NEGATIVITY FROM YOUR GP TOWARDS YOUR REQUESTS FOR TESTING AND REGULAR SCREENING, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS. Quite rightly you should be warned about screening and over treatment risks, but surely the priority for most men is to be offered the risk-benefit choices so as to avoid palliative care and dying from advanced prostate cancer? Sadly, thousands of men every year are never given the option. It is your NHS right to these tests and examinations from age 45-50 depending on ethnicity, men with a family history of prostate cancer and black men over 40 should be extra vigilant. If you are under 50 (45 black men) and do not have symptoms then your GP can refuse, so you might decide to pay privately for a PSA and DRE if under these ages. From around the age of 40 there can be advantages of having baseline (marker) PSA blood tests for future comparison, see TESTS.
Hopefully after a PSA & DRE your GP will let you know everything is fine, if your results are outside of 'norms' you will be referred to a hospital urology consultant. It is important to note that an 'outside of norms PSA result' can be as low as 2.5 if you are in your 40's and in a high risk group.
Because national screening for prostate cancer is NOT yet NHS policy and GP's are specifically instructed by the NHS to 'NOT be proactive' many GP's are unlikely to suggest future check-ups after 'all clear' examination results. You must be proactive if you want to regularly monitor ...The State of your Prostate
Remember; the UK man's right to a personal and regular screening programme is NOT the sole prerogative of our GP's and NHS.
As the NHS says...
IT'S YOUR HEALTH - YOUR CHOICES
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