Bangkok Treatment For Prostate Cancer?

[BAYBOY]

Have had an enquiry fom a good friend in Denmark. He sadly has prostate cancer and has to have an operation.

He is interested in having this done in Bangkok.

The operation is called 'Potency keeping binoculars operation"

Any one here have any idea what hospital in Bangkok does this operation, the cost and how long one has to stay in the hospital?

Ihave no idea and want to advise him asap.

Thanks

BAYBOY

[Sheryl]

Dr Viroj at Bumrungrad and Dr Thanoo at Samitivej seem to be the best in this field and have treated a number of TV members. Please see the pinned notice on urologists in Bangkok.

I am not familiar with the terminology you use for the surgery but I think what is meant is nerve-sparing surgery. Whether or not this is suitable and feasible in your friend's case the doctors would have to decide preferrably after examining him but at the least, after a careful review of all pertinent medical records. Suggest he contact these 2 hospitals, both have websites, use the email link for "patient referral" and send scanned copies of all relevant test results etc. Specifically state the doctor preference in the email and ask about nerve-sparing surgery.

i don't know cost, the hospitals can tell you, but it will not be cheap. Which raises the question of why leave Denmark, where he would presumably be covered by some sort of national health insurance, to have it done in Thailand where he will have to pay out of pocket?

[offset]

I was given an estimate for Open Prostatectomy from Dr Viroj at Bumrungrad of between 360000B and 38000B but it ended at 420000 due to the fact that I am a bleeder and extra blood and a Hematologist was on stand by during the operation never heard of 'Potency keeping binoculars operation' so I cannot help with that a Laperostomy (spelling) can be done at Bumrungrad but Dr Viroy does not do them the only hospital that does the Robotic Prostatectomy is the Siriraj Hospital I was told and the estimate I was given verbally was about 450000B

[LaoPo]

Prostate cancer is serious but it's beyond me why someone in Denmark, which has an excellent history in health care, would go to Thailand for such a delicate operation...?

Surely he must have insurance in Denmark ?

It's not that the urologists in Thailand would be any worse or better than Denmark's urologists but in Denmark the specialists have a lot more experience with local men whilst Asian doctors have more experience with Asian patients.

Then you have the point with communication.

I wouldn't opt for such a delicate operation in BKK, but that's me.

LaoPo

[Thongkorn]

Prostrate cancer is not life threatening, only in very certain circumstances, I know of a man who has had it for years and still has a full active life. I have Prostrate Cancer, Mine is controlled by Drugs, But it depends on how advanced it is , There are as many as 1 in 5 over 50 year old males walking around with prostrate cancer and they don't even know they have it. Every male over 50 in the UK can be tested for it for free , It is just a simple blood test, i found mine by accident, because of a pain in my groin, I requested a test it came back boarder line positive , So i was put on a course of drugs.

[jackoneilone]

this is bewildering.

the english you typed for the supposed procedures smells of a babelfish translation from another language. im assuming here that he wants his nerve intact and able to have erections arousal ejaculation etc as per normal. this mostly would be done robotically.

but the lost in translation part is not it.

whats bewildering is why go from Denmark with some of the best medical facilities and expert surgeons with latest instruments to Thailand when Denmark offers free medical care and treatment etc which would cost him nothing.

[BAYBOY]

Sorry for the delay in replying to various posters.

My Danish friend has been on holiday in Indonesia and I could only make contact with him yesterday.

Sheryl. yes another name for this operation is "nerve-sparing". It is a new procedure and has had success. The nerves surrounding the prostate are not cut as the prostate is removed, and so the patient MAY have a future sex life. Following the operation potency could be fully restored within 2 years. Also the patient may have to use "Vigara" to help achieve erections.The procedure is recomended for younger male patients.Older men would have difficulty in regaining potency.

LaoPo and Jackneilone. Being a new procedure and costly, the operation is not covered under Danish welfare/ insurance. One has to pay in full to have it done. In Denmark there is only one Doctor doing this, that he is aware of. It is at a private hospital in Jutland. The same Doctor also does this operation in London. Current cost a min. US$ 20,000. So my friend was interested to know if he could get it done here at a cheaper price.

Trust this clears your queries,

Thanks for your replies.

BAYBOY

[offset]

Sorry for the delay in replying to various posters.

My Danish friend has been on holiday in Indonesia and I could only make contact with him yesterday.

Sheryl. yes another name for this operation is "nerve-sparing". It is a new procedure and has had success. The nerves surrounding the prostate are not cut as the prostate is removed, and so the patient MAY have a future sex life. Following the operation potency could be fully restored within 2 years. Also the patient may have to use "Vigara" to help achieve erections.The procedure is recomended for younger male patients.Older men would have difficulty in regaining potency.

LaoPo and Jackneilone. Being a new procedure and costly, the operation is not covered under Danish welfare/ insurance. One has to pay in full to have it done. In Denmark there is only one Doctor doing this, that he is aware of. It is at a private hospital in Jutland. The same Doctor also does this operation in London. Current cost a min. US$ 20,000. So my friend was interested to know if he could get it done here at a cheaper price.

Trust this clears your queries,

Thanks for your replies.

BAYBOY

I do not know where he got his info from but I think you will find that all doctors try for a "nerve sparing" operation or at least I hope they do there are a lot of people that have had their prostate removed and have their nerve spared and still have ED problems and there are some of us that have lost one nerve bundle and have no problem with ED I was OK for ED and Incontinence 3 months after my Open operation (which I lost one nerve bundle) and have been for a couple of months

I gave the rough prices of the only 3 operations carried out for prostatectomy that I have heard about in an earlier reply there are other procedures for treating prostate cancer but they are not surgery as such

If this is a new surgery I do not think that it is even carried out in the USA so I do not think that it would be done in Thailand I was not offered it in July before my operation

[phetaroi]

Prostrate cancer is not life threatening, only in very certain circumstances, I know of a man who has had it for years and still has a full active life. I have Prostrate Cancer, Mine is controlled by Drugs, But it depends on how advanced it is , There are as many as 1 in 5 over 50 year old males walking around with prostrate cancer and they don't even know they have it. Every male over 50 in the UK can be tested for it for free , It is just a simple blood test, i found mine by accident, because of a pain in my groin, I requested a test it came back boarder line positive , So i was put on a course of drugs.

I'm not so sure that your post is very helpful.

First, I'm sorry that you have an illness where you must act submissive to everyone.

I think you unintentionally make prostate cancer not sound very serious. Yet, it is the third most common cause of cancer deaths for men of all ages, even though it is rare to occur under the age of 40. And, in regard to men over 75, it is the number one cause of death by cancer. You are right that many men with prostate cancer who die of other diseases because of their age, but make no mistake, there are many men who die from prostate cancer and some of them die very unpleasantly.

[bubba]

Prostate cancer is serious but it's beyond me why someone in Denmark, which has an excellent history in health care, would go to Thailand for such a delicate operation...?

Surely he must have insurance in Denmark ?

It's not that the urologists in Thailand would be any worse or better than Denmark's urologists but in Denmark the specialists have a lot more experience with local men whilst Asian doctors have more experience with Asian patients.

Then you have the point with communication.

I wouldn't opt for such a delicate operation in BKK, but that's me.

LaoPo

So are you inferring that Asian prostates are anatomically different from Caucasian prostates?

As for English, I have seen Dr. Viroj for lithotripsy of a kidney stone, as well as for treatment of a suddenly elevated PSA result. The latter was thankfully due to infection, and he correctly diagnosed it without rushing in for a biopsy. I was impressed with Dr. Viroj's competence, as well as his English. Personally, I found it much easier to communicate with him than with some of the cold, time-conscious physicians that I have seen back home.

[BAYBOY]

Offset, check out google..........."nerve sparing for prostste cancer". It is a new type of operation and gaining in popularity. One Doctor in the U.S.A. has done over 3500 of this procedure.But like all major operations one must check fully all the pros and cons of each operation type as it attains to you.

BAYBOY

[Sheryl]

I think the confusion is that there are several techniques for prostate surgery which are termed "nerve sparing', basically anything other than radical prostatectomy would qualify. "Nerve-sparing" simply means that instead of excising the prostate and at least some of the surrounding tissue (which will include nerves), the surgeon cuts only up to the margins of the prostate and not beyond. this can be done via open prostatectomy and, as it does not in itself cost more, I am sure it would be covered in Denmark so I suspect that more than this is meant, i.e. nerve-sparing surgery via either laparospcpic approach or robotically assisted laparoscopic.

These are indeed more costly and possibly a national health insurance might not cover. Cost will be less in Thailand than what you quote for Denmark although not by as much as one might expect.

I wonder if by "binoculars" he meant laparascopic? Should try to confirm this. The medical trerminology used in Denmark would not differ from that used anywhere else, I think what he was expressing was how the technique was described to him in lay terms, but if he asks the doctor who advised him he was a candidate for this procedure to tell him the medical term for it that will clear up the matter.

Both laparoscopic and robotically assisted prostatectomy can be done in Thailand although in the case of robotically assisted lap, only AFAIK being done at Siriraj Hospital, the most experienced doctor in it being Dr. Sittiporn Srinualad, who in addition to being in an Associate Professor at Siriraj (major teaching hospital) has private practice at Thonburi Hospital.

For non-robotic laparoscopic prostatectomy I think Both Dr. Viroj at Bumrungrad and Dr. Thanoo at Samitivej would be able to do, altho of course whether ir not a particular patient is a suitable candidate for it will vary depending on a variety of factors.

I would suggest your friend consult all 3 of these doctors, they are all quite good and prominent in their fields and based on their advice he can select both the surgical approach and surgeon with whom he feels most comfortable. Appointments with Dr Virokj and Thanoo can be made via the Bumrungrad and Samitivej websites respectively, and appointment with Dr. Srinualad can be made through the thonburi Hospital website (although he might advise doing the actual surgery at Siriraj). It might be possible to do some degree of consultation long-distance but only if he can get a clear medical summary in English from his doctor to send for their review.

Should be aware though that

(1) Laparoscopic and robotically assisted approaches result in quicker post-op recovery but cost a great deal more due to requirement for specialized equipment and training, and it is not necessary to have a laporoscopic or robotic approach to have nerve-sparing surgery, can also be done via the more common open approach. The functional results (in terms of urinary continence and erectile function) are similiar for all three approaches: nerve-sparing open prostatectomy, laparoscopic and robotically-assisted laparoscopic. So while the latter two approach will mean less blood loss and quicker recovery, it will also cost a lot more with no greater chance of maintaining function in the long run (return of function may be quicker tho). In your friend's case, since the cost of an open procedure would presumably be totally free done in Denmark, the cost difference is going to be at least 10,000 US.

(2) nerve-sparing surgery is only possible if there is no evidence of spread of the cancer beyond the prostate and that even when scans do not show it, some small spread may be evident once the surgery strats, so that you cannot be 100% sure of nerve-sparing surgery before hand.

" In order to spare the nerves, the surgeon has to carefully cut to the very edges of the prostate. This is an important issue because if there are any cancer cells beyond where the surgeon has cut, they can grow and spread, and you will not be cured. If your cancer has spread outside of the prostate, the surgeon will need to cut out more of the surrounding tissues and therefore likely won’t be able to spare the nerves.Obviously, if this is known in advance, you will be able to take this into consideration when making your treatment choice. But sometimes the CT or MRI won’t show that the cancer has spread, and the doctor will be forced to make the final decision after the operation has already begun.

In short, the decision on whether to attempt a nerve-sparing procedure should be yours—only you can know how important it is to maintain your erectile function. But ultimately the decision on whether to perform the nerve-sparing procedure is up to the surgeon based on his or her years of experience and expert clinical judgment. Remember that the goal of the surgery is to cure you of your disease. If the surgeon does not feel that he or she can cure you and leave the nerves intact, the nerves will not be spared." http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/si...ostatectomy.htm

In instances where nerve-sparing proves impossible, nerve-grafting can be an option, works about 50% of the time, but only some surgeons are trained in it.

[Tolley]

Prostrate cancer is not life threatening, only in very certain circumstances, I know of a man who has had it for years and still has a full active life. I have Prostrate Cancer, Mine is controlled by Drugs, But it depends on how advanced it is , There are as many as 1 in 5 over 50 year old males walking around with prostrate cancer and they don't even know they have it. Every male over 50 in the UK can be tested for it for free , It is just a simple blood test, i found mine by accident, because of a pain in my groin, I requested a test it came back boarder line positive , So i was put on a course of drugs.

I'm not so sure that your post is very helpful.

First, I'm sorry that you have an illness where you must act submissive to everyone.

I think you unintentionally make prostate cancer not sound very serious. Yet, it is the third most common cause of cancer deaths for men of all ages, even though it is rare to occur under the age of 40. And, in regard to men over 75, it is the number one cause of death by cancer. You are right that many men with prostate cancer who die of other diseases because of their age, but make no mistake, there are many men who die from prostate cancer and some of them die very unpleasantly.

Yes but you might want to consider the following article before you rush into anything.

When it comes time for a man to decide if he should treat a diagnosed case of prostate cancer, the evidence is growing that treatment may not make much difference when it comes to survival. What may matter, however, are the potentially severe side effects men may experience when undergoing treatment they may not need.

The latest study to note that use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test may be prompting men to get treatment that may not be effective or even necessary was published in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The results support those of two previous studies from 2008. It seems that although high levels of PSA revealed on the blood screen can indicate the presence of prostate cancer, the test is not effective in predicting if treatment will be helpful.

Generally, prostate cancer is a slowly progressing cancer. When prostate cancer does advance rapidly, it “may grow so rapidly that screening doesn’t really help,” said H. Gilbert Welch of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice during an interview with National Public Radio. By the time screening detects these cancers, they have already spread. Other prostate cancers grow so slowly that men who have the disease are likely to die of something other than the cancer.

Indeed, the survival rate for prostate cancer is good. According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate is nearly 100 percent, and the ten-year rate is 91 percent. At fifteen years the rate is 76 percent. The results of the two studies published last year showed no difference (one study) and only a slight advantage (one study) in the number of prostate cancer deaths among men who were screened regularly as compared with men who were not screened.

According to a study published in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the likelihood of dying from prostate cancer is low, especially for cancers that are low grade and slow growing. The authors, who followed more than 12,000 men (all with prostate cancer) for 15 years reported that a watch and wait approach may be more appropriate and less likely to leave men experiencing impotence and other side effects.

The available treatments for prostate cancer, including surgery, radiation, targeted therapy, and chemotherapy, can cause severe side effects. Approximately one-third of treated men can expect to experience impotence, incontinence, or both. Other side effects, depending on the therapy, can include nausea, vomiting, rash, pain, loss of sexual desire, diarrhea, and fatigue.

Therefore, men who are approaching 50 have a decision to make along with their doctors: should they undergo the PSA test or not? The Food and Drug Administration recommends that all men age 50 and older get screened yearly. Not all doctors agree with this schedule. Some argue that if men do not plan to seek treatment if they test positive for prostate cancer, there is no need to undergo screening at all.

The American Cancer Society and the US Preventive Services Task Force recommend that men who are contemplating a PSA test should be presented with all the evidence about PSA screening and about prostate cancer, its treatment, and prognosis, and let them make their own educated choice whether to undergo screening and/or seek treatment.

SOURCES:

American Cancer Society

National Public Radio interview Sept. 4, 2009

Shappley WV et al. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2009 Aug 31

Source: Deborah Mitchell

[offset]

Sheryl When I spoke to Dr Virol I got the impression that he only does Open surgery it was him that put me onto Dr Sittiporn Srinualad who carries out Both laparoscopic and robotic the only place that DR Sittiporn mentioned that he could do Robotics was at the Siriraj Hospital (Bumrungrad does not have a robotics machine) Laparoscopic he said he could do at the Bumrungrad and the estimates that I quoted earlier were given at the beginning of July I think Bayboys friend is looking at Robotic it is sold that it can help the nerve sparing because the magnification is far greater than the other two operations and it can also see round corners so to speak

Tolley There is a great debate in the USA (a lot of people say that it is being lead by the insurance companies to save money) about PSA readings the suggestion is that the PSA readings cannot tell you what grade cancer you have it can only tell that you might have cancer which requires a biopsy or two but my opinion is that I would rather have a couple of biopsies and be told that I most probably do not have cancer than not have a biopsy and be dead because when I had a biopsy it was to late I follow on a forum in the USA of which there are some men on there that have PC that are in there early 40s one man if I remember correctly is 37 you try telling them that they should not of had a PSA reading

[ballzafire]

.... The latest study to note that use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test may be prompting men to get treatment that may not be effective or even necessary was published in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The results support those of two previous studies from 2008. It seems that although high levels of PSA revealed on the blood screen can indicate the presence of prostate cancer, the test is not effective in predicting if treatment will be helpful. .....

That's what I read, too.

Anything to get you in there and run up a tab -- like a go-go bar in Nana Plaza.........

[offset]

.... The latest study to note that use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test may be prompting men to get treatment that may not be effective or even necessary was published in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The results support those of two previous studies from 2008. It seems that although high levels of PSA revealed on the blood screen can indicate the presence of prostate cancer, the test is not effective in predicting if treatment will be helpful. .....

That's what I read, too.

Anything to get you in there and run up a tab -- like a go-go bar in Nana Plaza.........

That is a bit flippant about one of the biggest killers of men in the UK until they find a better way of finding out if you have PC what should you do ignore it and hope that you are one of the men that do not get PC 1 in 6 men in the USA will get PC I will ask the question is it better to be over treated than under treated and do not forget no man is forced into having a PSA test done

[Thongkorn]

.... The latest study to note that use of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test may be prompting men to get treatment that may not be effective or even necessary was published in the current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The results support those of two previous studies from 2008. It seems that although high levels of PSA revealed on the blood screen can indicate the presence of prostate cancer, the test is not effective in predicting if treatment will be helpful. .....

That's what I read, too.

Anything to get you in there and run up a tab -- like a go-go bar in Nana Plaza.........

That is a bit flippant about one of the biggest killers of men in the UK until they find a better way of finding out if you have PC what should you do ignore it and hope that you are one of the men that do not get PC 1 in 6 men in the USA will get PC I will ask the question is it better to be over treated than under treated and do not forget no man is forced into having a PSA test done

I do not think it is one of the biggest killers in the UK, i may be wrong, try smoke related deceases, yet nothing is said . there is more publicity from road deaths.

[ballzafire]

Sorry if I sounded flippant about such a serious subject but please reread Tolley's post containing the article. It echos my point of view about PSA tests and the danger (and expense, depending upon your country of origin!) of unnecessary cancer treatment.

[Sheryl]

The "article" is not, in fact, a published article at all. It is a blog submitted by a layperson to a website which splices together pieces from other sources in a manner which takes some of them out of context. In addition, it mixes together 2 separate issues: (1) the utility of routine PSA screening[/i] and (2) the pros and cons of treating prostate cancer. And, most seriously, it mis-represents information regardinmg the latter.

There is indeed an ongoing debate about the utility of routine testing of men for the prostate specific antigen. This debate will probably continue until better screening tools are available. the current American Cancer Society position is (verbatim): " The American Cancer Society (ACS) does not recommend routine prostate cancer screening for all men at this time. ACS believes that doctors should discuss the pros and cons of testing with men so each man can decide if testing is right for him. If a man chooses to be tested, the tests should include a PSA blood test and DRE (digital rectal exam) yearly, beginning at age 50, for men at average risk who can be expected to live at least 10 more years." http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/...6.asp?sitearea= The American Urological Association holds a slightly different view as follows: " The AUA strongly supports early prostate cancer detection and feels it is in a man's best interest to consider being tested for prostate cancer.Prostate cancer is most treatable when caught early. Men ages 40 and older should be offered a baseline PSA test and DRE for early detection and risk assessment. The future risk of prostate cancer is closely related to a man's PSA score; men who are screened at 40 establish a baseline PSA score that can be tracked over time. The AUA strongly supports informed consent, including a discussion about the benefits and risks of testing, before screening is undertaken." http://www.auanet.org/content/guidelines-a...ports/psa09.pdf

This is, however, off topic since the thread does not deal with the issue of screening for prostate cancer but rather with treatment for a person confirmed to have it. (Note that prostate cancer is never diagnosed by PSA; PSA is just a screening tool. Actual diagnosis requires a biopsy).

The statement with regard to an article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that "The authors, who followed more than 12,000 men (all with prostate cancer) for 15 years reported that a watch and wait approach may be more appropriate and less likely to leave men experiencing impotence and other side effects." is seriously misleading and potentially harmful. What the study actually showed is that "watch and wait" might be more appropriate for the sub-set of men who were either iof advanced age and/or who had very small, slow-growing tumors. http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/watchful-wa...mors-24627.html

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men (the first being colon). While some prostate cancers are slow-growing others are quite aggressive. The decision between treatment versus what is called "watchful waiting" depends upon the stage of the cancer, whether it is slow-growing or aggressive, the patient's age and the patient's overall health and life expectancy. There is no single recommendation applicable to all. Presumably the subject of this thread has already been advuised that treatment is indicated in his specific case.

[offset]

I do not think it is one of the biggest killers in the UK, i may be wrong, try smoke related deceases, yet nothing is said . there is more publicity from road deaths.

Sorry I missed the word cancer from my last post you are correct about smoking related death these are higher than PC which came second in cancer deaths with around 10200 deaths in the male population in 2007 you are also correct about road deaths there were a total 2964 deaths of all genders in 2007

[hhgz]

"Prostrate cancer is not life threatening, only in very certain circumstances,"

Sure, in the "very certain circumstance" that it kills. Approximately 40K men die in the US, every year, due to prostate cancer. That's a similar number to women that die of breast cancer. So, is breast cancer life-threatening? "Hey, only in very certain circumstances!"

Approximately 40K people are killed in the US, every year, due to road accidents.

[offset]

"Prostrate cancer is not life threatening, only in very certain circumstances,"

Sure, in the "very certain circumstance" that it kills. Approximately 40K men die in the US, every year, due to prostate cancer. That's a similar number to women that die of breast cancer. So, is breast cancer life-threatening? "Hey, only in very certain circumstances!"

Approximately 40K people are killed in the US, every year, due to road accidents.

So does that means that over twice as many men die of Prostate cancer as are killed on the road (just presuming that 50% of deaths are male and not counting children) is that number unimportant I suppose it is if you are not one of the ones killed

I cannot understand where you are coming from "very certain circumstances" normally means that they have not been tested early enough to get a cure PC is cure-able in most circumstances if found early but how do you do that other than having a PSA (not perfect by any means but at this time it is the only test) how many men would die of PC if there was no PSA testing done I guess I could of been one of them and still could be but I have a better chance now than if I had done nothing

You mentioned Breast Cancer how many ladies go for test and find no problems and how many the test shows something abnormal and they have a biopsy that comes back clear of cancer (more than you would think) but I do not see anywhere that says for ladies not to be screened

I said before that if you do not want to know do not have a PSA test taken but leave the option open to those that do

[hhgz]

"I cannot understand where you are coming from 'very certain circumstances'"...

Rather than reading my post, you should have read the entire thread. Too, you've asked questions that aren't related to the discussion at hand. My use of the phrase was based on an incredibly uninformed post by someone else. He commented that prostate cancer only kills in "very certain circumstances". That's true: it only kills in the specific circumstance when someone dies. Extending that faulty line of reasoning, it would be safe to say: "don't worry breast cancer only kills those who die from breast cancer, don't worry pneumonia only kills those who die from pneumonia..."

The poster also mentioned that prostate was no big deal, because other things kill more people. Can you imagine this guy as an emergency room doctor? A guy comes in with a gunshot wound to the chest, and he'll tell the person, "Hey don't worry. More people die of heart disease than gunshot wounds to the chest."

[offset]

"I cannot understand where you are coming from 'very certain circumstances'"...

Rather than reading my post, you should have read the entire thread. Too, you've asked questions that aren't related to the discussion at hand. My use of the phrase was based on an incredibly uninformed post by someone else. He commented that prostate cancer only kills in "very certain circumstances". That's true: it only kills in the specific circumstance when someone dies. Extending that faulty line of reasoning, it would be safe to say: "don't worry breast cancer only kills those who die from breast cancer, don't worry pneumonia only kills those who die from pneumonia..."

The poster also mentioned that prostate was no big deal, because other things kill more people. Can you imagine this guy as an emergency room doctor? A guy comes in with a gunshot wound to the chest, and he'll tell the person, "Hey don't worry. More people die of heart disease than gunshot wounds to the chest."

Sorry my mistake yes I had read all the thread as it developed but that comment was made over a week ago and my memory is not as good as it used to be it might have been better for me if you had quoted the full post and not just put the comments in quotes

[LawrenceN]

On 11/10/2009 at 10:46 PM, Thongkorn said:

Prostrate cancer is not life threatening, only in very certain circumstances, I know of a man who has had it for years and still has a full active life. I have Prostrate Cancer, Mine is controlled by Drugs, But it depends on how advanced it is , There are as many as 1 in 5 over 50 year old males walking around with prostrate cancer and they don't even know they have it. Every male over 50 in the UK can be tested for it for free , It is just a simple blood test, i found mine by accident, because of a pain in my groin, I requested a test it came back boarder line positive , So i was put on a course of drugs.

Kind of hard to take advice on this topic from someone who can't spell prostate.