- If you’re a man then it could get you!
Long story short - my father (61yrs old) has this.
If you’re a man there’s a fair chance that at some point you will too and at the very least you will experience some benign prostate hypertophy.
It is something that I, as the son and grandson of men with prostate cancer am almost certain to get, and as I explicitly stated above so will a lot of you reading this.
I want to know what can be done to prevent and if diagnosed to treat?
No, this isn’t a plea to the doctors, oncologists and proctologists in the house but what I hope will turn out to be a fairly helpful discussion of experiences with the disease and ideas for prevention and treatment of the disease.
My father underwent brachiotherapy a few years back, and his PSA score went came down from approx 8 to 1.8. In the last years it has been very slowly but steadily rising, and it is now at 2.5.
His specialist has recommended 2 options should his PSA continue to rise. One is chemotherapy and the second chemical castration.
Neither option fills me with joy (my father less so) but of both I feel the latter to be the most destructive, the cessation of testosterone production in my father’s body would be psychologically and physically ruinous.
Yes I want my father’s life saved (and if this is a prelude to my own fate I want this investigated as best I can)but given that the causal effect between prostate cancer and testosterone is inconclusive and almost as much evidence exists blaming estrogen, I do not want this ‘safest’ of treatments administered for lack of better understanding.
No I am no expert and no I will not play God and yes, my father is ultimately the decision maker, but I want to allow him the benefit of an educated decision and I’d like to thrash out a few ideas.
I have considered a few scenarios, maybe have him undertake chemo but ensure he is robust enough to withstand it; potentially administer TRT (some studies have shown no increase in PSA whilst under TRT and that it poses no additional risk)undergo intensive hypertrophy work and ensure his nutritional status and recovery are not compromised but optimised; maybe achieve this without TRT.
Maybe administer a non-aromatising non DHT derivative steroid, who knows?
What I do know is that the experts currently don’t know (or prove me wrong someone, maybe they do, I’m here to learn on my father’s behalf and on mine).
This may all seem daft, but what I want is my old man to be some kind of fortress, built to withstand the rigours of any treatment protocol and not some neutered, lifeless but cancer free ‘man’.
Maybe this is a little impetuous but as this is potentially my fate the last thing I want is to hit my fifties and live life without my nuts! And this is not the fate I want for my father either.
Anyone who’s come off cycle and really struggled with PCT will attest to a) how miserable it can be and b) how physically awful it can make you feel and look.
On a site called testosterone, that espouses testosterone as the male defining characteristic and one that promotes athletic endeavour as an adjunct to a healthy mind, I assume there’ll be some individuals for whom this post will ring true.
My father was my original t-man, he had me shovelling, barrowing, using a sledgehammer and pick even when there was nothing to build! He still competes at a National level in Masters swimming events and only took that up when his numerous rugby injuries forced him to swim in the pool with us as kids.
He has a disease but the last thing I want if it can be helped is to take away his status as a man.