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Bill Turnbull RIP

Too young at 66.
And a reminder to all men to never ignore new urinary symptoms.

Your post made me go and look up prostate cancer symptoms as I didn't know what they were. I'm sure most members are far better informed but just in case:

difficulty starting to urinate or emptying your bladder
a weak flow when you urinate
a feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
dribbling urine after you finish urinating
needing to urinate more often than usual, especially at night
a sudden need to urinate – you may sometimes leak urine before you get to the toilet.

https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information/about-prostate-cancer/prostate-cancer-symptoms
 
Your post made me go and look up prostate cancer symptoms as I didn't know what they were. I'm sure most members are far better informed but just in case:

difficulty starting to urinate or emptying your bladder
a weak flow when you urinate
a feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
dribbling urine after you finish urinating
needing to urinate more often than usual, especially at night
a sudden need to urinate – you may sometimes leak urine before you get to the toilet.

https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information/about-prostate-cancer/prostate-cancer-symptoms

I had read somewhere that this guidance was going to be changed, as some of these symptoms are very common amongst men above a certain age, while early prostate cancer may produce no or only minor symptoms. Regular PSA testing is therefore the best approach, and I'd encourage all men above (say) 60 to follow this advice. A somewhat raised PSA result is not definitive as there are some possible benign causes as well, so an above expected level will then need to be followed up, usually first with a (totally painless) MRA scan. I should caveat that I do not have a medical background, but do speak from experience, with early prostate cancer confirmed after my PSA level was recorded as only slightly above the NHS threshold. (I had prostate surgery a few weeks ago, and now recovering.)
 
I had read somewhere that this guidance was going to be changed, as some of these symptoms are very common amongst men above a certain age, while early prostate cancer may produce no or only minor symptoms. Regular PSA testing is therefore the best approach, and I'd encourage all men above (say) 60 to follow this advice. A somewhat raised PSA result is not definitive as there are some possible benign causes as well, so an above expected level will then need to be followed up, usually first with a (totally painless) MRA scan. I should caveat that I do not have a medical background, but do speak from experience, with early prostate cancer confirmed after my PSA level was recorded as only slightly above the NHS threshold.

My Dads PSA level was very low; very similar situation to what Stephen Fry was in

Low PSA; few 'regular' symptoms, but an aggressive tumour removed etc!
 
I had read somewhere that this guidance was going to be changed, as some of these symptoms are very common amongst men above a certain age, while early prostate cancer may produce no or only minor symptoms. Regular PSA testing is therefore the best approach, and I'd encourage all men above (say) 60 to follow this advice. A somewhat raised PSA result is not definitive as there are some possible benign causes as well, so an above expected level will then need to be followed up, usually first with a (totally painless) MRA scan. I should caveat that I do not have a medical background, but do speak from experience, with early prostate cancer confirmed after my PSA level was recorded as only slightly above the NHS threshold. (I had prostate surgery a few weeks ago, and now recovering.)
If population PSA screening was the proven way to go, do you not think that Prostate Cancer UK or Cancer Research UK would be shouting loudly about it?
I suggest you do some more research.
 
My PSA was slightly high when tested at a Lions event. They do them every year.
Checked again and again via hospital/ doctors, still rising. Had an MRI, discussed with top dog urologist, cleared.
Late last year, a bit higher. Another MRI and biopsy. Inconclusive so yet another biopsy, far more invasive, earlier this year. Triple samples, ouch.
Top dog rang me and said all but one sample totally clear. The other 'might' had an issue but he said it was so small that no further action needed, apart from regular PSA testing. Weird.
 
If population PSA screening was the proven way to go, do you not think that Prostate Cancer UK or Cancer Research UK would be shouting loudly about it?
I suggest you do some more research.

What's your view then? I am speaking from personal experience here, having just had the surgery a few weeks ago, trying to give helpful advice to others.
 
Your post made me go and look up prostate cancer symptoms as I didn't know what they were. I'm sure most members are far better informed but just in case:

difficulty starting to urinate or emptying your bladder
a weak flow when you urinate
a feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
dribbling urine after you finish urinating
needing to urinate more often than usual, especially at night
a sudden need to urinate – you may sometimes leak urine before you get to the toilet.

https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information/about-prostate-cancer/prostate-cancer-symptoms

Useful info, they can also be symptoms of an over-active bladder. If in doubt, get yourself checked out. My Dad had prostate cancer, fortunately caught in time and he is still here 17 years later. Pumpkin seeds, or the oil and capsules are very good for prostate and bladder.

R.I.P. Bill. You always came across as a good guy. Discovered earlier that a friend met him and found him to be a really nice guy and exactly like he was on the tv, with no airs and graces
 
If population PSA screening was the proven way to go
I went to my family doc some years ago (I was 49 I think) and he advised me against it. According to him, there is not yet a way to determine early on if the cancer's development will be fast or slow. In his experience, positive results all too often terrorise his patients for nothing, as slow development is very common. My father died of it at 92.

I told my doc that I had a new love in my life, that I wanted the next ten years to be my best ever, and that I'd do such a test in ten years time. He told me he would do the same.

My PSA was slightly high when tested at a Lions event. They do them every year.
Checked again and again via hospital/ doctors, still rising. Had an MRI, discussed with top dog urologist, cleared.
Late last year, a bit higher. Another MRI and biopsy. Inconclusive so yet another biopsy, far more invasive, earlier this year. Triple samples, ouch.
Top dog rang me and said all but one sample totally clear. The other 'might' had an issue but he said it was so small that no further action needed, apart from regular PSA testing. Weird.
Confirms more or less what my doc said.
 
Bill Turnbull was above all a devoted family man, he loved football, music and bees. He used his fame to encourage others to get themselves tested and by doing so has probably saved many lives. If his death causes another spike of tests, then good, as 1 in 8 men will get this horrible disease in their lifetime.

I have prostate cancer (I was diagnosed in 2015, before Bill) I didn't know enough about it and I am still being treated for it, had I known earlier then my treatment and my subsequent life would be completely different.

RIP Bill
 
Indeed - the above NHS guidance does not advocate automatic screening, but does support PSA testing as an "informed choice" for individuals over a certain age. Factors include whether you can live with a diagnosis of cancer that (if left alone) might never develop to become a serious problem. (Although "watch & wait"/"active surveillance" are options which can bring more peace of mind, although often involving biopsy, which is far from fun, but nowhere near as bad as I was expecting). On the other hand, it could save your life. Hence "informed choice".

I must admit, I wasn't expecting such hostility! This isn't a cable thread after all.
 
difficulty starting to urinate or emptying your bladder
a weak flow when you urinate
a feeling that your bladder hasn’t emptied properly
dribbling urine after you finish urinating
needing to urinate more often than usual, especially at night
a sudden need to urinate – you may sometimes leak urine before you get to the toilet.

Yep, got all those symptoms and leak piss like an incontinent rat but then again I do have spms which will do me in long before any cancer will. I’m a cheery little ****er ain’t I :D
 
Yep, got all those symptoms and leak piss like an incontinent rat but then again I do have spms which will do me in long before any cancer will. I’m a cheery little ****er ain’t I :D

Needing to pee twice an hour was one of the classic symptoms of T1 diabetes that I completely ignored before I was diagnosed. Standard male "This is fine" response to there clearly being something wrong...

A few years back a diabetes nurse greeted me with "Good news! More T1 diabetics are dying of cancer now than heart disease!" I mean I got what she meant (heart disease figures down) but I didn't find it desperately reassuring!

Anyway, hopefully both of us have a few decades more of posting nonsense on hi-fi forums :)
 


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