prostate cancer

[jasper]

My cousin who is 50 has just found out he has prostate cancer.
Do any of you have knowledge/experience of this with your male friends and family?
Please be frank.
This is for my benefit;I won't be discussing any of this with my cousin.
Thanks

My uncle (in-law) was diagnosed and treated for it about 10 years ago and is still going strong but unfortunately my FIL died of it because it wasn't caught early enough and he missed some of the tests because they were rather unpleasant (catheters etc).

I think it is a very treatable form of cancer if it is caught early so the outlook isn't all doom and gloom but your cousin should be prepared to undergo regular checks to make sure he stays clear once treated. Get in touch with Cancer Bacup for more information, they are supposed to be very helpful.

wow Pam, that was quick! Thanks.
Basically what everyone wants to know is how long he is likely to live. Any websites I have looked at are of course very supportive and don't have that kind of info.

Jasper, FIL was in his 70s and had other problems besides. I think from diagnosis and initial treatment he was ok for about a year. Then he missed an appointment and the hospital missed up with another one so he didn't get seen for a while and started having bad pain which was thought to be from an old fracture but turned out to be the cancer come back. He deteriorated quite quickly after that and died within months. As I said though, the uncle is still relatively fit and healthy for a 78 yr old.

SIL and MIL both died of bowel cancer. SIL had treatment much earlier and lived a 6 years or so, MIL again deteriorated fast (having left it too long before seeing the dr) and died within about 4 months of diagnosis.

Early treatment is often a lifesaver. Best wishes.

Jasper, protrate cancer is extremely common in older men. It is usually a very slow growing cancer and can generally be caught and operated on early if checked regularly. I'm pretty sure that if you're going to get cancer it's one of the better ones to get ...very high recovery rate. But it's important to go for regular checks and early treatment.