I always feel bad when our posts take a "female" slant. We know there are male caregivers and we value your input. How do you feel about recent news that older men needn't be tested for prostatic Ca as they will probably die of something else. Where does that leave us in caring for our husbands.
My DH is past 82 and his dr. doesn't do a PSA test on him for 3 years. He doesn't voice an opinion on this one way or the other, but perhaps you gentlemen might give us some additional insight.
I am 60 and have had the PSA and digital tests for years so of course because of my age I still get both annually.... I have heard that once us guys get into our 70s/80s the docs have a tendency to stop this testing, as in most cases Prostate cancer is so slow growing that chances are we will die of something else..... That being said I don,t agree with this thinking at all and will request both tests as long as I live... As for your question Bluedaze,,, Id tell your DH doc that you still would at least want the PSA test run as there drawing blood annually during his physical anyway...
No but the digital deal is a site to behold........... Reminds me , Last year after I had the exam I told one of the girls at the resterant ( tease her all the time ) that I thought of her earlier that day as I was haveing my prostate exam.......... laughs all around
Bluedaze, My father died of prostate cancer when he was 59, so I feel that I especially need a prostate exam including PSA each year. I am 72 and so far no abnormal PSA. If present, prostate cancer can be slow or really fast. It definitely needs to be watched by a urologist.
A related subject is "benign prostate hyperphasia (BPH)" which is an enlarged prostate that makes urination difficult. I take flomax for my BPH, which does help me considerably. My urologist always suggests surgery and I always decline as the side effects of BPH surgery seem worse than the BPH to me.
I am 77. I still get a PSA yearly, plus a DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) although there is no history of cancer in the family. I feel I need to keep myself as healthy as possible in order to care for my wife. She had a mammogram last month, but I probably will suggest to her doctor that we not do any more. It was too stressful on her and I am not sure, at her stage of AD, that I would agree to any major surgery. This depends upon a lot of factors, including the stage of AD and other health issues.
Regarding doing PSA on husbands with AD, you should decide what you will do with the results. If the result is high, the next step is a prostate needle biopsy - not the most pleasant test. This would be hard to do on someone in the later stages of AD. Then if the biopsy shows cancer, would you go for surgery? This, again, would depend upon the stage of AD. Most prostate cancers in older men (over 70) are very slow growing, so it is likely that he will die of something else before the cancer spreads much. So the "bottom line" is, will you proceed with the biopsy and surgery if necessary. If the answer is "no", then I would not do the PSA.
Regarding BPH, flomax helps most men with the problem. If the choice came down to surgery versus a permanent urinary catheter, I would probably go for the surgery in someone with AD, but not before then. I have had surgery twice and now have no problem and don't have to take meds, but the recovery from surgery could be very stressful for someone with AD.
Marsh-I do so agree with not doing the testing if you aren't doing the surgery. A gazillion years ago while working ICU I heard a young doctor explain to the familly of a very ill and old lady that he was not going to do much testing because then he would have to do too much treating. A very compassionate young man.
C i am glad to see someone else is refusing that prostate surgery. my husband has BPH and on uroxatral and enablex for spasming. his dr also suggested due to cronic uti if it gets worse to do the lazer surgery. i dont think after reading some here had it done and dribble and more issues after that surgery. some had it done like marsh says its difficult recovery and not a guaranteed positive outcome anyway. i hope i can just treat the uti with meds for as long as possible. the catherter would be a another bad decision as that can be source of uti too but if it cam to that DH wouldnt leave a catherter alone anyway.. its a catch 22 do or dont. i hate these decisions. divvi