Dogs Sniff out Prostate Cancer

CDfm

A cool article.

For those of you who don't know the prostate is a gland at the base of the brain which promotes growth.

Prostate cancer on the other hand is a pain in the bollix and guys getting blood tests should ask for their PSA to be checked.

It kind of runs in families and can be worked on if caught early. Its a fairly stupid thing to die from.

Dogs sniff out prostate cancer

03:17 Man's best friend might also be able to give him a heads up about cancer.
The latest evidence of a dog's ability to detect cancer came from French researchers this week. A dog was trained to identify urine from patients with confirmed prostate cancer and then to discriminate those samples from urine from healthy men.
In early tests, the dog produced fewer false positives than the commonly used PSA test, setting the stage for another detection method.
This in on way means dogs will be running around the hospital sniffing urine, according to WebMD. If researchers can identify which chemical the dog is reacting to, they hope to develop an electronic nose.

Nevyn

I think you are confusing it the pituitary gland.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pituitary_gland

If they can id prostrate cancer at such an early stage and in such an easy manner it means early detection and treatment will improve a lot of mens chances.

helimachoptor

CDfm wrote: »

For those of you who don't know the prostate is a gland at the base of the brain which promotes growth.

Are you a girl...

Pherekydes

Men's health week is coming up: he'll learn where all his bits 'n' pieces are.

trout

That's brilliant ... I remember reading before about dogs detecting some things like breast cancer, lung cancer and certain tumours.

Dogs sniffing prostate cancer is a new one on me, but if it's more accurate & cheaper than a PSA test, brilliant ... release the Hounds! :pac:

amacachi

The dogs can sniff out pretty much anything.

I'll give CDfm the benefit of the doubt and assume he's taking the whole "men think with their genitals" thing to a new extreme. :P

CDfm

Anyway - now that we've got the location of the brain out of the way.

A few weeks back the girl I work with asked me about it. What it was etc as her late Dad was in hospital and had complications.

Fast forward to today and the article is on google news and 9 happy campers of a North Dublin family and their partners are having the PSA done with cholestoral testing and the like.

Its a feckin erogenous zone lads. If its not healthy and needs to be removed -bang goes sex.

So talking bollox ( well Women have the Vagina Monologues) is a good thing.

If I was PR for the HSE I would have a Campaign like "Ya need mumps like ya need a kick in the bollix". Symptoms and effects can include swollen painful testicles and there was a mini epidemic some time back in UL.

Oh and thanks Thaed for the diagrams.

Nevyn

Your welcome.

Its pretty much the male g spot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostate_massage

krudler

Wait, so that time that girls dog was smelling my arse during sex, he was trying to warn me of something?!

Condo131

CDfm wrote: »

A cool article.

Sorry...only of passing interest. This thing isn't new. If it was reported in the mainstream Urological research journals, I might give it some weight...however.....

CDfm wrote: »

For those of you who don't know the prostate is a gland at the base of the brain which promotes growth.

And women are from Venus....See Thaedydal's post..

CDfm wrote: »

Prostate cancer on the other hand is a pain in the bollix and guys getting blood tests should ask for their PSA to be checked.

Very. Very true

CDfm wrote: »

It kind of runs in families and can be worked on if caught early.

First part is true, but no guarantee that you will/will not get it. The second part is very true. Early Diagnosis is Key

CDfm wrote: »

Its a fairly stupid thing to die from.

Now I find this a fairly rash and insensitive thing to say. I realise that your intentions are well meant, but I think you need to research the field a good deal more. Unfortunately there are many, many asymptomatic men with Prostate Cancer, some very, very young, who develop Prostate Cancer and, in the absence of screening, they may not be identified until too late.

In addition, current tests for Prostate cannot easily identify which Prostate cancers are aggressive (that men will die from) and which are indolent (that they will die with).

condo(r)131 - Prostate Cancer Survivor & Cancer Awareness Campaigner

CDfm

Me -rash and insensitive -condo131 you will have to do better than that :pac:

Crass and tabloid friendly would be more my line.

Maybe we should start a campaign for Largo Foods to atone for the Hunky Dory campaign with a nuts campaign.

Who knows they could get a rugby player to endorse protecting his nuts.

And congrats on surviving and posting about it- I took the time to explain it to my son at 19 -maybe others should to but in ways that stick in the mind and in a guy friendly way.

It would be good to hear more on it and we should be more open about it.

Condo131

CDfm wrote: »

It would be good to hear more on it and we should be more open about it.

There's a good deal of info out there, but it can be hard making sense of it. There is also an awful lot of debate among the experts in the area on the advisability of screening or even testing.

The crux of the problem is that none of the tests are specific enough to easily tell if someone has a slow-growing strain (with which they will eventually die) - the majority diagnosed with PC will have this form, or if they have an aggressive fast-growing strain.

This coupled with everyone's morbid fear of the big C, leads many medical people to take a stance of 'no screening'. Their reasoning is that screening will identify those with slow-growing Cancers and panic them into having unnecessary procedures and, as a consequence, unnecessary side effects.

I don't buy this arguement. Not screening means that many younger men (btw, the average age at diagnosis is in the range of 69-71) with aggressive Prostate Cancer will not be identified until too late. (I know several men with aggressive PC that are between 45 and 55. Most were diagnosed in time to have treatment. Unfortunately some are/were limited to managing the symptoms)

I had no symptoms and, but for my doctor offering a PSA screen, I would now be one of those with metastatic Cancer, and have between 3 and 8 uncomfortable years to live. I am 57 now and can, please God, expect to live for another 20 to 30 years. (FYI, I run, usually 50 - 60 miles a week and I expect to complete the Dublin City Marathon in October next, some 29 months post surgery, in approx. 3:15:00 - you can take that as a measure of my recovery!)

If you are a male over 50, its probably worth your while having your PSA checked next time you're at the doctor, if only to have a baseline figure. If you have a blood relative, particularly father or brother who has been diagnosed with PC, get it done from age 40.

I firmly believe that Cancer diagnosis doesn't always have to be a death sentence. Screening saved my life - it might save yours! Whatever you do, please don't assume that it will never happen to you.

CDfm

Thank you Condo131.

Now you have heard it lads and get over your fear. Here is a 57 year old guy who has recovered and is as healthy as a horse.

Now there you have it -having the PSA prostate test is just a tiny blood test done with cholesterol , diabetes and other routine health screening.

What you can say its about your sexual organs and what Condo doesnt say is that getting cancer there is not pleasant and because his doctor said lets screen for it his was caught in time.

If you thought you had a STD you would be hotfoot down to the clinic.Not getting the test does not change the result.I am having mine done next week when I am getting my cholestoral done and I am not near Condos age.

Its like those bunch of lads in UL getting mumps because they had not been vacinated. Same dog , different hair.

The odds are that I have nothing to worry about.

CDfm

For those who want to know more here are some links

http://www.cancer.ie/prostate/

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/prostate/

So I am off for my blood tests on Wednesday.

CDfm

I had the blood tests yesterday and got them done as i was booked in for an Xray and they are free. I will probably have to wait a few weeks for the results.

fast forward to dinner


g/f how were the tests

me very embarressing i was sitting there with my trousers around my ankles when the phlebotonist said she would take the blood from my arm

g/f OMG you didnt

:D

Valmont

CDfm wrote: »

For those of you who don't know the prostate is a gland at the base of the brain which promotes growth.

I was thinking that doctors these days must have very long arms indeed.

CDfm

Valmont wrote: »

I was thinking that doctors these days must have very long arms indeed.

LOL

Just got that.

Here is a song about prostates -its more common than you think

CDfm

Well the doctor phoned me last night saying my test were fine.

So I am not a 1 in 10

this calls for a celebration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4CyNvEfWoE