Incoming

Comment added from my e-mail: Anonymous: John, ...

2012-05-26T08:33:59.430-06:00

Comment added from my e-mail:

Anonymous:

John,
I just tried to leave a post on here that supported Ricks case by my own experience with cancer and it got knocked off. Why?

(See my above lame explanation)

Comment added from my e-mail copy: Anonymous: Ri...

2012-05-26T08:32:35.405-06:00

Comment added from my e-mail copy:

Anonymous:

Rick,
I agree with you. Six years ago My cancer was discovered by elevated numbers on my second PSA when I was 51. I said no to the biopsy and tried alternative treatments which gave a "false" lower PSA. Three months later with another elevated PSA number I agreed to the biopsy (Gleasen 4/4). I elected for surgery after extensive research and prayer. Result: Gleasen score of 9/9 after surgery. My cancer was agressive. Had I waited another month it would have matastasized. Maybe I was the 1 in 1000 but I am thankful for the PSA and three insistant Drs.
BTW I did the nerve sparing DaVincy surgery and it was as they claimed. I don't even need the little blue pill.

All: I'm not sure what is up with the comment...

2012-05-26T08:29:57.013-06:00

All:

I'm not sure what is up with the comments, or if there is just a delay. There is a spam filter, but I haven't deleted any comments. Sometimes Blogger has its own mysterious ways.

If your comment hasn't shown up (and some are on the home page, but not here as I write, it should show up eventually. Or you can e-mail it to me and I'll try to post it.

Re: the question at hand. I realize this topic stirs strong emotions especially for those with first-hand experiences, but try to keep in mind the vastly larger number of men who struggle with unwarranted side-effects for no good reason other than excessive precaution. As all have said, we are happy for you survivors, but critics of PSA testing should be answered not by individual but overall evidence, IMHO.

FWIW, refusing the PSA is not a pleasant conversation right now with your doctor, but I think more primary care physicians will move that direction.

Above all, the important question with our dysfunctional health system, is: What will your insurance company decide to do with this recommendation? We've constructed a system that adds an actuary to the table.

John, Is it possible to encourage this person to ...

2012-05-25T15:59:48.264-06:00

John,

Is it possible to encourage this person to disclose their identity? I'll continue to follow this chain for a bit....would be glad to arrange a conference call with the folks at Sloan to discuss his position.

People who make judgments behind curtains have no standing.

Thanks so much and hope things go well on the farm.

Regards,

Rick Pace
508-813-6246 Cell

Rick, Your example only underlies the illogical n...

2012-05-25T10:00:40.608-06:00

Rick,

Your example only underlies the illogical nature of your objection. "What if ONE of them"???? How many thousands of unneeded prostate surgeries are needed to balance your case of the person with the aggressive cancer? From your emotional reaction I would imagine there is no limit (and somewhere doctors and pharmacists and jumping for joy at your bias). The reality is that there is a limit. The aggregate data from the cited study is showing that there is more net harm than good coming from our reliance on PSA. There are always going to exceptions, and that sucks. But the volume of unnecessary surgeries (and the complications that can come from that) sucks worse.

Thousands of people die every year from drunk driving accidents. Do you believe we should require automakers to install mandatory breathalizer-ignition switches on all cars? It would be a incomplete solution (people could have somebody else blow into it), malfunctioning units would be a hassle rendering cars inoperable until they were fixed, and it would overall be a headache and result in a reduction in utility for society as a whole. I believe that you would argue "Who cares, as long as it saves some lives?" I bet people who have had a loved one killed or injured by drunk driving might agree, but that is because their emotional involvement does not allow them to accept the logic that this approach might cause more harm than good. Just like how your experience with prostate cancer colors your view of this situation. Unless you have reason to show otherwise, I'm guessing the research scientists involved in the study are far less liked to be biased on this topic than you.

- the hated Anonymous

To anonymous (and I hate anonymous comments), I m...

2012-05-25T08:37:24.948-06:00

To anonymous (and I hate anonymous comments),

I most assuredly will not retract my comment.

I've discussed it with numerous folks, including a number of the Sloan doctors. They will tell you time and again how aggressive cancers were detected through routine PSAs (low PSA numbers that diagnosed as very early, very aggressive cancers).

This is a classic example of where research science (and aggregate data) is misleading.

Your reasoning about my personal situation is illogical...and potentially harmful to other men who read it and choose not to do PSA. What if one of them has a very aggressive cancer that is not discovered until they have physical symptoms (which, in many cases with aggressive Gleason 4s, is when the cancer has spread to other tissue and capable of metastasis)? Do you want to live with that?

Rick Pace
508-813-6246 Cell

On the contrary, Rick, perhaps you should retract ...

2012-05-24T14:07:07.695-06:00

On the contrary, Rick, perhaps you should retract your comment. While we celebrate the fact that you have not been lost to prostate cancer, your single data point is inconsequential in the face of aggregate data. Moreover, you have no proof that the life you are living now is in any way superior to the one you would be living if you never had the PSA, unless you had other symptoms (that led you to get the PSA) that are now gone. You don't know that the tumor would have progressed, or progressed fast enough to have a detrimental impact to your quality of life or lifespan. Finally, it's great that you have the resources to be able to go to Sloan and get a second opinion, but for many others this isn't an option. Not to mention the fact that for those outside the health industry, knowing whose opinion to trust and not trust is baffling for many. Solving the PSA problem is a far more attainable goal than solving the "access to quality health care" problem.

John, Your wrong about screening...the problem is...

2012-05-23T09:10:39.448-06:00

John,

Your wrong about screening...the problem is not the screening or the biopsy, it's the improper treatment and poorly informed doctors.

I was discovered (through PSA screening) with a small Gleason 3/3 prostate cancer seven years ago by a local doc. He wanted to do an immediate prostatectomy.

I went to Sloan Kettering Cancer Center...put myself under the care of a well-repsected urologic surgeon...and have been on a nutritional treatment with constant screening for seven years.

Without the PSA and biopsies...I would not have known whether my cancer was aggressive or benign.

Sorry, buddy...retract your blog.

Best, hope all is well,

Rick Pace

John it isn't really new news that most of us ...

2012-05-17T05:12:04.346-06:00

John it isn't really new news that most of us don't all the education we recieved. You are a retired submariner with a wealth of technical education and experience--do you use your education running that farm? I have a MS in Physics and 40 years of experience building submarines; the other week I realized I have forgotten how to do an integral. Can i get it back? Sure but the point is I haven't used it for so long the technique is not on the tip of my tongue.
Jobs UH that's the economy! We get this economy straightened out and you'll see engineers getting hired to develop the advancement. Here's the polictical statement--the debt has to be brought under control if we want the economy to straighten up and this adminstration doesn't seem to understand that!

Great minds. As I was reading and got to the &quo...

2012-05-15T10:48:11.515-06:00

Great minds. As I was reading and got to the "millisecond", I said to myself: that's PIK. Read a bit further and saw you'd already had that thought.

Now the Market can yearn, gasp, and plea!

I have to say this post was certainly informative ...

2012-05-04T07:48:23.094-06:00

I have to say this post was certainly informative and contains useful content for enthusiastic visitors. I will definitely bookmark this blog for future reference and further viewing. Thanks a bunch for sharing this with us!restoration grapevine

John, get your rotator cuff checked , seldom heals...

2012-05-01T06:41:35.094-06:00

John, get your rotator cuff checked , seldom heals on its own if you damaged it ,but then again since you are a farmer you probably will suffer along with it like the rest of us "getting older" guys-regards-kevin

Glad to see you back, though somewhat disabled! H...

2012-04-30T20:26:40.354-06:00

Glad to see you back, though somewhat disabled! Have you gotten a card so you can park in the "disabled" spots?

Please enlighten me. What are "black America...

2012-04-12T14:08:51.085-06:00

Please enlighten me. What are "black American's policy needs"? Are these different from white, Asian, or Hispanic American's policy needs? Isn't that, in itself, racist to suggest that one race needs more/less help than another?

J

John A different kind of debt, one we can't r...

2012-04-09T07:03:21.403-06:00

John

A different kind of debt, one we can't repay.

As a fellow Methodist, this was the start to our Easter service and I wanted to share. Turn the lights down and crank up the volume, do it alone if your afraid to let poeple see you cry.

http://vimeo.com/22922244

Happy Easter
Enjoy
Doug

I fairness to yourself make sure you look at the c...

2012-04-07T17:12:48.093-06:00

I fairness to yourself make sure you look at the case for faith, two great sources here from serious thinkers.
http://www.leestrobel.com/Bio.php
http://timothykeller.com/books/the_reason_for_god/

anon: We don't heat the pool so we can toughe...

2012-04-05T05:46:39.609-06:00

anon:

We don't heat the pool so we can toughen the little weasels up!

Actually, the pool gets too hot sometimes in the late summer. Anything over 85 is bath water, IMHO.

Why don't you put a heater in the pool for the...

2012-04-04T18:31:23.458-06:00

Why don't you put a heater in the pool for the grandchildren? The gas would not cost any more than for drying corn! And the little guys will love you for it!!!

Sleeping on the sofa? You're supposed to say:...

2012-04-04T06:35:31.435-06:00

Sleeping on the sofa? You're supposed to say: "in my eyes she's still my youthful bride"

John, Lets see some planting pics Please-

2012-03-31T18:03:15.426-06:00

John, Lets see some planting pics Please-

I am glad someone else thinks the Habeus Corpus is...

2012-03-29T08:43:44.212-06:00

I am glad someone else thinks the Habeus Corpus issue was way more important than Obamacare. Probably won't affect me, but my great grandchildren will wonder how we could be so naive.

Dave: As Barro pointed out, and with which I agre...

2012-03-29T06:18:44.793-06:00

Dave:

As Barro pointed out, and with which I agree, the response form dominant voices on the right is racially tone-deaf, to put it mildly. Please read the Sanchez article as well as the full Barro piece.

I have actually made no comment on the case, but am remarking on the reactions from the right. I found the "hoodie" statements to be the most ludicrous.

All in all, it strikes me as another effort to make it all a "media" problem, just like the pink slime issue. Barro correctly points out this knee-jerk response probably has exceeded its half-life.

You as guilty as almost all of the media in this M...

2012-03-29T05:24:49.886-06:00

You as guilty as almost all of the media in this Martin/Zimmerman case--you are jumping the gun and making assumtions that this is racial. Personally I don't know what to think at this point. In the beginning it certainly apeared to be a case where a zealous neighborhood watch person did all the wrong things and Martin ended up dead. Now, as more information is coming out, I've changed my opinion and don't know what to think.

John, thanks for the post. I am a younger farmer w...

2012-03-28T07:24:07.541-06:00

John, thanks for the post. I am a younger farmer with family and my oldest is about to graduate high school and we would like to keep him on our insurance as long as we can. A lot of people who object to "Obamacare" are on medacare,and besides what part of my life isn't controlled by some form of governmet?