More than 13,100 men and 11,600 women are diagnosed with invasive cancer each year in Ireland, but women tend to see a doctor sooner than men.
During Men’s Health Week, which runs from today to June 19, health officials want to encourage men to visit their doctors about possible health concerns.
Tom Barrett was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (also known as CLL) seven years ago, demonstrating its importance. This is a slow-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow, with no recognizable symptoms, years later. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer after regular blood tests.
“I was in a condition called diverticulitis (inflammation of the intestines) and I was absent from Germany at work when it burned up in 2015, and I started to feel sick,” he says. increase. “I came home on Friday afternoon, but I couldn’t make an appointment with my doctor, so I went to A & E to get some antibiotics to help me. But, needless to say, they were themselves. They wanted to have a blood test, so they were told that they needed to be hospitalized instead of being given medicine and going home.
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Tom Barrett treated for prostate cancer.Photo: Jerry Mooney
“I was really surprised at this, but at that point I was really sick, so I thought the diverticulitis attack must have been so bad. Ireland will face France in the World Cup quarterfinals. I remember it was the last weekend. I was planning to go to Cardiff and watch the game with my son.
“But I was still in the hospital on Monday. They said there were some unsatisfactory aspects of my blood results. On Wednesday I told them I had to go out when I went to Wales. Weekend — At that point, they told me there was no way I could go. “
Instead of taking off for the match that Friday, a 57-year-old man told an expert that he was told to see a hematologist because there was “something very bad” in his blood. It was seen.
He was told that there were many possibilities for this issue, but they didn’t know until further testing. So, after leaving him, he was going home a few weeks later for a bone marrow biopsy. But two weeks later, he had CLL and was told he couldn’t do anything in the foreseeable future.
“When they told me, I thought for a moment that I was in the wrong place and they were telling the wrong person,” he says. “This was the scariest thing everyone told me. It scared my life. After my wife Kathy and I got home in shock, we took out our laptop and googled. I started.
“Fortunately, I was told not to look up information that was more than three years old, because many of them were irrelevant and scary. All I could do at this stage was” follow-up. ” I used to, but I think this is a ridiculous name. It should actually be called “follow-up” because the head is lifted.
“I did a lot of testing to find out where I was. Obviously the variant I have is very lazy, but things have changed a bit in the last six months. Nothing happened for 7 years, but I’ll need to be treated soon. “
His PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) levels were said to have risen slightly while performing regular blood tests to check the progress of his CLL, the father of two adult children. But there was nothing to worry about.
However, he decided he didn’t want to miss the chance, so he was asked to refer him to a urologist. This is when he receives a second unexpected diagnosis.
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Kevin O’Hagan, Cancer Prevention Manager, Irish Cancer Society
“Experts have told me that I have benign prostatic hyperplasia,” he says. “The complications then began as further tests revealed that Gleason scores (defining low-grade to high-grade cancer) were 4 and 3 and that something needed to be done fairly quickly. It was usually said that there were several options, but thanks to CLL, robotic prostatectomy (surgery to remove all or part of the prostate) or radiation therapy to blow up the cancer with a laser I was able to do either.
“After chatting with my GP, my family, and CLL experts, we all felt that prostatectomy was the best route to go down. In August 2020, that’s what I did. It wasn’t comfortable or easy, it didn’t recover, but almost three years later, I’m on the other side of it. “
A Dublin man who was a sales manager for a pharmaceutical company said the shock of being diagnosed twice was difficult, but he was very fortunate that the cancer was detected in time and symptoms to other men. I urge you not to ignore.
“It was a big shock to be told that I had CLL, but almost five years later, being told that I had another cancer was like being kicked again, just as I did when I got up. “
“It was a big shock to be told that I had CLL, and almost five years later I was told that I had another cancer, as if I had been kicked again, just as I did. It was something like that, “he says. “But I’m actively working on my health and I’ve been able to see it pretty quickly in both cases. Now it’s as good as I can expect with respect to the prostate, and when I start CLL treatment, everything I hope it will be classified.
“I’m probably a typical brabad-filled man, going to matches and having madness, so I know how easy it is to ignore health problems and hope it’s resolved. But that’s not a way to move forward. I advise other men who feel sick to go to the doctor as soon as possible. The sooner something is checked out, the more it’s classified. I started this journey looking for an antibiotic for diverticulitis, and I’m very happy to have taken myself to the doctor.
Thankfully, Tom’s story has a positive ending, and there are ways men can reduce their risk of prostate cancer. For example, healthy weight and healthy eating, physical activity, family history awareness, and discussions with the GP. PSA blood test. Possible signs of prostate cancer include the need to pass urine more frequently, especially at night, problems with the start or stop of flow, slow urine flow, and pain when passing urine. It is included.
Attend screening appointments and visit your doctor if you have any concerns can help you detect cancer early. Kevin O’Hagan, Cancer Prevention Manager at the Irish Cancer Society, said it is imperative for men to do this, as in the case of Covid-19. , The number of diagnoses of prostate cancer has decreased significantly.
“Few men participate in the GP, and as a result, referrals to rapid access clinics for prostate cancer have been reduced by almost half at the start of the pandemic,” he says.
“Cancer services are already seeing this result, patients appear later and more advanced, and experts warn that such delays will lead to more cancer deaths in the next decade. Therefore, Men’s Health Week provides an opportunity to encourage men to discuss prostate health (and other issues of concern) with their doctor, even in the absence of symptoms.
“One of the real problems with prostate cancer is that it often doesn’t cause symptoms until it progresses. The best chance to treat and treat this disease is to get the cancer early before it develops. It is to discover. Therefore, it is advisable to consult a doctor about prostate health for men from the age of 45. “
About prostate cancer
⬤ About 3,890 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in Ireland. This means that one in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer for the rest of their lives.
⬤ It usually affects men over the age of 50 and is at increased risk if they have siblings or fathers with the disease.
⬤ It will also be higher if your relatives develop prostate cancer at a young age, or if you have multiple relatives for the disease.
⬤ The two genes identified as increased risk are the Brca1 and Brca2 genes. Men with Brca2 are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer.
⬤ Prostate cancer is life-threatening, but it can be treated if caught in time.
⬤ Men in the Afro Caribbeans are at increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
⬤ Risk factors do not mean that you will get cancer. Very often, people without risk factors get sick.
⬤ Less common symptoms include blood in urine and semen, and the feeling that the bladder is not completely empty.
⬤ If you have any concerns, see a doctor.
⬤ If you have any questions or concerns about cancer, please contact the Irish Cancer Society Support Line on your Freephone 1800 200700 or visit: cancer.ie
Men’s Health Week is funded by Health Service Executive Health and Wellbeing and Public Health Agency.check out mhfi.org Details and events
