in: Orienteering; Off-Course;
| # Posted 2008-05-09 17:52:21 | |
| chitownclark: | Recently several aging orienteers we all know have been told that their PSA levels are rising. Rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels are an indication that cancer cells are multiplying in a man's prostate gland. Indeed more than half of all men over 60 will have prostate cancer, and many will die of it.
The incidence rate of Prostate Cancer is 2.25 times the incidence rate of Breast Cancer, yet Federal research funding for Prostate cancer is less than half of what Breast Cancer research gets. To call attention to this inequity, a petition is now circulating that urges higher federal funding levels for prostate cancer research. We'd like to invite all A/Pers to sign this petition...men and women alike. Then PLEASE forward this message to all the people in your address book asking them to do the same. A paper version with 10 signature lines is also available for getting signatures at meetings or any gatherings. Not everyone is geared to the Internet. To get the PDF for printing the paper petition, just mail to: info@pcaawareness.net and ask for paper petitions to be mailed to you. Washington thinks in terms of millions -- the National Breast Cancer Coalition submitted a funding petition in 1992 with 2.6 million signatures, and look at the funding picture now. Unfortunately, so far we have obtained only 2700 signatures for our petition. I'm not sure that there's a correlation between orienteering and PC. However a link between a limited sex life and PC has been established. So I wonder: are we orienteers more, or less likely to become PC candidates as we get older? |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 18:27:08 | |
| feet: | This belongs in Off-Course, not here. |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 18:32:41 | |
| jtorranc: | I'm not sure I see the inequity myself - correct me if I'm wrong but breast cancer tends to strike younger people than does testicular cancer. Going by the number of people afflicted AND the number of years, on average, their lives might be extended by successful treatment, breast cancer may well deserve more funding than prostate cancer.
Also, feet is right. |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 18:36:45 | |
| ken: | (recategorized) |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 19:20:35 | |
| chitownclark: | Thanks ken. I'm still getting used to these discussion catagories. Perhaps we need a catagory entitled "Injuries and treatments."
...breast cancer tends to strike younger people than does testicular cancer..... [so] breast cancer may well deserve more funding than prostate cancer.... Well, see, testicular and prostate cancer affect two different glands; they're completely different cancers. And testicular cancer does affect principally younger men, although its incidence is low. But the incidence of PC is high...and increasing. The prostate is a gland stuck to the bottom of the bladder, through which the urethra passes. It produces men's seminal fluids. The testes produce only the active sperm that ride in this fluid...and I hope I don't have to point out where the testes are located. Most urologists now recommend that guys get their first PSA test at age 45; and guys with a family history of cancer should begin at 40. PC is extremely important to catch at these young ages, because it tends to be much more aggressive, and difficult to cure. So catching it early is extremely important. Since these are similar ages as those that breast cancer develops, I'm not sure that the age-related argument is valid...if appropriate at all. : < ) |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 19:53:35 | |
| jtorranc: | Sorry, my slip of the mind, possibly caused by my doctor insisting I get an ultrasound to make sure I didn't have testicular cancer some years ago. I didn't mean to bring anything other than prostate and breast cancer into the discussion.
I'm not disputing that catching PC early when it occurs early in life is important but my understanding (which may not, I'll concede, be up to the minute) is that medical researchers are divided as to whether treating PC late in life always makes sense since the side effects of treatment during a patient's remaining years before something other than PC does them in may often be worse than the effects of PC over that same time period. That aside, I'd argue in general that an argument that one disease deserves more research funding than another ought to be based on more than simply the number of people affected. Some account ought to be taken of the severity of the effects, the adequacy of existing diagnostic tools and treatments, how promising various possible lines of research seem to be, etc. Maybe all that exists and justifies a higher funding level for prostate cancer research than for breast cancer research but it wasn't in the post starting the thread. |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 20:30:44 | |
| jjcote: | I'm not sure that there's a correlation between orienteering and PC. However a link between a limited sex life and PC has been established.
So, maybe a Star Trek fanboy convention would be an even better place to look for petition-signers than among orienteers? |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 20:33:23 | |
| ParkSchool: | As a physician but not a urologist, I have some perspective on the subject, although not solid numbers to back up my impressions. Prostate cancer is indeed a very common malignancy with a prevalence comparable to breast cancer (and probably a greater likelihood of occurence in men compared to breast cancer in women of a similar age as women make up a greater percentage of the elderly population). The incidence rate discrepancy quoted by chitownclark may indeed be valid, but one must always bear in mind that the incidence rate over a relatively small time period may reflect more aggressive diagnostic measures rather than a true discrepancy in prevalence. Like breast cancer, prostate cancer is increasingly likely to occur with advancing age. I believe the age of incidence curves are fairly similar. However, by my recollection, prostate cancer patients have a significantly higher survival rate than breast cancer patients (perhaps a 5-10 fold advantage over 5 years, which seems to be the standard by which these statistics are currently measured). Finally, the benefits of early detection and treatment are not so clear cut as they are for breast cancer, as the interventions are generally associated with greater morbidity (although this probably discounts body-image issues related to mastectomy) and with a lower percentage change in the outcome of death. This is not to say that I disagree with the suggestion that prostate cancer research is a valid use of healthcare resources. However, it does suggest that the current favored status of breast cancer research as compared to prostate cancer research may have some validity based on the natural history of the two diseases. |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 20:51:39 | |
| Yukon King: | well, my impression is that prostate cancer seems to be a real and significant "bad thang" that happens to humans a fair lot (eg dad-in-law is getting biopsies etc), so I'm ready to be signing a petition. I'll look around up here in Canada and sign one or do an equivalent action for ya, Chitown (and "other aging orienteers" :) it's a small thing so it's certainly not hard for me to do, and when added to the efforts of others, it can be significant... cheers! |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 21:21:00 | |
| chitownclark: | However a link between a limited sex life and PC has been established....So, maybe a Star Trek fanboy convention would be an even better place to look for petition-signers...?
Seems to me that quite a number of orienteers pass up that morning "eye opener," to instead arise and go out running. Their A/P logs may be well-tended, but how happy are their prostates? |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 22:04:43 | |
| chitownclark: | Well, all we're asking is that you guys sign a petition, that may one day directly affect you, or a loved one. Isn't that a pretty good use for federal dollars?
...Some account ought to be taken of the severity of the effects, the adequacy of existing diagnostic tools and treatments, how promising various possible lines of research seem to be... Well as ParkSchool pointed out, treating PC sometimes results in significant "morbidities": ie, often you cannot pee, or you cannot stop, after PC treatment. This is because the various known treatments (surgery, radiation, microwaves, freezing) unavoidably impact the lower urinary tract. And if the PC is not removed entirely, it begins a slow progression: first to the lymph system and bladder, then to bones and the upper organs. But it takes years to actually kill. Meanwhile bones break, vertebrae collapse, and pain levels mount. I don't know how much more severe the effects would have to be to justify a higher level of research funding. |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 23:11:20 | |
| jingo6390: | just had my prostrate exam 2 days ago, waiting for the PSA results to get back. Can't wait to tell my wife about the link between limited sex and PC!! |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 23:12:45 | |
| eddie: | OK, I've had enough. Once again, using this forum to push your favorite causes - good or bad - is in poor taste. Asking the intelligent readers here to send around a chain letter is just criminal. There are an infinite number of worthy causes in this screwed-up world that people could advocate, but personally I come here to chat with friends about orienteering. Its one of the few escapes I can find from everything out there that can kill me or make life miserable. I can (and have) read about PC in places more appropriate to do so. Please, please stop using attackpoint to push your basically non-orienteering causes. Being preached at in my favorite recreational forum just increases my blood pressure. This is not your mailing list to hijack. |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 23:26:30 | |
| randy: | just increases my blood pressure
And that can't be good for one's health, either. Eddie, you need to lay off those satanic cookies :) |
| # Posted 2008-05-09 23:46:45 | |
| eddie: | Awww, but they're so yummy. And vegan too! |
| # Posted 2008-05-10 00:11:53 | |
| jtorranc: | Vegan cookies that Eddie can't resist? It might violate his principles to say here what they are but, if so, I hope he'll feel free to identify them for me by private email.
I'll, temporarily at least, resist the urge to continue the discussion in deference to Eddie's sensibilities but I would like to register my opinion that the Off Course discussion category, consistently and appropriately used, ought to be an adequate way of dealing with off-topic discussions short of actual commercial solicitations. |
| # Posted 2008-05-10 00:22:10 | |
| eddie: | Sorry Jon, they're both just joking references to older threads. I'm not sure if Nabisco makes anything vegan (or satanic). I still like those maple cookies from Bulk Barn (tm). |
| # Posted 2008-05-10 00:31:49 | |
| jtorranc: | Sad to say, Bulk Barn has switched to a non-vegan maple creme sandwich cookie maker :( Though there are other suppliers for my fix so it's not the end of the world. |
| # Posted 2008-05-10 04:04:27 | |
| bl: | 'OK, I've had enough. Once again'...Eddie is right, no solicitations.... |
| # Posted 2008-05-10 07:54:03 | |
| coach: | Eat your spinach....... |
| # Posted 2008-05-10 09:13:18 | |
| birdman: | OK, I'm new round here and don't really want to start a flame war (especially with any vegan satanic cookie munchers), but is there a rule I'm not aware of that all users HAVE to read EVERY discussion thread, regardless of whether they're interested in the topic or not? |
| # Posted 2008-05-10 16:44:02 | |
| BorisGr: | Yes. |
| # Posted 2008-05-10 23:08:12 | |
| fthfl stwrd rudy: | i'll NEVER get old. |
| # Posted 2008-05-11 00:02:39 | |
| jjcote: | Well, there's one easy way to not get old, but I don't recommend it. |
| # Posted 2008-05-11 03:30:49 | |
| boyle: | Dear birdman,
Well done. It took me a year to figure out that every discussion thread must be read. PS It sure can't hurt Clark's petition. |
| # Posted 2008-05-11 09:21:13 | |
| toivo54: | I think that the original post is valid. There is increasing evidence that many years of endurance training/racing may cause cancer. Look at the rates among ultrarunners these days. Same thing with atrial fibrillation.
Anything we can learn and share about prevention is a good thing I think. Meanwhile, forget about petitions and do what we already know we should be doing... take your antioxidants/ free-radical scavengers, nap, eat less animal food, ...you know. |
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