My recent cancer memoir Patting The Shark was written as part of a creative writing PhD at Griffith University. The book forms what’s called the creative component of my PhD and now it’s done, I’ve turned my attention to the academic component, the Exegesis.

PCFA is about to start a review of Australia's guidelines for prostate cancer testing, harnessing our chance to change the way we manage the disease. 

Last week we brought together some of the country's leading clinicians to talk about new and emerging treatment options that have vastly improved the way we diagnose and treat prostate cancer. 

The vodcast touches on robotic and open prostatectomies, advances in radiotherapy, and the frontlines of research into side-effect management and treatment of erectile dysfunction and incontinence.

If you have any questions, or need support, call 1800 22 00 99 to speak with a PCFA Telenurse.

You’ve probably heard these three words a fair bit in recent years. You might even be sick of hearing them, but you are probably going to have to get used to it.

In the context of cancer care, most would agree the standard of care you receive should not be determined by your bank balance, ethnicity, postcode, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation. This has been a hot topic at recent oncology conferences and for good reason.

If you’re suffering from financial toxicity, you probably don’t need the concept explained to you...

Greetings from Bali, where your correspondent finds himself enjoying a break from normal transmission, in the splendour of the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival. I’m here to talk about my book Patting The Shark, which you might already be aware documents the perilous path of the prostate cancer patient and my quest for a sensible, middle path through mainstream and evidence-based complementary therapies.

Everyone responds to a cancer diagnosis differently. Some embrace yoga, meditation and a plant-based diet. Some retreat from the world. Some resolve to suck the marrow from life and chase an audacious bucket list.

There may be no satisfactory answer to the question: Why did I get cancer?

If you are a lifelong smoker with lung cancer, chances are that was a contributing factor. Lengthy court cases have been waged to establish if exposure to the toxic pesticide and known carcinogen Roundup was responsible for the various cancers suffered by gardeners and farmers and others who regularly doused themselves with the stuff.

During the COVID 19 pandemic, particularly the strict lockdowns in Victoria, there was a sharp and dramatic drop in cancer diagnoses. And the sharpest and most dramatic drop of all was for prostate cancer, with a 60% reduction in prostate cancer screening in Victoria.

https://theconversation.com/physician-heal-thyself-after-4-years-of-treatment-for-stage-4-cancer-i-j...

In the unlikely event that this has escaped your notice, oncologists are extremely busy people. You probably know the drill. You sit in the waiting room thumbing through trashy magazines or watching the inanity of daytime TV as the revolving door of cancer patients trudge in and out of the oncologist’s office, until your name is called...

I was supposed to write this blog post yesterday.

But I was a bit … well, frankly, I was a bit tired. Which, in the ruthless world of freelance journalism, is about as valid an excuse as the proverbial dog eating your homework.

Except, in this case, the client – the delightful folks at the PCFA – have a good understanding of and empathy for cancer-related fatigue (CRF), especially the acutely debilitating kind inflicted by hormone therapy...

Prostate cancer is often spoken of as a couple’s disease because it can affect the partner of the person living with the diagnosis so acutely (if they have a partner).

Statistically, men with prostate cancer in long term relationships tend to do better over time than single men. It’s not hard to understand why. Another set of ears at medical appointments to help recall and process the overwhelming tide of information. A gentle reminder when tests, oncologist’s appointments or treatments might be due. The companionship. Emotional support...

As you navigate a prostate cancer diagnosis, coming to terms with treatments, side effects, lifestyle changes, the existential dread and angst, it’s easy to overlook one very important element of your cancer care. Bone health...

It has been shown that between 5-90% of patients will develop some degree of incontinence after a radical prostatectomy. Continence status will continue to evolve for up to 1 year after the surgery and in most patients will resolve after this period. Conservative treatment options should be trialled before proceeding to more invasive treatments, particularly in the early postoperative period, and patients should be followed up regularly to monitor treatment progress. Among the most common conservative treatments are behavioural therapies, pelvic floor muscle training with or without biofeedback, electrical simulation, and pharmacotherapy...

By Tim Baker

Eighteen months ago, in an act of grand optimism, I began a creative writing PhD, five and a half years after being diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, when I’d been told I could expect five to six years of reasonable health...

If you’ve received a cancer diagnosis, and are experiencing significant distress, may I suggest you pop down to your local GP and obtain a mental health care plan to see a psychologist? 

If you’ve received a cancer diagnosis and aren’t experiencing significant distress, may I learn the secrets to your superpower? 

Blokes, ay? We like to think we’re pretty tough, but guess what? A cancer diagnosis is tougher. If you don’t find ways to process the stress and anxiety of dealing with cancer, it’ll squirt out sideways and impact the people closest to you...

It’s fair to say receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis, particularly the advanced incurable variety, throws your world into a spin...

Any diagnosis of cancer can trigger a range of emotions and put one into an anxious state. These feelings may wax and wane through the various stages of the cancer journey and may persist. Wondering whether you have cancer; waiting for the results of diagnostic tests; going for treatment; dealing with the after effects of treatment and the fear of recurrence are just some of the potential triggers...

Hi, I’m Tim.

Diagnosed with stage 4, metastatic prostate cancer on July 7, 2015. PSA 120. Gleason score 9. Lesions in right femur (thigh bone) and left seventh rib. Those of you with a maths brain might have already calculated that was nearly seven years ago. In that time, I’ve had early chemotherapy with concurrent hormone therapy, targeted radiation, ongoing intermittent hormone therapy, and have undergone a TURP...

In this article, we consider the risks of prostate cancer for people who have transitioned from being assigned male at birth to female in later life, who have a prostate gland which may predispose them to prostate cancer. This may be the case for people who were born with a prostate gland and have had gender affirming surgery (GAS), as well as those who identify as female, but have not had GAS.

For some time researchers have been searching for alternative prostate cancer blood tests. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is still the best test that is available. Even though it only detects changes in the prostate it is also affected by factors other than prostate cancer (PCa) such as infections and an enlarged prostate (benign prostate hyperplasia). This results in several unnecessary prostate biopsies in those with rising PSAs. A PSA isoform (Protein similar to PSA) called [−2]proPSA (p2PSA) has been shown to be more .....

Approximately 25% of Australian prostate cancer patients are diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC): approximately 5500 per year. They may be offered curative treatment options such as a radical prostatectomy (RP), radiotherapy (RT) and brachytherapy (BT), or may be managed with routine monitoring called active surveillance (AS). It is postulated that up to 50% of all prostate cancer cases do not require curative treatment up to 12 years after diagnosis, with evidence suggesting ...

Pre-prostate biopsy MRI can yield a 27–49% reduction of patients undergoing transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided biopsy. A meta-analysis of seven clinical trials with 2582 patients found that MRI with or without a targeted biopsy offered a 57% increase in clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) detection, a 33% decrease in the total number of biopsies, and a 77% reduction in cores per biopsy procedure¹. The PRECISION trial .......

A previous blog addressed the different focal therapies for prostate cancer and brachytherapy is classified as another treatment modality. It is the implantation of radioactive sources directly into the tumour, also known as interstitial brachytherapy. Brachytherapy is used to...........

Financial toxicity is an expansive term which refers to the economic ramifications and subjective burden brought on by a cancer diagnosis and treatment¹. Escalating costs include direct, or out of pocket (OOP) payments, as well as indirect costs associated with foregone earnings for both patient and caregiver, which amplify financial burden. The notion of financial toxicity arose from fears that escalating costs of anti-cancer medications coupled with insurers’ increased cost-sharing with patients may lead to undesirable outcomes similar to traditional toxicities associated with treatment, such as ......

For now PSA (prostate specific antigen) is the most widely used screening test (as discussed in previous blogs). But there is a large amount of research examining other ways to determine who gets screened and how they will be screened. Prostate cancer screening was very topical at the recent European Association of Urology (EAU) virtual meeting in July. Some new blood tests and formulas have been suggested along with imaging to guide algorithmic developments. This blog will focus on

Screening is a means of detecting potential conditions or risk markers for disease. These programs identify conditions which could turn into disease in the future. One could deduce that by doing this the disease can be detected and treated earlier, reducing morbidity and .....

Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is an enzyme produced only in the prostate and acts on a protein in semen called seminogelin to give the semen a more liquid consistency. PSA shows up in the blood when sampled. Prostate cancer can raise the level of PSA in the blood but so can age related prostate enlargement causing trouble with urination (benign prostatic hypertrophy); infections (prostatitis); surgical procedures (prostate biopsy, cystoscopy) and natural increase with age. The PSA level may be ........

One of the treatment options for locally advanced non-metastatic prostate cancer is external beam radiation therapy in conjunction with androgen deprivation (testosterone blocking) therapy. If there are no lymph nodes (glands) that are obviously involved, then radiation would be confined to the prostatic bed. However, within the radiation oncology fraternity there has .....

The focus on this year’s meeting was on advanced cancer. Two types of cancer were presented: those that would respond to anti-androgen therapy (Castrate sensitive prostate cancer – CSPC) and those who have had anti-androgen therapy and developed resistance to treatment (Castrate resistant prostate cancer- CRPC) .......