Question for UK guys about PSA bloods taken in UK.
Hugh Kearnley
Very Odd.
Nothing on the form starting at Sodium down to CK - that I usually get with
Diabetic & Cardiac bloods.
readings start with bilirubin, 15
AST (whatever that is I dunno) 18
ALT (again I dunno) 22
Gamma-GT (That's for booze? supposed to be less than 90 but I'll keep that
one to myself)
Alk.Phos (Eh - what?) 88
Protein (I understand that one) 68
Albumin (yup gottit) 42
Globulins (rough idea) 29
Then nothing from Calcium on down to HDL/LDL/Triglycerides/TSH/Free
T4/T3/IgA/IgG and IgM.
Next page just PSA from first to last reading, but no mention of this "Free
PSA" or testosterone or anything else.
Is that normal for UK? Not even a mention of the Vitamin D things.
Esp when I asked for a complete work-up on the bloods, Do I have to ask for
special bloods for those?
Understand guys that I really haven't bothered trying to learn TOO much
about things that don't really apply to me, like RP's Radiation, seeds and
all that stuff that I'm not going to get.
PSA and keeping it low + diet is about all I'm interested in.
Of course, I read with a fascinated horror all the stories, but still
thankful (Maybe stupidly) that I was past anything but ADT - for however
long that keeps me alive - and didn't have to go through all the shit you
guys have.
HUGHIE.
Steve Jordan
> I got hard copy yesterday of my last bloods.
Good! Keep it up.
> Very Odd.
> Nothing on the form starting at Sodium down to CK - that I usually get with
> Diabetic & Cardiac bloods.
> readings start with bilirubin, 15
> AST (whatever that is I dunno) 18
> ALT (again I dunno) 22
Billiribin, AST and ALT are all tests for liver disorders. I don't know
what units were used. In the USofA, ALT and AST are measured in IUI/dL,
and I expect that the same is true for the UK. The reference ranges are
AST 10 - 50, ALT 2 - 60.
Bilirubin is measured here in mg/dL, and the reference range is 0.2 -
1.3. I suspect that the UK might use nmol/dL or some such but am unsure.
See, http://labtestsonline.org/index.html
> Alk.Phos (Eh - what?) 88
Alkaline phosphatase is tested for signs of Paget's disease, a bone
disorder involving accelerated bone turnover. Reference range is 39 -
160 IU/L.
(snip)
> Next page just PSA from first to last reading, but no mention of this "Free
> PSA" or testosterone or anything else.
> Is that normal for UK? Not even a mention of the Vitamin D things.
> Esp when I asked for a complete work-up on the bloods, Do I have to ask for
> special bloods for those?
In the USofA, certain blood tests are done in "panels." These include
standard tests. If one wishes to have other tests such as fPSA, T,
vitamin D, they must be specially ordered.
For the UK perspective, I suggest raising the question on the PCA
Bulletin Board. Answers from the resident Brits will be forthcoming, I'm
sure.
Regards,
Steve J
Heather
and know how to spell "colour".....(VBG)
As for those blood tests (testosterone, free PSA, etc), you have to ask
the doctor for a requisition to do them. They are not part of a
standard blood workup.
Ron just gets a requisition for regular PSA and Testosterone levels
every 3 to 6 months. We have never bothered with the "free PSA" one
because we KNOW he has prostate cancer.....it is just used for those who
are not 100% sure, so to speak. You don't need it either.
We pay $30 for a PSA test here....what about the UK?? This is one of
the few tests we pay for. The Government is making a bloody fortune off
it though. Think of how many 40+ men get it done. It is only free if
it is done in a hospital.
Chins up.....Heather
"Hugh Kearnley" <hughke...@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:JO-dneKyccEqZKXb...@bt.com...
Clarence Crow
<hughke...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>I got hard copy yesterday of my last bloods.
>Very Odd.
>Nothing on the form starting at Sodium down to CK - that I usually get with
>Diabetic & Cardiac bloods.
>readings start with bilirubin, 15
>AST (whatever that is I dunno) 18
>ALT (again I dunno) 22
>Gamma-GT (That's for booze? supposed to be less than 90 but I'll keep that
>one to myself)
<snip>
All above are LFT (liver function test) readings taken on periodic
Diabetic assessment blood tests. (some are mine were off the map, but
after 4 wildly varying consecutive blood tests and a trip to a
Hepatologist, he shrugged it off as 'non-remarkable' for an oddball
like me, but test quarterly.)
The others I can't comment on, but none seem to be PCa related.
HTH
-Please reply to group as my email addr is fake!
-Regards CC
alv...@gmail.com
wrote:
> I got hard copy yesterday of my last bloods.
> Very Odd.
It is very important to test for liver functions whilst on ADT.
-Gordy
Hugh Kearnley
Thanks, mate.
Hughie.
Hugh Kearnley
"Heather" <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
news:f1b1tu$e9b$1...@registered.motzarella.org...
> Hi Hughie......will a female Canuck do instead?? We do talk more alike
> and know how to spell "colour".....(VBG)
YUP! - You'll do Pet - How's Ron doing?
>
> As for those blood tests (testosterone, free PSA, etc), you have to ask
> the doctor for a requisition to do them. They are not part of a standard
> blood workup.
Understood.
>
> Ron just gets a requisition for regular PSA and Testosterone levels every
> 3 to 6 months. We have never bothered with the "free PSA" one because we
> KNOW he has prostate cancer.....it is just used for those who are not 100%
> sure, so to speak. You don't need it either.
Now I know, Ta.
>
> We pay $30 for a PSA test here....what about the UK?? This is one of the
> few tests we pay for. The Government is making a bloody fortune off it
> though. Think of how many 40+ men get it done. It is only free if it is
> done in a hospital.
Don't know for sure but I THINK it's free here, my GP who did the last one
just said OK when I asked him. Anyway - I've never been charged.
>
> Chins up.....Heather
Shaving yesterday, damn cat decided to play ambushes. I got a fright
(Honest!) when he clawed my foot and I shaved off a bit of my moustache.
(This is the second time I've done that) - Kept trimming the other side to
even it up and again and again till I looked like a chubby version of adolf
bloody hitler. No moustache now. It took my lad half an hour to realise I
looked a bit different, then he started laughing... I look younger without
it and it was starting to look straggly anyway- so it's staying off. Had
that since I was old enough to grow it. - Ever wanted to be young again? -
No, I don't either! The weather here has been fantastic for April - frequent
22-23 Celsius all this week and a cloudless sky. Been soaking up all the
free vitamin D on my balcony and now look like a cooked lobster!
Hugh Kearnley
> All above are LFT (liver function test) readings taken on periodic
> Diabetic assessment blood tests. (some are mine were off the map, but
> after 4 wildly varying consecutive blood tests and a trip to a
> Hepatologist, he shrugged it off as 'non-remarkable' for an oddball
> like me, but test quarterly.)
>
> The others I can't comment on, but none seem to be PCa related.
Are you diabetic too, Clarence? I'm a T2 under very tight control.
Thanks for letting me know those were Liver figures. I had no idea.
HUGHIE
Hugh Kearnley
<alv...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1178147482.4...@y80g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> It is very important to test for liver functions whilst on ADT.
>
> -Gordy
Understood - and thankyou!
Hughie.
>
Steve Jordan
> Steve - understood - but PCA Board - is that the PCNAZ one you mean?
> Thanks, mate.
Aye, mate. See ya Saturday!
Regards,
Steve J
"A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train
stops. On my desk I have a work station."
-- Hecate
A. Black
> Hi Hughie......will a female Canuck do instead?? We do talk more alike
>
> every 3 to 6 months. We have never bothered with the "free PSA" one
> because we KNOW he has prostate cancer.....it is just used for those who
>
I would double check this. You likely have to pay for PSA tests
for screening purposes but not if you have prostate cancer already.
Its possible that that only applies to certain labs such as hospitals
and not private labs so you might need to switch labs and also you
may need to have your doctor indicate something on the requisition
so the lab knows its not for screening purposes.
If you do switch labs note that that will introduce a new source of
variation into the results.
---
The Palpable Prostate
http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com
Heather
"A. Black" <xuv...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1178156817.3...@o5g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> On May 2, 6:05 pm, "Heather" <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>> Hi Hughie......will a female Canuck do instead?? We do talk more
>> alike
>>
>> Ron just gets a requisition for regular PSA and Testosterone levels
>> every 3 to 6 months. We have never bothered with the "free PSA" one
>> because we KNOW he has prostate cancer.....it is just used for those
>> who>> We pay $30 for a PSA test here....what about the UK?? This is
>
> for screening purposes but not if you have prostate cancer already.
> Its possible that that only applies to certain labs such as hospitals
> and not private labs so you might need to switch labs and also you
> may need to have your doctor indicate something on the requisition
> so the lab knows its not for screening purposes.
I take it you are NOT Canadian. Unfortunately what you state is a
proverbial *myth* and one we believed at first. It doesn't matter one
iota whether you have cancer or not!! The Health Care System here does
not pay for PSA tests unless you have it done at a hospital. And those
appts. are usually one or two days a week between 1 and 2 pm. (slight
exaggeration here).
More than one of our personal oncologists have voiced their displeasure
with this.....especially when you realize most Pca patients get a PSA
every 3 months.
OTOH, I don't pay for any of my pap smears or other *female tests* and
in fact, I am in a study for breast cancer. Have been for years and do
get a mammogram every year. My mother had breast cancer.
Oh well, we take the bad with the good. (G)
Heather
Joe Price
"Heather" <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
>
>
> I take it you are NOT Canadian. Unfortunately what you state is a
> proverbial *myth* and one we believed at first. It doesn't matter one
> iota whether you have cancer or not!! The Health Care System here does
> not pay for PSA tests unless you have it done at a hospital. And those
> appts. are usually one or two days a week between 1 and 2 pm. (slight
> exaggeration here).
>
I'm a Canadian too. I live in Alberta and have never ever had to pay for a
PSA test that was ordered by a doctor so it may just be an Ontario thing.
I suppose if I went to a medical lab and asked for a PSA test for my own
peace of mind or something, then I would have to pay but if a doctor orders
it here, it is covered.
Medical care is in provincial jurisdiction so the rules vary from province
to province.
JP
A. Black
> "A. Black" <xuv...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:1178156817.3...@o5g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>
> > On May 2, 6:05 pm, "Heather" <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> >> Hi Hughie......will a female Canuck do instead?? We do talk more
> >> alike
>
> >> Ron just gets a requisition for regular PSA and Testosterone levels
> >> every 3 to 6 months. We have never bothered with the "free PSA" one
> >> because we KNOW he has prostate cancer.....it is just used for those
> >> who>> We pay $30 for a PSA test here....what about the UK?? This is
>
> > I would double check this. You likely have to pay for PSA tests
> > for screening purposes but not if you have prostate cancer already.
> > Its possible that that only applies to certain labs such as hospitals
> > and not private labs so you might need to switch labs and also you
> > may need to have your doctor indicate something on the requisition
> > so the lab knows its not for screening purposes.
>
> I take it you are NOT Canadian. Unfortunately what you state is a
> proverbial *myth* and one we believed at first. It doesn't matter one
> iota whether you have cancer or not!! The Health Care System here does
> not pay for PSA tests unless you have it done at a hospital. And those
I guess you are saying that my comment is correct but that in reality
at
your hospital its hard to get access to it. That may be specific to
your
hospital and may or may not be the case at other hospitals in your
province -- which I assume is Ontario. I googled around and found
this
where the Ontario Minister of Health specifically said she sent
hospitals
a letter in 1998 reminding them that they have to pay for it (search
for the
phrase insured services on this page):
http://www.ontla.on.ca/committee-proceedings/transcripts/files_html/1998-06-17_e004.htm
and BC won't pay for it "when rendered for the purpose of
screening" (but presumably
will otherwise):
http://www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoprac/physbilling/s6-billing.pdf
Presumably other provinces are similar.
rosbif
Can't offer any detail here Hughie - all I get is a standard PSA test
from my local GP and that's the only figure the uro has asked me to
bring along at our 3-monthly meeting. During my WW phase I was
getting an fPSA result as well. (I'd forgotten about fPSA - supposedly
of no diagnostic value post primary treatment?) PSA tests are free
of charge when initiated by the GP.
Heather
"Joe Price" <joep...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:yBc_h.156056$6m4.96393@pd7urf1no...
Oops.....sorry, but I thought I said it was a "provincial" thing......
Yes, each Province has their own rules and unfortunately Ontario does
NOT pay for a PSA test, whether doctor-ordered or not. In fact, it has
to be ordered by a doctor to be perfectly correct, but you have to get
it done in a hospital in order for it to be "no charge".
Night Joe......Heather
Heather
> On May 2, 10:51 pm, "Heather" <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>>>>> We pay $30 for a PSA test here....<<<<<
>>
>> > I would double check this. You likely have to pay for PSA tests
>> > for screening purposes but not if you have prostate cancer already.
>> > Its possible that that only applies to certain labs such as
>> > hospitals
>> > and not private labs so you might need to switch labs and also you
>> > may need to have your doctor indicate something on the requisition
>> > so the lab knows its not for screening purposes.
>>
>> I take it you are NOT Canadian. Unfortunately what you state is a
>> proverbial *myth* and one we believed at first. It doesn't matter
>> one
>> iota whether you have cancer or not!! The Health Care System here
>> does not pay for PSA tests unless you have it done at a hospital.
>> <<<
>
> I guess you are saying that my comment is correct but that in reality
> at your hospital its hard to get access to it. That may be specific
> to
> your hospital and may or may not be the case at other hospitals in
> your
> province -- which I assume is Ontario. I googled around and found
> this where the Ontario Minister of Health specifically said she sent
> hospitals a letter in 1998 reminding them that they have to pay for it
No.....I am saying that you have to pay for it even if you have prostate
cancer. Ontario does NOT cover it. Yes, it is difficult getting an
appt. here in the small city I live in just outside Toronto, so we get
it done at Sunnybrook Hospital when we see the oncologist. If we decide
to check it in between these ones, we pay $30 for it at a private lab.
I did find what you were referring to and that was 9 years ago??? No
wonder the doctors are ticked off that it is not covered. I will take
another look at it in the morning......interesting to see where some of
these people are now. (G)
Thanks, Heather
Hugh Kearnley
Hughie
<rosbif> wrote in message news:meti33hvbbn2bhvl2...@4ax.com...
Steve Kramer
> Yes, each Province has their own rules and unfortunately Ontario does NOT
> pay for a PSA test, whether doctor-ordered or not. In fact, it has to be
> ordered by a doctor to be perfectly correct, but you have to get it done
> in a hospital in order for it to be "no charge".
What a great system!
Heather
"Steve Kramer" <skr...@cinci.rr.com> wrote in message
news:4639d42c$0$4686$4c36...@roadrunner.com...
Works for us, pussycat!!
That is about the ONLY thing we pay for re Pca. And our prescriptions
range from $2 to $6.11......always. Including Zoladex/Lupron and
Casodex.
Just did our income taxes for April 30th and it is amazing how much I
can write off with regard to cancer treatment. I assume you Merkins can
do the same. (tongue firmly planted in cheeky cheek, grin)
Steve Kramer
> Just did our income taxes for April 30th and it is amazing how much I can
> write off with regard to cancer treatment. I assume you Merkins can do
> the same. (tongue firmly planted in cheeky cheek, grin)
Yeah, I just deducted a boatload. It's the first time I qualified for a
medical deduction -- and that's not a good thing.
Steve Jordan
Quoting Heather:
>> Just did our income taxes for April 30th and it is amazing how much I can
>> write off with regard to cancer treatment. I assume you Merkins can do
>> the same. (tongue firmly planted in cheeky cheek, grin)
He replied:
> Yeah, I just deducted a boatload. It's the first time I qualified for a
> medical deduction -- and that's not a good thing.
Well, no, but it does relieve some of the pain :-)
Health insurance premiums are also deductible, BTW.
Regards,
Steve J
"Do not compute the totality of your poultry population until all the
manifestations of incubation have been entirely completed."
-- William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer & politician
Heather
"Steve Jordan" <mycro...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:xqr_h.291609$7g3....@newsfe14.phx...
> On May 3, Steve K wrote:
>
> Quoting Heather:
>
>>> Just did our income taxes for April 30th and it is amazing how much
>>> I can write off with regard to cancer treatment. I assume you
>>> Merkins can do the same. (tongue firmly planted in cheeky cheek,
>>> grin)
>
> He replied:
>
>> Yeah, I just deducted a boatload. It's the first time I qualified
>> for a medical deduction -- and that's not a good thing.
>
> Well, no, but it does relieve some of the pain :-)
>
> Health insurance premiums are also deductible, BTW.
>
TIPS line about 3 years ago. And another CPA advised me where to check
in case there were more. Every little bit helps.
I have so far not had to make quarterly income tax payments, and usually
scrounge up enough at tax time to keep it that way. The government is
not collecting monies from me IN ADVANCE and then returning them months
later with no interest!!! Hell, I am of Scottish extraction......we
pinch pennies. (and then spend them big time on trips, grin)
Cheers....Heather