In one of my earlier posts, you may recall I mentioned “José’s lessons in life,” passed from the sage to my children as they were growing up. Another one of those (obvious) gems, was “Don’t gamble.” This one formed after we waited outside Crown Casino in Melbourne for my niece to come back outside after going in with some money to play with on her 18th birthday, she was back outside almost instantly with no money.

Continuing on the irony theme, (“Irony, is working against me……,”) and whilst I don’t gamble, sometimes the odds are just not in your favor. Prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates have been on the decline or have stabilized recently in many countries, with decreases more pronounced in high-income countries. These trends may reflect a decline in prostate-specific antigen testing (incidence) and improvements in treatment (mortality**). That’s good news, and as you all know, I am still alive 🕺🕺🕺, as is my battle.

Yet ironically the odds stiffed me…. the saga continues. This graphic shows the story. First off, I am one of the two percenters, but being in this category here does not associate me with wealth! Secondly, whilst surgery preserved my manhood, (more to this story later, it’s complicated,) the cost is my life as it is today when we failed to take enough margin in surgery to get all the cancer cells.

The moral of the story:

• If you are a man or in love with a man in the risk category which according to Mayo Clinic is when you turn 50 (yet I was 49,), get a PSA test! Note there are other risk factors too.
• The odds are not always in your favor.
• Roll with the punches
• Life beats manhood.

**Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0302283819306190

*Source: BJUI Knowledge https://www.bjuinternational.com/ BJU International is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that was established in 1929 focusing on the Urology discipline.  It is accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong. And approved by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons