how come the rate of BCR is so high for members this forum?

i mean really?  it's dam depressing when you think about it!

ed

 

I wouldn't have found my way here if it wasn't for BCR after 12 months.

Ed:
Tony nailed it -

Tony said...
It's been my experience that most that don't have recurrence move on. Simply put, those that need assistance with their disease come back and post frequently.

My partner's approach is - I got diagnosed - I got treatment - post-op testing ->zero numbers - it's over and done with ...
- so he never got into viewing the site for support for him or me
- the same with the HW posters - we all try to have non-cancer days, but it is more difficult for some to put it on the back-burner when "the elephant is still in the room..." regardless of their initial pathology and current stats.
hugs,
Bronson

p.s. going for my PSA test tomorrow morning - I'll see my doc at the end of March -argh-

Ed,

I feel that Tony's original point is probably the main reason, and the fact that we as a group are still representing just a grain of salt to the whole community of men that are dealing with PC. However, it also shows those ignorant of our disease, that PC is not the "good" cancer to get, and that many men are not cured of it. They may not die in large numbers directly because of the cancer, but recurrance is a fact of life, especially with Gleason 7 and above cases. It is sad, but it comes with our turf.

David in SC

I'm 3 years past DaVinci surgery and am still in the undetectable range. I visit the forum on an almost daily basis, but rarely post anything. Regardless of the success I seem to have in beating this monster I still feel like there is an axe hanging over my head just waiting to strike.

Presently I have my PSA test every 6 months, the latest was about a month ago. I still feel the anxiety build as the date approaches.

There are probably others that fit in the same category I'm in, lurking in the forum without posting. I just don't feel like I have anything to offer most of the time. I don't like expounding on what I see as my good luck and make others feel bad that may not be as fortunate.

When I see an opportunity to contribute to the forum, I most certainly will. I guess this attitude is partly what makes BCR seem higher than it should.

Regards,
Bob

...for pretty much the same reason that you can find terrible reviews of a restaurant that you happily eat in and find to be consistently good. People who get the short end of the stick tend to vent about it far more than people who get the other end. The happy customer tells one person, the unhappy customer tells 10 or 20, etc...

Here, you basically have the newly diagnosed, the recently treated, and the people with long-term problems. The first two categories self-prune, though if you keep your eyes open you'll see folks dropping by sometimes to report 2, 5 or 10 years clean - but they are not here all the time, so you perhaps don't count them. Good for them - they've moved on. Folks having long-term problems are more in need of long-term, yea, chronic disease support. That is, as I understand it, the founding reason for this site - you'll notice that Crohn's (the founder's disease) and Ulcerative Colitis have even more posts than Prostate Cancer does.

I hope to get out of here myself, no disrespect to the regulars - I'm still in the recently treated category and could really use a chunk of my time back, but I haven't gotten to a point where I can (mentally) just let it go, yet, despite most things PCa-wise looking good for me right now. Perhaps after my 6 month, or after I don't need a pee-pad in my pants. I hope I'll be good enough to remember to drop back in socially from time to time (or from PSA-test to PSA-test, as many do drop in when that reminds them), but I also hope I can hit a point where I don't think about this <bleep> disease all the <bleeping> time, and don't need to vent about it regularly. And I sure in the <bleep> hope I can stay put in the zero club - and if I don't, I'll be back for sure.

Which is, I think, why it looks like the BCR rate is so high here. You get hit with that part of the stick, you need support, here's the place to get it, here you are.

As a new member I think this is a very relevant topic. I came here for support and reassurance which of course I got. However as I started to trawl through posts I got quite depressed. I think I am realistic and realise my current treatment may not work but I still have high hopes. Yet here I was reading about loads of folks who were coming back after treatments with less than perfect outcomes. To be honest it set me back whereas as I said the intention of joining, and indeed the intention of all posters was to help me along. Well then I rationalised, chatted online with a friend and, like the other posters here, came to the conclusion there was an element of natural selection amongst the posters and many of the "cured" went on to pastures new. Now I am back in my happy state, OK with reading the accounts of those who have to cope with reoccurance and admire their courage and fortitude with dealing with their problems

However it is worth bearing in mind that sometimes the effect of posts may not be quite what we attend

Leonard Cohen singing in the background so that makes me happy now too!

Boris