For the first time in my life, I have hit my deductible AND reached my out-of-pocket maximum. I now have three months of actual free healthcare, which is unheard of in the US. What should I get done? - eviltoast

Biologically male procedures only. EDIT: If the two people who downvoted this question could explain their reasoning, I would be super interested. No judgements. This is a safe space!

  • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I have no clue, it’s just something I’ve read about a little. It’s definitely not my area of expertise, so take this with a grain of salt.

    From what I understand, prostate cancer is usually very slow, and it’s possible to have a little spot of it for years that doesn’t affect you. For some people, the right answer to finding a prostate tumor is to just monitor it, but obviously, people freak out when they have cancer, and want treatment. Cancer treatments are all no joke, so it seems that you could sacrifice a lot to treat something that would have just chilled there not hurting you.

    I have no clue about the blood tests. If it’s like a “yes or no” for prostate cancer, it might have that same disadvantage. If it tells the Dr something more like type of prostate cancer or growth, it’s a different story.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Not sure if your link is the same as I’ve read, but yes, the thing with prostate cancer is that treatment doesn’t seem to change the outcome.

      This is most likely because it usually doesn’t develop until mid-50’s or later, and grows so slowly that it doesn’t have time to kill you.

      I think the concern would be it occurring in younger ages, or it growing faster than typical.

      So test and monitor is likely a good thing, treatment shouldn’t be a given, unless there are clear signs.