2019-07-01_Reader_s_Digest_UK

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LETTERS ON THE MAY ISSUE

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JULY 2019 • 9

The May issue was
the first I’ve read
for many years and
reminded me what
an interesting,
informative and
entertaining magazine
Reader’s Digest is.
I bought this issue
because of the article on
prostate cancer, since my
husband successfully underwent
a prostatectomy last summer. I’m
pleased the article mentioned all
the options now available, as
well as innovative focal therapy.
If nationwide screening isn’t
currently offered through PSA
counts, there must be an
alternative method of detecting
tumours before it’s too late.
One of the most important
points made by Professor
Emberton is that we’re moving
to a world “in which you tailor
the treatment to the individual.”
My husband had no obvious
symptoms and was lucky enough
to have been given a routine
blood test several years ago.
When his PSA count shot up,


a manual examination
detected a lump and he
was referred to our
nearest hospital. It was
serious, and in the end
he opted for the robotic-
assisted prostatectomy
without hesitation. He’s
in his mid-sixties and we
could cope with side
effects in the knowledge that the
cancer would have gone.
He is one of the lucky
survivors, and all because his
PSA count was monitored. Yet,
had he not opted for the full
operation when it reached a
certain point, it could have been
a different outcome. We found
out afterwards that he’d made
the right decision, as the tumour
was more aggressive than they’d
expected. He’s now fit and well
recovered, and the ongoing
erectile recovery is a small price
to pay for more time together
after 40-plus years of marriage.
We are so thankful that he
received that very first routine
blood test!
Rosemary Gemme, West Lothian

MAY 2019 £3.

readersdigest.co.uk

MAY 2019

HEALTH • MONEY • TRAVEL • RECIPES • FASHION • TECHNOLOGY

SUMMER
SOUNDSBritain’s Best Opera Festivals
Bonnie Tyler“I CAN’T GO OUT
OF FASHION”
Prostate Cancer
3 Stories Of New Hope For Men

HEALTH

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