What this didn't cover is that if you have private health insurance, radiation bead implantation is an option, however even with medi-care rebate and the private health insurance, out of pocket expenses will be over 20,000 dollars.

If you are only covered by medi-care, the waiting list for the implantation of radiation beads is I believe around 12 to 18 months.

< sometimes wonder, if he was glad to go, and couldn't wait to end his dawn to dark
<lifelong servitude?\<
<Given, I understand the experience, of sole care nursing of a sick relative 24/7, and for
<the best part of a decade.
From a very different perspective.
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Monday, 17 November 2014 4:57:14 PM

I understand that ex-nurses can be the patient from HELL, Rhrosty.

Susan, thank you. This was obviously not an easy piece for you to write and it wasn't an easy piece to read, but the topic is important and often minimised.

Just as with that great female illness, breast cancer, it's often the partners and children of victims who can best express the impact. Unlike breast cancer,prostate disease is largely an affliction of age fortunately, but prophylactic surgery and its impacts are often a problem for men still in their vigour. It's easy to see why some men may decide that Hobson's choice is no choice at all and take their chances with a slow progression of the disease.

Your husband is a lucky man to have you.

>Radiation bead implantation is an option<
Arguably Woolly, it's the only option, and the huge and costly gap is an absolute disgrace, and ought to be outlawed.
I can recall pre-medicare private health funds were invariably not for profit schemes; often started by very decent Doctors, trying as best they could; to fulfil the intention of the Hippocratic oath and assist patients as much as they could; in deed as well as word.
And as an aging memory serves, one could buy some affordable schemes, that covered the whole cost of unusually expensive procedures? Why ever else would one buy insurance!?
Those condemned to otherwise die an often incredibly lonely death, shouldn't be very effectively prevented from saving their lives and their important relationships, just so now greedy (Americanized and soon to be also privatized) health care funds can pad out the bottom line even more; just to make acquisition by big super funds and the like, even more palatable.
Proper health care and profits, are like guns and alcohol, a very bad mix, with often unwanted negative outcomes!
Suggest patients, or the concerned sensible over fifties, simply look for and take up membership in a not for profit fund, and then see just how much extra their normal premium payment buys?
Suggest you look up Friendly societies, and compare the outcomes, which by the way, is never ever suggested by so called free comparison services; given it would seem, there is no commision in it for them for so doing.
As always with these so called free services, somebody pays, and invariably it's the consumer, via premium premiums/reduced service results/larger and often completely unaffordable gaps; which by the way, all too often condemn the unwary!
[I'm not all that sure that the castrated miss sex all that much; but as sure as hell miss the completely normal human affection that was and is integral/central to it!]
Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware!
Live long and prosper.
Rhrosty.

Susan Prior here. Thanks for the kind comments, folks. My husband opted for robotic surgery; we have top medical cover and we were out of pocket for the operation alone by $16,000. Over that financial year our out-of-pocket medical expenses, virtually all of which were his, came to $25,000. In contrast, my brother had the same surgery in the UK and he had it done on the National Health for 'free', but therein lies a whole new can of worms, so we won't go there, as we all know nothing is for free! I know it nearly broke us, but there you are. I have become very cynical about health insurance since then.
As for my father, he was too late for anything other than to have an orchiectomy (guys, look that one up, your eyes will water). But even though cancer was right through his bones, he kept running (against all advice) for the next four years, and survived a further two. We were really concerned about the running, but if anything it seemed to strengthen his brittle bones.
I should also offer a big thanks to my husband for allowing me to air his frailties to the wider world. Fortunately he doesn't share my surname so he is relatively anonymous.