Prostate cancer
Discussion
L1OFF said:
I'm struggling to understand the PSA test results. I had a blood test in June 23 that showed 6.65 and I had a note to contact my GP which I did last week (long story there, nobody told me). The NHS app which has my medical records show 6,65 which was over the upper limit of 4.5, I spoke to my GP earlier (I going for another blood test later today and DER tomorrow). She told me that they now take your age and divide by 10 which would give me a reading of 6.8. Hence my confusion. I also have no symptoms.
Wait until you have had the Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) and the result of the second blood test. The age and divide by 10 is only a very rough guide and must not be relied on. As you get older your PSA will tend to rise very slowly. If you have any doubts at all about your GP ask for a second opinion which she must provide. Good luck.
Viper201 said:
Wait until you have had the Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) and the result of the second blood test. The age and divide by 10 is only a very rough guide and must not be relied on. As you get older your PSA will tend to rise very slowly.
If you have any doubts at all about your GP ask for a second opinion which she must provide. Good luck.
Thanks.If you have any doubts at all about your GP ask for a second opinion which she must provide. Good luck.
L1OFF said:
Viper201 said:
Wait until you have had the Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) and the result of the second blood test. The age and divide by 10 is only a very rough guide and must not be relied on. As you get older your PSA will tend to rise very slowly.
If you have any doubts at all about your GP ask for a second opinion which she must provide. Good luck.
Thanks.If you have any doubts at all about your GP ask for a second opinion which she must provide. Good luck.
Luckily no cancer despite the unpleasant symptoms associated with what I have, but also no need to be guided solely by PSA result, as that just starts the conversation
westberks said:
PSA is a very rough guide at best; my first was over 10 (at the age of 48) and set all of the usual alarm bells off. At 56 it eventually reached 20 and that was my pre agreed marker; still 'only' an enlarged prostate.
Luckily no cancer despite the unpleasant symptoms associated with what I have, but also no need to be guided solely by PSA result, as that just starts the conversation
Had the DRE today, nice lady Dr, enlarged prostate (only to be expected) but smooth and like a plum she said. Blood test results tomorrow.Luckily no cancer despite the unpleasant symptoms associated with what I have, but also no need to be guided solely by PSA result, as that just starts the conversation
Just adding my story here too...
Aged 55.
March 2023 - Went to the doctor with headaches, not been to him for years so he did an 'old mans' mot for me.
PSA came back at 33.
At the time I thought I had no symptoms, but thinking back about it now I’d been up at night 3-4 times peeing and taking ages to do it – but just put this down to getting older.
MRI scan done which highlighted areas of concern.
From there had a biopsy done (under local anaesthetic) - camera up the arse and incision made for the insertion of what is basically a long staple gun which then took 22 samples from my prostate.
20 of these samples were graded 4 out 5 or higher, confirming the presence of cancer and giving a total Gleason score of 9.
Then went 2 other scans to check the spread to with bone or other organs - an area what found on my pelvis which was initially thought to be cancer, but when I asked if thats whats causing my back ache they then said it's most likely arthritis...!!!!
Straight away I was put on 3 monthly Prostap injections - and will be on these for 3 years in total. Plus I’m on tamsulosin daily.
The side effects of these are pretty strong - muscle loss, impotence, hot and cold flushes, mood swings and general tiredness.
Sept 25 – Overnight stay at the Christie in Manchester for HDS Brachytherapy. This was fine really, you wake up with a catheter and peeing blood, but this soon passed and I was allowed home in the afternoon.
October 2023 - started 23 sessions of radiotherapy at the Christie in Manchester.
Pretty much right from my diagnosis the consultant told me that considering being relatively young and fit they would adopt the 'kitchen sink' approach - and would do my lymph nodes as well - there was nothing showing on scans that cancer was present in them but minute traces could still be there and undetected.
Nov 16 2023 I rang the bell.
I will now have 6 monthly blood test to monitor my PSA.
First one in March it was down to 0.06
and the one I’ve just had is 0.04
Since then I still struggle to pee at times (the wife says I don’t drink enough), and sometimes it really stings – like you’ve got a urine infection.
Had a flexible cystoscopy which found nothing and the Oncologist has now prescribed Finasteride which if doesn’t work I’ll be given surgery to scape stuff away.
I really don’t want to take the Finasteride as the side effects, on top of everything else, can be quite devastating.
So I’m thinking I can cope with it for the time being.
Overall though, considering the condition of some people in the various waiting rooms at the Christie (especially young children) I consider myself very lucky that it was caught early ( and by fluke) and it would be a lot, lot worse!
Aged 55.
March 2023 - Went to the doctor with headaches, not been to him for years so he did an 'old mans' mot for me.
PSA came back at 33.
At the time I thought I had no symptoms, but thinking back about it now I’d been up at night 3-4 times peeing and taking ages to do it – but just put this down to getting older.
MRI scan done which highlighted areas of concern.
From there had a biopsy done (under local anaesthetic) - camera up the arse and incision made for the insertion of what is basically a long staple gun which then took 22 samples from my prostate.
20 of these samples were graded 4 out 5 or higher, confirming the presence of cancer and giving a total Gleason score of 9.
Then went 2 other scans to check the spread to with bone or other organs - an area what found on my pelvis which was initially thought to be cancer, but when I asked if thats whats causing my back ache they then said it's most likely arthritis...!!!!
Straight away I was put on 3 monthly Prostap injections - and will be on these for 3 years in total. Plus I’m on tamsulosin daily.
The side effects of these are pretty strong - muscle loss, impotence, hot and cold flushes, mood swings and general tiredness.
Sept 25 – Overnight stay at the Christie in Manchester for HDS Brachytherapy. This was fine really, you wake up with a catheter and peeing blood, but this soon passed and I was allowed home in the afternoon.
October 2023 - started 23 sessions of radiotherapy at the Christie in Manchester.
Pretty much right from my diagnosis the consultant told me that considering being relatively young and fit they would adopt the 'kitchen sink' approach - and would do my lymph nodes as well - there was nothing showing on scans that cancer was present in them but minute traces could still be there and undetected.
Nov 16 2023 I rang the bell.
I will now have 6 monthly blood test to monitor my PSA.
First one in March it was down to 0.06
and the one I’ve just had is 0.04
Since then I still struggle to pee at times (the wife says I don’t drink enough), and sometimes it really stings – like you’ve got a urine infection.
Had a flexible cystoscopy which found nothing and the Oncologist has now prescribed Finasteride which if doesn’t work I’ll be given surgery to scape stuff away.
I really don’t want to take the Finasteride as the side effects, on top of everything else, can be quite devastating.
So I’m thinking I can cope with it for the time being.
Overall though, considering the condition of some people in the various waiting rooms at the Christie (especially young children) I consider myself very lucky that it was caught early ( and by fluke) and it would be a lot, lot worse!
- f
kCANCER
@Fastra
Just answered you on the other thread but in short I'd give the Finasteride a go as, going from my pals experience, the side effects don't affect everyone and the issues (retrrograde ejaculation and erectile dysfunction) he got with Tamsulosin are absent with this drug. I believe it's more expensive to prescribe hence starting people on Tamsulosin first.
Well done on ringing the bell. All the best.
Just answered you on the other thread but in short I'd give the Finasteride a go as, going from my pals experience, the side effects don't affect everyone and the issues (retrrograde ejaculation and erectile dysfunction) he got with Tamsulosin are absent with this drug. I believe it's more expensive to prescribe hence starting people on Tamsulosin first.
Well done on ringing the bell. All the best.
You may find the side effects of the Prostap to be too much in a couple of years. I did and it was stopped at the 2 year mark as the outcomes for 2 and 3 years were very similar. Those you list are exactly what I endured.
You may well now also suffer from erectile dysfunction due to Prostap as it is after all, a hormone blocking drug.
All the best.
You may well now also suffer from erectile dysfunction due to Prostap as it is after all, a hormone blocking drug.
All the best.
Edited by Viper201 on Tuesday 29th October 23:10
@fastra
congrats on ringing the bell.
i've found tamsulosin much easier to live with. Haven't suffered retrograde, despite hardly being a volume player for many years.
finasteride gave me far more issues immediately and I sacked that off straight away as the side effects were affecting my mental health.
good luck with whatever meds you decide upon.
congrats on ringing the bell.
i've found tamsulosin much easier to live with. Haven't suffered retrograde, despite hardly being a volume player for many years.
finasteride gave me far more issues immediately and I sacked that off straight away as the side effects were affecting my mental health.
good luck with whatever meds you decide upon.
Thanks guys - appreciate the replies.
I can, sort or, cope with the weak urine flow and the effects from Tamsulosin and Prostap for now and fully intend to stick to them for the next 2 years now.
So don't really want to add the possible complications of Finasteride
I'm still quite worried that it's only these drugs that are suppressing/masking the PSA scores and that when I come off them the cancer will re-emerge - BUT, we'll cross that bridge when/if is happens.
I'm hoping though (perhaps ignorantly so) that when the drugs stop I'll return to some sort of normal 'pre-cancer' state.
For me though the biggest hurdle to overcome in all of this was in my head!
in 35 years of working I'd probably had 3 days off sick and was always fit and healthy (6'2" 85kgs).
Even asking for time off at work (I'm a graphic designer) for all the various appointments made me feel like a cheat to some extent, and asking for 5 weeks off whilst I had the radiotherapy???? Well, that was huge for me - although I must say work has been incredible for me, some say though that as I've worked for them for 23 then so they should be 🤣.
Working from home since Covid hit though has been a great help and made things a lot easier.
God knows how people like builders cope with all of this.
In my head I'm still 16 and can still run 100m as fast as I could at school so suddenly being hit with 'bks, this is worse than a cold' was a lot to come to terms with - still is. How people cope with much worse conditions is beyond my tiny mind and I'm in complete admiration of them.
So for now I've just started 20 mins daily walking - which, and I'm embarrassed to say, is just so hard. My legs ache, my back aches, my feet ache - but I just need to get used to it again. As mentioned my levels of fitness are abysmal, I've gained 15kgs and just putting my shoes on was a struggle.
Tiny steps eh, tiny steps eh...! 😀
I can, sort or, cope with the weak urine flow and the effects from Tamsulosin and Prostap for now and fully intend to stick to them for the next 2 years now.
So don't really want to add the possible complications of Finasteride
I'm still quite worried that it's only these drugs that are suppressing/masking the PSA scores and that when I come off them the cancer will re-emerge - BUT, we'll cross that bridge when/if is happens.
I'm hoping though (perhaps ignorantly so) that when the drugs stop I'll return to some sort of normal 'pre-cancer' state.
For me though the biggest hurdle to overcome in all of this was in my head!
in 35 years of working I'd probably had 3 days off sick and was always fit and healthy (6'2" 85kgs).
Even asking for time off at work (I'm a graphic designer) for all the various appointments made me feel like a cheat to some extent, and asking for 5 weeks off whilst I had the radiotherapy???? Well, that was huge for me - although I must say work has been incredible for me, some say though that as I've worked for them for 23 then so they should be 🤣.
Working from home since Covid hit though has been a great help and made things a lot easier.
God knows how people like builders cope with all of this.
In my head I'm still 16 and can still run 100m as fast as I could at school so suddenly being hit with 'b
ks, this is worse than a cold' was a lot to come to terms with - still is. How people cope with much worse conditions is beyond my tiny mind and I'm in complete admiration of them.So for now I've just started 20 mins daily walking - which, and I'm embarrassed to say, is just so hard. My legs ache, my back aches, my feet ache - but I just need to get used to it again. As mentioned my levels of fitness are abysmal, I've gained 15kgs and just putting my shoes on was a struggle.
Tiny steps eh, tiny steps eh...! 😀
What is encouraging though chaps is in reading back from the start if this post is the advancements of treatments.
4 years ago it seems the go to solution for my particular circumstance was removal of the prostate.
When I was finally confirmed I said 'just take it out then' but the consultant explained this comes with a lot of complications and life style changes.
I know I had the option of having radiotherapy applied to my lymph nodes as it was something they had started trialing but was warned of bowel movement changes as a result of this, and for the first 6 months or so this was true where I suffered from diarrhea and what they eloquently called 'wet wind'....! And was told to forget all that healthy eating advice I'd been given years ago as it will just go straight through you.
Even now, nearly 12 months after my radiotherapy ended, I still suffer from urgent number 2's.
So technology in medicine is constantly changing so anyone who's recently diagnosed please be optimistic.
4 years ago it seems the go to solution for my particular circumstance was removal of the prostate.
When I was finally confirmed I said 'just take it out then' but the consultant explained this comes with a lot of complications and life style changes.
I know I had the option of having radiotherapy applied to my lymph nodes as it was something they had started trialing but was warned of bowel movement changes as a result of this, and for the first 6 months or so this was true where I suffered from diarrhea and what they eloquently called 'wet wind'....! And was told to forget all that healthy eating advice I'd been given years ago as it will just go straight through you.
Even now, nearly 12 months after my radiotherapy ended, I still suffer from urgent number 2's.
So technology in medicine is constantly changing so anyone who's recently diagnosed please be optimistic.
one last thing from me for now..
This thing can be hereditary - so have the conversations with your family.
My dad was adopted so I can't check back further than him.
Plus I've got a conversation to have with my 25 year old son, not just yet though as I don't want to scare him.
This thing can be hereditary - so have the conversations with your family.
My dad was adopted so I can't check back further than him.
Plus I've got a conversation to have with my 25 year old son, not just yet though as I don't want to scare him.
Edited by Fastra on Wednesday 30th October 18:36
In my humble opinion this cancer is almost certainly hereditary. I've had many arguments with so called health professionals who claimed it wasn't and was due to my lifestyle from being a kid. Being an aircraft engine technician apparently makes it worse as I would have been breathing in engine exhaust fumes. My brother, who lives with prostate cancer, went down a similar route (not engines) but this does not explain why my 3 cousins also now have it on my father's side. Or why my father, or his father and even his grandfather all died from it by age of 69 years. Or my uncle on the maternal side had it. And to round it all off my mother had breast cancer.
So I'd urge people to check their family medical history and family tree as much as possible for any signs of this disease
So I'd urge people to check their family medical history and family tree as much as possible for any signs of this disease
Well, yeas and no.
There are hereditary markers that mean you are more susceptible to prostate cancer than other men.
However, not all prostate cancer sufferers have these markers.
My oncologist had my tumour DNA sequenced and my son should not have higher risk than the general population. It also means my brother need not worry other than normal, age-related checks
There are hereditary markers that mean you are more susceptible to prostate cancer than other men.
However, not all prostate cancer sufferers have these markers.
My oncologist had my tumour DNA sequenced and my son should not have higher risk than the general population. It also means my brother need not worry other than normal, age-related checks
WinkleHoff said:
I've arrived here as today my Dad told me he has had an MRI off of the back of a raised PSA. That has shown "something on his prostate that is.likely to be cancer". He has a biopsy tomorrow. The good news is that the MRI shows it is very early.and doesn't seem to have gone anywhere. He seems okay and I guess reasons to be positive off of the back of the MRI. He had no noticeable symptoms.
I on the other hand for four weeks now have had right hand side lower abdomen and hip pain down in to my right testicle also a bit of back pain, arm pits feel weird. Blood tests last week look okay, psa normal (but doesn't prove anything). Peeing functions fine, no blood in urine. But dam pain won't go away and I now have a renal scan and CTs, as well as another blood test requested.
My wife has an unknown lump also under investigation.
I'm a bit lost really. I have two young children and am rather panicking/catastrophising.
Well my Dad's diagnosis was that he does have prostate cancer. However, they seem confident that it can be well treated as it's very early stage. No symptoms, picked up on routine PSA test....I on the other hand for four weeks now have had right hand side lower abdomen and hip pain down in to my right testicle also a bit of back pain, arm pits feel weird. Blood tests last week look okay, psa normal (but doesn't prove anything). Peeing functions fine, no blood in urine. But dam pain won't go away and I now have a renal scan and CTs, as well as another blood test requested.
My wife has an unknown lump also under investigation.
I'm a bit lost really. I have two young children and am rather panicking/catastrophising.
Edited by WinkleHoff on Sunday 20th October 20:27
blackscooby said:
Got my PSA blood test booked for next week. Haven't been worried about this for a long time, now I've actually booked it I'm bricking it.
If you're not already aware, be well rested, drink plenty, ideally do it early in the day, no ejaculation or hard exercise (especially riding a bike) for three days beforehand.If your surgery offers it register to be able to view your records online, you'll be able to see your results very quickly. My surgery does this. Had the test on a Monday morning, blood gets sent to the local hospital by midday. The results are usually online by the end of Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest as the hospital update the record directly. With any test result it used to be 'if you don't hear in two weeks assume it's ok', so much better this way.
rovermorris999 said:
blackscooby said:
Got my PSA blood test booked for next week. Haven't been worried about this for a long time, now I've actually booked it I'm bricking it.
If you're not already aware, be well rested, drink plenty, ideally do it early in the day, no ejaculation or hard exercise (especially riding a bike) for three days beforehand.If your surgery offers it register to be able to view your records online, you'll be able to see your results very quickly. My surgery does this. Had the test on a Monday morning, blood gets sent to the local hospital by midday. The results are usually online by the end of Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest as the hospital update the record directly. With any test result it used to be 'if you don't hear in two weeks assume it's ok', so much better this way.
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