I'm interested in conversations about and I want to talk about
Know exactly what you want?
Show search

Notification

Error

My first post ! Help / advice - lump found ...

Email this conversation Print this conversation
User
Posted 16 Apr 2016 at 15:32
Hello everyone ! This is my first post here... I saw a doctor two days ago , my problem being a painful testicle . Upon examining my prostate , he has found a lump ! I have to have a PSA test , and a scan and he said see a rectal surgeon !! Panic has set in , he did say that the lump he thought was on the wall ! So that's OK right ?? I am 55 years old , non smoker , eat well , diabetic .... Have to wait a week and a half for a blood test , and can't buy a PSA test in any pharmacy ! What worried me was , he said we need you to be seen quickly !! Any helpful advice would be good , I am anxious ( he said I would be ! ) ! Lump like a small pea , hard .... ;( gave me antibiotics ! Skin tag ? Piles ?? Dont need this anxiety , Thanks ! Brian ;)
User
Posted 16 Apr 2016 at 19:49

Hi, Brian.
Welcome to the site.
It is a bit difficult to know from what you have said whether your doctor is worried about a problem in your prostate or your rectum.
If he used the word 'wall' and is referring you to a rectal surgeon it suggests the concern is about a lump on/in the wall of your rectum. He might just be getting a PSA because he wants to get that checked as a screen.
If he thought the lump was on the surface of your prostate (which is felt through the rectum) he will be thinking the problem is the prostate.
There are plenty of causes of testicular pain and lumps that are not cancer, but the system fast tracks anything that the doctor is concerned could be cancer, because most cancers benefit from swift action. (In fact this is less true for prostate cancer than lots of other types.)
Read the information provided on this website.
I wonder whether it is worth ringing the surgery and asking the doctor to call you back so you can ask again what he said about what. He might be unsure and/or you might not have remembered everything clearly - we usually don't in such emotionally charged circumstances!
It is very natural but uncomfortable to be anxious. We generally live life not focussing on all the things that could go wrong, so when something threatens that it is very frightening. Share your worries with a small number of trusted people.

I hope this is of some help, and best of luck.
Let us know how it goes.

Henry

User
Posted 16 Apr 2016 at 21:32

Hi Brian, it is important to have that gap of a week or so before they do your PSA test. The digital rectal exam, having poked and prodded at your prostate gland, could make the PSA reading a little higher than it would be normally. So even if you found someone who could do a quick PSA test for you, the result wouldn't be reliable at the minute.

Hard I know, but try to be patient - the days until your test and referral will fly quicker than you expect.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 16 Apr 2016 at 22:13

Hi Brian

I concur with both posts above. Re, Lyns post also best not to cycle or have sex the day before your PSA test as that can also raise your PSA. You haven't been diagnosed with cancer yet ...... at this stage what the doc found could be anything, even harmless. If .... and if you do have prostate cancer then as Henry says ..... if in early stage it doesn't tend, as a rule, to progress quickly. The good news is that it is being investigated .... and if it turns out to be prostate cancer (if) then better to find it early as prostate cancer in it's early stage has an excellent chance of being 'cured'.


Lots of help and comfort on this site but don't overload your mind before you know if there is really anything wrong.


dl

 

User
Posted 17 Apr 2016 at 08:36

I was a little puzzled when I had my first appointment with the consultant and after he had done a DRE he immediately sent me to have another PSA. No more than an hour after the DRE and it had risen to 6 from its previous 4. Yes, it does rise after these sort of irritations.

Show Most Thanked Posts
User
Posted 16 Apr 2016 at 19:49

Hi, Brian.
Welcome to the site.
It is a bit difficult to know from what you have said whether your doctor is worried about a problem in your prostate or your rectum.
If he used the word 'wall' and is referring you to a rectal surgeon it suggests the concern is about a lump on/in the wall of your rectum. He might just be getting a PSA because he wants to get that checked as a screen.
If he thought the lump was on the surface of your prostate (which is felt through the rectum) he will be thinking the problem is the prostate.
There are plenty of causes of testicular pain and lumps that are not cancer, but the system fast tracks anything that the doctor is concerned could be cancer, because most cancers benefit from swift action. (In fact this is less true for prostate cancer than lots of other types.)
Read the information provided on this website.
I wonder whether it is worth ringing the surgery and asking the doctor to call you back so you can ask again what he said about what. He might be unsure and/or you might not have remembered everything clearly - we usually don't in such emotionally charged circumstances!
It is very natural but uncomfortable to be anxious. We generally live life not focussing on all the things that could go wrong, so when something threatens that it is very frightening. Share your worries with a small number of trusted people.

I hope this is of some help, and best of luck.
Let us know how it goes.

Henry

User
Posted 16 Apr 2016 at 21:32

Hi Brian, it is important to have that gap of a week or so before they do your PSA test. The digital rectal exam, having poked and prodded at your prostate gland, could make the PSA reading a little higher than it would be normally. So even if you found someone who could do a quick PSA test for you, the result wouldn't be reliable at the minute.

Hard I know, but try to be patient - the days until your test and referral will fly quicker than you expect.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 16 Apr 2016 at 22:13

Hi Brian

I concur with both posts above. Re, Lyns post also best not to cycle or have sex the day before your PSA test as that can also raise your PSA. You haven't been diagnosed with cancer yet ...... at this stage what the doc found could be anything, even harmless. If .... and if you do have prostate cancer then as Henry says ..... if in early stage it doesn't tend, as a rule, to progress quickly. The good news is that it is being investigated .... and if it turns out to be prostate cancer (if) then better to find it early as prostate cancer in it's early stage has an excellent chance of being 'cured'.


Lots of help and comfort on this site but don't overload your mind before you know if there is really anything wrong.


dl

 

User
Posted 17 Apr 2016 at 08:36

I was a little puzzled when I had my first appointment with the consultant and after he had done a DRE he immediately sent me to have another PSA. No more than an hour after the DRE and it had risen to 6 from its previous 4. Yes, it does rise after these sort of irritations.

User
Posted 17 Apr 2016 at 23:00

Thanks for all your comments , and shared wisdom ! I am going with the flow , and will see what happens next ! Thanks again ! ;)

 
Forum Jump  
Email this conversation Print this conversation

Join the online community now.

Click through to become a member and gain access to support, information and real time replies.




MenuTop ▲
©2024 Prostate Cancer UK