initial PSA 42.5

User

Posted 04 Dec 2016 at 11:35

Hi. It's quite a surprise to find myself here but I could do with some advice.

Just over a week ago I took a home blood test purchased through pharmacy2u. My reason was to test for low testosterone as I was a bit curious as to why my libido at age 46 wasn't quite what it used to be. Along with the Low T test comes a PSA test option, which I took. I was shocked when the result came back: testosterone was 10.8 (near the lower bound of normal) , but the PSA was 42.5!

It took a while to figure out just how high this reading was and it's possible implications and I saw my GP last Tuesday. He performed the DRE and said it felt normal. He also admonished me for doing a home blood test, which kinda annoyed me, as there is little gaurantee that he'd have ordered one had I just turned up with my ED concerns. He's ordered a new blood test for this Wednesday which has given me a somewhat excruciating wait, along with perhaps too much time to read up and get scared.

I have no other symptoms and nothing to suggest that such a high PSA has been caused by infection, STD, enlarged benign prostate, etc and I see that studies show a correlation between high PSA and PCa and type of PCa.

What i'd like to know is how to get the best specialists from my GP. If the PSA reading is confirmed then I would want the mpMRI and ideally at a hospital which has an extensive experience of using it. Is it possible for me in Leicestershire to say I'd like to be treated at Addenbrooks or Barts?

User

Posted 04 Dec 2016 at 12:53

Whoa! You won't know which are the best specialists for what until and unless you get a diagnosis so why not let the local processes work first and then think about second opinions/alternative hospitals if you need to.

Yes your PSA is higher than normal but we have members here with PSA higher than yours who consistently get the all clear while others like my husband are diagnosed with a PSA of 3.1. In addition, 'high' is relative .... some members had PSA of 6000 or even 13,000 - our urologist said the highest he has ever seen was 160,000! And to complicate things more, how high the PSA is does not indicate whether or not it has spread .... Si on here had a PSA of 3 and multiple bone mets.

A good idea to download the toolkit from this website and start getting your head around all the language that would be used in appointments and consultations but maybe wait until all the diagnostics are in before you start worrying about which hospitals are experts in which bits.

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

User

Posted 04 Dec 2016 at 21:57

Good evening

I had a random blood test done at a screening event for men over 45. I'm 46. On Friday, I'm having my prostate removed.

My GP was none to pleased about the screening event but did a second test. It came back at 6.6. The original was 6.2.

I was referred under the two week suspected cancer pathway. Once that starts, things move very quickly. I had a mpMRI and then a biopsy. Since then, I've had a choline PET/CT scan and surgery is this Friday.

Lyn is right - comparing one man's results with another isn't necessarily helpful. My strong advice to you though is to pursue this. I wouldn't worry so much about which hospital, but I do think the mpMRI scan and then biopsy is a good route to go.

I had a bit of ED too, which they now put down to the PCa, but I don't think it is typically regarded as a symptom.

Walter

User

Posted 04 Dec 2016 at 23:24

ED is a well known symptom but unfortunately not all GPs seem to remember that.

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

User

Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 08:23

Thanks both for your replies. I take it then that being choosey as to where the diagnostics take place isn't terribly important? I'm just a bit mindful of finding myself on the nhs conveyor belt being sent to wherever the gp feels is ok. At what point is it important to try to influence my route through the process? As to ED, if PCa has had an effect then that's nothing compared with what the worry has done.

User

Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 09:14

For a couple of years I lived in Skeg and thus under Boston hospital. Had no issues with them. Boston would have have transferred me to Leicestershire if need be. . Have you checked out the hospital there - http://www.leicestershospitals.nhs.uk/aboutus/departments-services/cancer-services-and-clinical-haematology/cancer-information-centre/information-about-specific-cancers/prostate-cancer-information/

Also check out local support groups as they will have knowledge of hospitals.

Ray

Edited by member 05 Dec 2016 at 09:16 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 09:18

Prostate cancer doesn't cause low libido - it is one of the possible treatments (HT) that causes that.

Some urogists do the biopsy first and the scan second while others do scan first then biopsy. There is no definite yet on which is better as some types of PCa do not show on an MRI. When you see the GP on Wednesday you could request a referral to a urologist regardless of the new PSA test - he might go for it. You can also ask him what he knows of your regional urology / oncology unit - is it a centre of excellence, how long have other patients of his in this situation had to wait for appointments and do they scan before or after biopsy? 60% of men in their 60s and 80% of men in their 80s have some prostate cancer so you would expect the GP to have some experience of this. If you are unlucky enough to get one who thinks you are 'too young' tell him we have members here in their late 30s and early 40s in some cases already with spread.

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

User

Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 12:39

As somebody has already mentioned, it could well be an infection. My PSA was 72 and has subsequently dropped to 3.4, but the 72 had me fast-tracked - I had the MRI, CT and nuclear bone scans ahead of my biopsy. As it happens, I do have PCa but it wouldn't have been picked up unless the PSA had peaked through the infection.

As Lyn suggested, whatever the latest test returns, you may want to get a referral anyway.

Good luck.

User

Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 13:07

Thanks. Did you have any obvious signs of infection at the time? I'd like to believe that it could well be, but absent any real symptoms I'm trying not to pin my hopes on it being something trivial.

User

Posted 05 Dec 2016 at 14:38

I had no symptoms related to prostate, waterworks, etc. I had extreme fatigue, mostly likely from a tooth abscess, and the blood test did clearly show something was wrong, but doctor focused understandably on PSA level. Obviously some infections may not be as apparent as my fatigue, so stay positive.

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