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Digosed today with PSA 4.65!!!!!!!!

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User

Posted 03 Mar 2017 at 19:41

I am totally devasted, his PSA was only 4.65 something but MRI shows a tumor on the left hand side, so my dad had biopsy done. Dad got a phone call from doctor saying the report is not good and he has cancer, we are going to see the doctor on Monday for more details.

I would like to know if anyone had the similar situation

User

Posted 04 Mar 2017 at 10:01

Hello,

I'm sure this is a very worrying time. There will be a couple of weeks of concern until all the tests are completed then the full picture will be known and decisions can be made. I hope you have downloaded the tool kit as a guide.

Your Dad has a similar profile to where I was 2 years ago so please feel free to check out my profile.

Regards,

Paul

THE CHILD HAS GROWN, THE DREAM HAS GONE

User

Posted 04 Mar 2017 at 11:19

In some cases treatment can provide a cure or if not restrain the cancer. Much depends on how advanced and aggressive the cancer is. In some cases a man can defer treatment and just be monitored, called AS (for Active Surveillance). In fact more men die with it than of it, many not even knowing they have PCa, the chances of getting the disease becoming ever greater as men grow older.

Barry

User

Posted 04 Mar 2017 at 11:54

Try not to worry LR. Not easy I know, but until he has the biopsy results decisions can't be made about treatment.

There will be many on here with PSA lower, the same or higher than your dad's but the available treatments (and individual choices) may well be different, so it isn't a question of seeing how it was for somebody else.

How old is your dad, does he have other health issues?

When you say you are going to see the doctor on Monday, do you mean your GP or your consultant?

Either way, it's a good idea that you are going with him as two pairs of ears will take in the information better than a man who is being given unpleasant news.

No point in panicking at this stage. As Barry says, if the cancer is the "suitable" kind he may not even have to make a decision about treatment just yet. My husband's PSA went up to 6.5 before he chose a treatment and had a year on the Active Surveillance beforehand.

Get the Toolkit from publications so that you will at least have an idea of what questions to ask on Monday. Please though, don't get hooked up on the possibilities of what might be just by reading the information. A lot of it may well not be relevant to your dad

Best Wishes

Sandra

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails

User

Posted 06 Mar 2017 at 02:33

Thanks all for the reply.

Dad is 68, high blood pressure but controls well with tablets, blood sugar level is slightly high with no medications just keeps watching on the daily diet.

The result comes back as one of 12 cores cancerous and stated 3+3. We have been given 2 options: operation or HT. We prefer operation really and that's what the doctor suggested. Now my question is with my dad's situation will it be any chance that the cancer spreads before the operation as there will be 2 months waiting? Also regarding the CT/ECT/bone scan, when do we need to get it done?

User

Posted 06 Mar 2017 at 08:42

With scores like that LR I think dad will have more options than he has been offered.

Look carefully at The Toolkit before he makes a decision.

His scores are on the low side and unless he has been advised that the cancer is of the aggressive kind rather than the pussycat type then delays at this stage are not really a concern as far a spread goes.

He has breathing space I would have thought.

So many men when they get the results and are told they have cancer immediately start thinking in terms of dying from it because the word Cancer has such nasty connotations, so they have the knee jerk reaction (understandably) of "get it out of me"

All treatments have potential side effects. Two men having the same treatment for the same level cancer, will not necessarily react in the same way, so finding a suitable treatment with the least side effects should be thought about carefully before jumping in feet first.

I hope some of the other members will come along and add their two pennoth. It's a big decision to make and needs careful consideration (unless the advice was it's aggressive of course)

Edited by member 06 Mar 2017 at 08:43 | Reason: Not specified

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails

User

Posted 06 Mar 2017 at 10:09

With only one core out of 12 and a Gleason of 3+3 I would have thought active surveillance (AS) would also be a possibility, unless that one core showed that the cancer was towards the edge of the gland rather than in the middle. With 1 core and G3+3 he probably won't be offered a bone scan - at many hospitals a CT/bone scan is only offered if there is reason to believe the cancer has spread to bone and in dad's case, they obviously think it is well contained.

It seems you have seen the surgeon - surgeons will recommend surgery because that is their specialist subject. You could ask for an appointment to see an oncologist as well - you have time to do this while waiting for the op and it gives him an opportunity to talk to someone about options such as RT (I think that is what you meant when you wrote HT?) or he might also be suitable for brachytherapy (unless he has an enlarged prostate or problems weeing?) or AS.

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

User

Posted 06 Mar 2017 at 22:31

HT stands for Hormone Treatment? Sorry if it is not, still learning.

Anyway, doctor didn't mention RT, and we will stick with operation as it may spread which is the biggest worrying.

I would like to thank you for all of your quick responses and support, I am very glad that I have found this forum. From refuse to accept the fact that my lovely dad has been diagnosed with cancer to feeling very confident to beat the disease, without you guys, I wouldn't think I will be able to cope.

We are planning to go to France during the Easter holiday, We are very looking forward to it! And good luck to all of us, god bless.

User

Posted 06 Mar 2017 at 22:38

Radiotherapy has exactly the same success rate as surgery and less side effects - it is all about personal preferences. Not usually a great idea to make a life changing decision before you have all the necessary information.

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

User

Posted 07 Mar 2017 at 01:57

But surgery can if needed be followed by RT to improve the chance of a successful outcome but with an increased risk of side effects. Very few surgeons will remove a previously radiated prostate which makes an already delicate operation more difficult.)

Barry

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