Pirade 3 on MRI

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User

Posted 05 Mar 2023 at 22:42

Hi All . Had an MRI scan & got told my "score" was a 3 ! ( over phone) Dr unsure if its Cancer , and asked about the biopsy 🤒 im unsure what to do as PSA is 3.3 . I do get weak urine stream & sometimes visit loo twice a night.....thoughts please ? Im 60.....just 🤣

User

Posted 06 Mar 2023 at 01:10

Well pirad 3 isn't too worrying and PSA 3.3 isn't too worrying. Being 60 is probably the biggest worry, as about 60% of men that age have prostate cancer, though for most it will never become a problem in their natural lifetime (this is a very slow disease in most men).

Do you have any prior PSA scores. The figure on its own has little diagnostic value, but a trend over time can reveal a lot more.

Biopsy technology has changed over the last few years. A prostate biopsy now is quite a quick procedure with very low chance of complications. So if you are worried about cancer you may want to just have a biopsy.

If I were in your position, I would ask for a PSA test in three months and review the result with the doctor. If the doctor wasn't worried I would then want yearly PSA tests. I would not want this to slip below the radar, we have had people post on here who were tested in their 50s had raised PSA but not enough to warrant action. They were then next tested a decade later and now have significant cancer, if it had been monitored annually it could have been caught and treated before it became serious.

Dave

User

Posted 06 Mar 2023 at 02:52

The last PSA test was 2.3 five years ago thanks . Also he said the Suspicious area was 5mm on scan . Basically is a jump of 1 in five years worrying ? It was 0.8 ten years ago when first tested . Thanks

Edited by member 06 Mar 2023 at 02:54 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 06 Mar 2023 at 10:05

The jump from 0.8 to 2.3 was more worrying than the latest jump. NHS guidance states that greater than 2.9 needs investigation, but that is very poor guidance. It would be better if it talked about rate of increase, but that would need two tests a few months apart and that is beyond the capabilities of patient management systems.

I think you should have been monitored annually after the second test. However I think you have been lucky, you could so easily have been in the group I referred to in my previous post who end up with significant cancer.

With your PSA history I would say a biopsy is a good idea. Even if the biopsy comes back positive you shouldn't be worried, if you have cancer it is probably a very slow one. You may be able to postpone treatment for a decade or so. I don't think any man should rush in to suffering the side effects of treatment earlier than they have to.

Dave

User

Posted 06 Mar 2023 at 10:11

Yes definitely will do a biopsy now . I had no idea 2.9 was high . Thanks

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