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User
Posted 31 Oct 2016 at 15:24
Hello all

As some of you know, I'm pre-diagnosis. In the space of a month, my PSA has gone from 6.2 to 6.6 and today the hospital called to say it was 7.8. I had a MRI scan last week and they told me today there is something suspicious there and on Wednesday I've to go for a TRUS biopsy.

I had hoped they were going to tell me that my PSA had dropped and that the scan showed nothing.

Diagnosis date is Wednesday 9th November - all results will apparently be in by then and urologist will give me the news.

Worrying times.

Walter
User
Posted 31 Oct 2016 at 15:24
Hello all

As some of you know, I'm pre-diagnosis. In the space of a month, my PSA has gone from 6.2 to 6.6 and today the hospital called to say it was 7.8. I had a MRI scan last week and they told me today there is something suspicious there and on Wednesday I've to go for a TRUS biopsy.

I had hoped they were going to tell me that my PSA had dropped and that the scan showed nothing.

Diagnosis date is Wednesday 9th November - all results will apparently be in by then and urologist will give me the news.

Worrying times.

Walter
User
Posted 31 Oct 2016 at 19:32

Hi Walter

Good luck for Wednesday the 9th.

Brian.

User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 23:54

The posterior peripheral zone is the area round the urethra, and is where most prostate cancers originate (about 75%) - low signal means there is an abnormality ie the signal is not bouncing back so much because the cells are not reflecting as healthy cells would. T2 and diffusion are different ways of reading the scanned images - diffusion is looking at how light is reflected off water - healthy cells have more water than cancerous cells so restricted diffusion is a concern. PIRAD 5 means there is a suspicious area of at least 1.5cm and/or signs that it may have escaped.

That is the dry interpretation. However, T2 scans with low signal cannot differentiate between prostate cancer, BPH and prostatitis. Low diffusion (less water in the cells) could be cancer or prostatitis. So all these results are telling your specialist is where to concentrate the needles when he does the biopsy - you now know that there is a suspicious area in the most common part of the gland, it is a decent size for the urologist to aim at so he should get good reliable samples - but, as likely as it is now looking, only a biopsy is going to tell you for sure that it is cancer.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 23:56

PS the 5/5 you mentioned in the previous post is possibly about the clarity of the area of concern - the more defined the edge, the more likely it is to be cancer

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
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User
Posted 31 Oct 2016 at 16:36

Yes they are brother but everyone or almost everyone on this forum except the ladies has been where you are now. There is no one size fits all answer as to how to deal with the day. Whatever anybody says, it's going to be tough. What you need to be is pragmatic about things. If you are diagnosed (something that a PSA reading alone cannot determine, only a biopsy), your PSA is still very low, could very well have been caught early and could be fully contained, therefore is fully treatable. It might not also be cancer. It could be a host of other things. Go there with a strong mind and lots of questions that you should ask about your treatment options if you are diagnosed. The prospect of diagnosis is about as bad as it gets in the stress stakes but take heart, if the worst is confirmed, knowing where you are at gives you a much better chance of living than being blissfully unaware and ignoring symptoms. You are now in control. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and know this - you are going nowhere anytime soon. Good luck and all strength to you brother.

Bazza

User
Posted 31 Oct 2016 at 18:33
Thanks Bazza - I laughed when you said that I'm not going anywhere soon - I am, I'm off to Cuba at Easter and come hell or high water, I'm going to fight to get there!

Fingers crossed.

Walter
User
Posted 31 Oct 2016 at 19:32

Hi Walter

Good luck for Wednesday the 9th.

Brian.

User
Posted 31 Oct 2016 at 19:58
Travel like there is no tomorrow. I have.

User
Posted 01 Nov 2016 at 10:09

Fingers crossed for you!

But whatever the results - and we've all had that waiting torture - make sure you discuss your holiday dates so that if you need intervention, they can endeavour to avoid those dates.


But don't worry if you have to shift the holiday a week or three - Cuba is worth waiting for, and the US invasion (of tourists) is growing fairly slowly!

Edited by member 01 Nov 2016 at 10:10  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 09:01

Off to Heather wood Hospital today for my TRUS biopsy.  Not overly worried about it, but not looking forward to it either.  Just don't want it to hurt too much.  I know they can't really tell me anything today but I do still have a sense that this is a 'big' day in my life.


 


Walter

User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 09:05

Good luck with TRUS today and don't worry about what going on behind your back!!

Steven

User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 11:06
Good Luck today, Walter.

Hope everything goes ok

Steve
User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 14:48
Hi all - on my antibiotic drip waiting to go for my TRUS biopsy. Urologist very good with explanations. He has told me that what has been seen on my scan is highly suspicious. He talked about a certainty score of 5/5 - I believe that is to do with the clarity of the image, not that I'm certain to have PCa. However, he has told me he expects to find PCa. I appreciate him being frank and not sitting on the fence. He said that if he does find something, he thinks it will be at the lower end of the spectrum. He also qualified what he said as his best professional opinion and that we really will only obtain clarity once the biopsy results have come in. Nonetheless, today continues my run of unexpected bad news.

Walter
User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 22:16
Had my TRUS. I feel OK tonight. PIRAD 5 in pz. Prostate volume 30ml. Extensive low T2 signal in the posterior peripheral zone with associated restricted diffusion.

I understand the pirad and volume. Don't understand the rest.

Walter
User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 23:54

The posterior peripheral zone is the area round the urethra, and is where most prostate cancers originate (about 75%) - low signal means there is an abnormality ie the signal is not bouncing back so much because the cells are not reflecting as healthy cells would. T2 and diffusion are different ways of reading the scanned images - diffusion is looking at how light is reflected off water - healthy cells have more water than cancerous cells so restricted diffusion is a concern. PIRAD 5 means there is a suspicious area of at least 1.5cm and/or signs that it may have escaped.

That is the dry interpretation. However, T2 scans with low signal cannot differentiate between prostate cancer, BPH and prostatitis. Low diffusion (less water in the cells) could be cancer or prostatitis. So all these results are telling your specialist is where to concentrate the needles when he does the biopsy - you now know that there is a suspicious area in the most common part of the gland, it is a decent size for the urologist to aim at so he should get good reliable samples - but, as likely as it is now looking, only a biopsy is going to tell you for sure that it is cancer.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
User
Posted 02 Nov 2016 at 23:56

PS the 5/5 you mentioned in the previous post is possibly about the clarity of the area of concern - the more defined the edge, the more likely it is to be cancer

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
User
Posted 03 Nov 2016 at 00:29
Lyn - thank you for taking the time to respond, especially in a way in which I understood. As bad as all this is, not understanding is worse than understanding. Walter

 
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