Getting a clear diagnosis

User

Posted 23 Apr 2017 at 21:22

Hello there, I am the worried wife of a 65 year old man who has just had a PSA result of 6.1. For the last couple of years he has needed to get up at night to urinate. We asked for this test and have been told that we need to wait at least three weeks before a second blood test. Is this right? What else can we do to hasten any diagnosis or treatment? What would you advise as the best next step?

User

Posted 23 Apr 2017 at 23:21

With a PSA of 6.1 he could simply have an enlarged prostate or a bit of infection. As tough as it seems, there is nothing you can do to hurry it up. They need a gap before the next PSA test for a number of reasons including a) if he had the finger up the bum test then that can make the next PSA reading less reliable b) if they have given him any medication such as antibiotic or tablets to relax the bladder, they will want to give a bit of time to see if the PSA comes down c) taking two PSA tests too close together makes it difficult to judge things like rate of increase.

Unless his PSA drops significantly the next time, I would imagine the GP will refer him to the urologist for further tests. Certainly no need to panic yet - we have had members on here with PSA in the 20s, 40s and even higher but were considered to have BPH (a big prostate) or prostatitis rather than anything more sinister.

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

User

Posted 24 Apr 2017 at 06:57

In my case my first psa in july 2016 was 5.2

refered to uro and took watch and wait for 6 mths

in feb 2017, retest showed an increase to 8.0 of psa

had biopsies in march and uro said i had a very large prostate 60cc which was why the psa readings are high

looking like my problem is BPE

my next appointment is 3 rd may for full results, which is 8 weeks after the biopsies where taken, I was told if the samples had been cancerous I would have been sent an appointment to see the MDT within two weeks

SO yes the waiting is very stressful, but the outcome is NOT always negative

With a psa below 10 it is generally considered 1 in 8 chance of be pc ( like us all)

with a psa above 10 - 20 the odds drop to 1 in 4

and above 20 the odds drop further to 1 in 2

but has my wife says at the moment the glass is still very full (7/8 full , only 1/8 empty) which is what i have to keep telling my self

by the way i was 65 also when i started on the roller coaster, now 66

Edited by member 24 Apr 2017 at 06:59 | Reason: Not specified

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