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PSA 8.8

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User
Posted 19 Mar 2018 at 21:32
Greetings to all. I was diagnosed with PC last December. Driving back from the hospital, having been diagnosed with prostate cancer, I skidded on ice and drove into a ditch, writing off my car. Other than that it wasn't a bad day!

I'm 62. Went to the doctor after having to get up to go to the loo every two hours. Initially diabetes was suspected but PSA was 8 and I was sent to see a urologist at my local hospital. He did the DRE and it was 'suspicious' on one side. He said I had to have MRI and biopsy which I did. MRI showed nothing but biopsy revealed positive in 3/12 samples. My score Gleason 6 (3+3). The urologist told me that the cancer discovered was 'low level' and recommended Active Surveillance with a PSA test every 3 months and a fuller biopsy under general anaesthetic in 9 to 12 months time and another MRI scan. I asked for another PSA when I got my MRI results but that was directly after another DRE and, in retrospect, I shouldn't have asked for it. PSA was 12 but recent test revealed it was 8.8. I'm not complacent and realise that things can change but at the moment am happy to follow Active Surveillance.

I've found the conversations here and advice from the specialist nurses to be very helpful.

All the best to you all.

User
Posted 20 Mar 2018 at 00:52

Hi Professor C - AS is a good choice for some men although not all have the nerve for it. The important things to remember about AS are that a) it isn't a final choice and b) it needs to be done properly. According to NICE guidelines, AS should include regular PSA test with an annual DRE and annual MRI plus further biopsies if needed. My father-in-law chose AS but it wasn't done correctly - he was consistently refused further scans because his PSA wasn't rising. The skill of the consultant urologist is in identifying when the situation may be changing and more radical intervention might be needed.

As you have now discovered, it is important that the blood sample is taken before the DRE rather than immediately after!

Best wishes to you.

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

User
Posted 20 Mar 2018 at 07:24

Bloods taken before intimacy or cycle riding too perhaps, (or not too soon after those activities) to get the best chance of accurate results?

Good luck with your choice Professor . It works for you so well done

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