I am new to this site.
My dad (aged 55) was told he had prostate cancer last thursday... his PSA was 48 and the doctor could feel that one half of the prostate was hard and said he is pretty certain it’s cancer. He has since had a letter come through today for a CT Thorax & Abdomen with contrast on the 15th April (nearly 4 weeks time). This seems a long time to wait?! We were expecting him to have a MRI or biopsy is this the usual process? We all feel a bit in the unknown and I’m not sure mum and dad took much in at the last appointment so I want to do as much research as I can! Any advice would be appreciated! Also wondering whether it would be beneficial to enquire about getting a scan done privately and whether this would be much quicker as it’s the waiting that is difficult for everyone!
At my hospital CT and MRI departments arrange their own appointments. Although in my case when I attended for one the other fitted me in on the same day. So it could just be the MRI appointment is yet to arrive. Unsure if it's possible at yours but urology appointments might be able to confirm you're on the list for an MRI - worth the phone call?
Ray
Hi AW123
This does seem quite a wait and Dad could ask his GP if he could check whether he could have the scan earlier elsewhere. Unfortunately, the wait is longer in some hospitals and some areas than in others.
However, PCa is normally a fairly slow growing cancer so there is not likely to be a very significant change in 4 weeks than the two or so that is perhaps more typical.
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