Awaiting my dad's diagnosis

User

Posted 27 Apr 2018 at 20:38

My dad has been having prostate symptoms for about 12 months, getting up to pee about 4 times a night, difficult flow, etc. Once I discovered this, I made him a GP appointment straight away. Following a physical examination and psa test at the doctors, my dad received an urgent referral for further investigations. He had his first hospital appointment yesterday which involved a biopsy procedure (12 x samples taken from prostate) followed by a meeting with a MacMillan nurse who explained the results will take about 3 weeks, at which point he will be called in for his results. She confirmed his psa level is 55 (he is aged 66) and the doctor who performed the biopsy confirmed his prostate was very enlarged and hard and that he is retaining a lot of pee, despite relieving himself. I am really concerned. 3 weeks seems such a long time to wait. Could anyone please confirm what happens after diagnosis? Does a psa level of 55 mean a cancer diagnosis is highly likely? TIA

User

Posted 27 Apr 2018 at 23:19

Hi Lisa,

It might not take 3 weeks. I was out for a walk after 11 days when I got a phone call asking if I could attend to get my results in 2hrs. It was a Macmillan nurse I saw and within 3 days I had an MRI and Bone Scan and the Macmillan nurse told me the results over the phone a few days later and what to expect. There was a long meeting with the Urology Consultant to talk about options after a multi disciplinary team had looked at my case. So swatting up and having an idea about what you want is useful.

At this time all you can do is consider the probabilities of what it is and what the possible treatments are. 55 is fairly high but nothing is certain. A Macmillan nurse or a Prostate Cancer UK nurse can be useful to talk to. It's like a new world and diagnosis can be a worrying time. In my case I hoped for the best while being ready for the worst. Reading some things can make you worry more and it's better to try to keep some perspective. Good Luck Peter

Edited by member 27 Apr 2018 at 23:28 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 27 Apr 2018 at 23:20

A PSA of 55 doesn’t make a cancer diagnosis highly likely as a very large prostate can produce a lot of PSA. However, the fact that his prostate was hard is a strong indicator to the medical staff that this is probably cancer. Unless he has already had scans, they may wait for the biopsy results and then arrange an MRI scan and possibly a bone scan as well. That’s why it can take a few weeks to get all the results - they need to wait a couple of weeks after the biopsy otherwise it can affect the MRI scan.

It is hard to be in this waiting phase but be reassured that the cancer (if indeed that is what he has) will not be rushing around his body - a few weeks will not make any difference to the outcome. If he does have cancer but it is contained, they will offer him curative treatment. If it has spread then they are likely to put him on hormones which starve the cancer. Many men continue to live fairly normally for many years on the hormone treatment.

Edited by member 27 Apr 2018 at 23:22 | Reason: Not specified

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

User

Posted 28 Apr 2018 at 09:00

Thank you Peter and Lyn for your feedback. The nurse did tell my dad that if it is indeed cancer, it is one of the better ones to get (if that makes sense). I think we just need to be prepared and equipped to deal with whatever the diagnosis might be and, like you say, many men continue to lead fairly normal lives after diagnosis. I just needed a bit of reassurance so thank you x

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