Very worried about referral for high PSA

User

Posted 20 Jul 2018 at 15:01

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

An update:

I had a very enjoyable holiday, which did me the world of good. A much needed "change of scene".

This week I've had two pre-operative assessments at different hospitals.

This coming Monday (23rd July) I'm being admitted as a day patient to the Clatterbridge hospital on the Wirral for a template biopsy under general anaesthetic. This will (hopefully!) be the final diagnostic procedure before prostate treatment commences.

The Monday after that (30th July) I'm being admitted to the Countess of Chester hospital (in Chester) for treatment for my splenic artery aneurysm. I'll have a thin tube inserted into the femoral artery in my groin, where it'll be guided to the appropriate place and lots of tiny coils inserted into the aneurysm to block it. I'll then be moved to a ward for overnight observation. If all goes according to plan, I'll go home the next day. If the artery becomes blocked (which there's a significant risk of) I'll go into surgery to have my spleen removed, which obviously will then entail a more extended stay in hospital, so I'm going prepared for the latter eventuality. I'm told that the procedure carries a small risk of stroke or death, but it needs doing, and I guess no operation is without risk, so so be it.

Then in the middle of August I'm due to have the surgery to remove my kidney tumour. The results of the prostate biopsy should also be back by early August, so I would expect to start whatever prostate treatment they decide on around then, too.

So things are moving on. Just keen to get it over and done with now!

Chris

Hi Chris, so glad you had a good holiday and recharged!

Just to say, i got the results of my Template Biopsy in 13 days, hope your NHS can equal that! Good luck for the other ops mate!

Alan

User

Posted 20 Jul 2018 at 16:46

Good luck Chris for the 23rd and 30th of July as well as the August appointment

Edited by member 20 Jul 2018 at 16:46 | Reason: Not specified

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

User

Posted 20 Jul 2018 at 20:30

Thanks, all. Looking forward to getting this last test done and dusted so I can finally start treatment. It feels like an awfully long time since my initial diagnosis!

Chris

User

Posted 20 Jul 2018 at 22:52

Glad that you were able to enjoy the holiday. Good luck with the next bit.

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

User

Posted 24 Jul 2018 at 07:11

Had my template biopsy at about midday yesterday. No pain (unlike the earlier TRUS biopsy!), but a couple of hours after the procedure I started having extreme difficulty urinating. If I waited until I was bursting I could pass a small amount of urine, but very uncomfortable. The hospital offered to insert a catheter, but I declined!

Started easing about midnight, and this morning I can manage to urinate reasonably OK but very "start and stop". Hopefully things will return to normal as the bruising in the prostate subsides.

Felt very nauseous as a result of the general anaesthetic, but feel a lot better this morning - just got a very dry mouth.

I'll be seeing the consultant in a fortnight for the results.

User

Posted 25 Jul 2018 at 06:43

Urine flow back to normal again this morning, so that didn’t take too long. I’m very happy I didn’t opt for the catheter, since that would have been in all week.

Just used my phone's camera to look at my perineum and it's one big black bruise - no wonder it's a little tender when I sit down at the moment!

Chris

Edited by member 25 Jul 2018 at 08:15 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 25 Jul 2018 at 08:18

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Urine flow back to normal again this morning, so that didn’t take too long. I’m very happy I didn’t opt for the catheter, since that would have been in all week.

Just used my phone's camera to look at my perineum and it's one big black bruise - no wonder it's a little tender when I sit down at the moment!

Chris

don't put that shot on Facebook! !!

User

Posted 29 Jul 2018 at 08:15

I go into hospital at 8am tomorrow for the aneurysm procedure, and to be honest, I'm absolutely petrified about it. I know it needs doing - it's a relatively small chance of stroke or death in this procedure against absolutely certain death in a few years if it's not done - but the thought of all the things that could go wrong, and the permanent effect they would have on my life, fills me with dread. This is the procedure which I've been told carries a significant risk of resulting in having to have my spleen removed.

I know I should look at this as the first step on my road to recovery (it's the first "curative" treatment I'll be having since all this was diagnosed) but I can't help being scared about it.

Chris

User

Posted 29 Jul 2018 at 10:29

Good Luck Chris and hope all goes well for you, I’m dreading 21st August when I go in for surgery.

User

Posted 29 Jul 2018 at 10:58

Yes, chin up Chris, you are into the curative pathway now, things can only improve my friend. Always here for a chat, you have my number

Alan

User

Posted 29 Jul 2018 at 12:27

Thanks - I really appreciate the good wishes. I know I'm being silly about this, but nonetheless I can't help worrying. I've always had a bit of a phobia about hospitals. It needs doing, though, and fingers crossed by the end of tomorrow there'll be one less things wrong with me.

Chris

User

Posted 29 Jul 2018 at 15:33

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

I fully understand Chris and know where you are coming from. Update us all on here once you are home please

Alan

User

Posted 30 Jul 2018 at 19:47

All done. I can't honestly say that a 3+ hour operation during which one is completely conscious has a great deal to recommend it, but there was relatively little discomfort, and the surgeon was very happy with the outcome. I've had lots and lots of long strands of platinum inserted in the aneurysm, and when he'd finished it looked in the X-Ray image just like a ball of wool, with all the strands tangled up and intertwined. The blood will clot around this structure and should completely seal off the aneurysm. From now on, though, I'll probably be setting off airport metal detectors!

I'm now back on the ward having my vital signs measured every 30 minutes, but so far, so good. If all continues OK I should be back home tomorrow.

Chris

User

Posted 30 Jul 2018 at 21:05

Very happy to see you posting - which indicates that you have survived step 1

Stay well x

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

User

Posted 30 Jul 2018 at 22:02

Great News Chris, now onto the next task!

Chin up, as I said before

Alan

User

Posted 31 Jul 2018 at 20:47

Home again. Feeling rather as if the insides of my abdomen have been beaten with a rubber hose, but the doctor said that's to be expected after 3h with all manner of tubes and wires inside me.

Haven't really had any sleep for two nights - Sunday because I was worrying about the operation and last night because I was being woken up every hour to have my stats measured, so I'm hoping that after a good night's sleep tonight I'll be feeling a lot better tomorrow.

Chris

User

Posted 06 Aug 2018 at 07:45

Big day tomorrow - I get the results of my template biopsy. I’m hoping it’s found more active cancer than the Gleason 3+3 that the TRUS showed up, because I really need something to be found to explain my PSA of 32.

A question for our experts: I’ve had an MRI skeletal scan to look for bone mets, which came back negative, but is it possible that my high PSA could be due to mets that are too small to show up on a scan still? I’m a little worried, because although all the scans I’ve had have shown no sign of cancer outside the prostate - no spread to the lymph nodes and no bone mets - what’s been found so far really doesn’t fit with my PSA score. I’m praying that I really do “only” have localised PCa and not something more advanced.

I don’t know what will happen after tomorrow - I guess I’m likely to be referred back to the oncologist to discuss treatment options? It’s been more than three months since my initial PSA test - would be nice to hear someone talking about treatment!

Chris

User

Posted 06 Aug 2018 at 08:42

No if I was you I would still be hoping they find nothing!! A G6 can be a big tumour never mind all the other possibilities ( infection etc).

User

Posted 06 Aug 2018 at 11:54

My psa was a rapid climb before surgery but it took them ages to find anything. I think the template found my G9 eventually. I was kind of forced into surgery but it was too late with bilateral lymph spread sadly. Post op psa was 1.5 and doubling every 3 months. I did a year HT and it dropped the psa. We then decided to look for the cancer rather than do nothing so I stopped HT. I’ve steadfastly refused RT as they sure I have mets everywhere. However here I am 3+ years after surgery with ZERO treatment and a psa racing towards 100. All recent scans have shown nothing anywhere in my body. So I’m riding the gauntlet and enjoying every drop of total recovery whilst I can !!

User

Posted 06 Aug 2018 at 13:23

In my case, Chris, two MRI scans and an abdominal CT scan have shown no evidence whatsoever of spread outside the prostate, so I think that, even though my PSA is quite high, I have reasonable cause for optimism that my PCa is localised.

Chris

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