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PSA 7.3 - referred to urologist

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User

Posted 23 Jan 2019 at 09:26

Hi Pete,

I am currently in a better place, so although I have one in my back pocket, I am coping okay right now. All the best to you and I hope '19 is a good one!

Haig

Edited by member 23 Jan 2019 at 10:14 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 23 Jan 2019 at 15:14

Hi Haig

Glad to hear you are in a better place. And a HNY 2019 to you too!

User

Posted 27 Jan 2019 at 20:37

Thanks, Pete. Just a quick one from me to say that I think of the forum exchanges from everyone on here on a regular basis (I still pop in and out) and cannot thank people enough for all they provided me in terms of advice, patience and guidance. I am gradually weening myself off my medication and coming to terms with the fact that maybe I did get lucky after all. I am also in the process of raising money for cancer research and will be making this my goal here on in. I wish everyone nothing but good health and I am humbled by the fact that you all contributed to helping me through my own personal anxiety - my default mode is to be cynical, but here I never felt anything other than warmth and genuine encouragement.

User

Posted 03 Feb 2019 at 17:33

Hi Pete. Wondered if you might be able to advise. I still have light brown semen colour - biopsy was 20th of December. I read 3 to 4 weeks it should return to normal. This is now getting on fo 6 weeks - wondering if this was worth getting anxious about?

User

Posted 03 Feb 2019 at 17:49

That’s fine mate. It can take easily six weeks. Don’t worry and practice harder :-))

User

Posted 03 Feb 2019 at 17:53

Thanks Chris - I hope this finds you well? Yes, I see what you mean by practising a little more regularly....

User

Posted 27 Feb 2019 at 18:34

Hi Chris. Hope you are well and have had some fine weather in your neck of the woods? Just wanted to say hi really and to thank you again for all your support through my own prostate histoire (still got light brown semen btw - 9 weeks now, GP still says not to worry about it as it's "old blood", hard not to though for a character such as me), and for bothering to reply to me at all really. I have my 3 month follow up meeting with Uro on 12th March. Not sure what to say to him other than I still worry about false-negatives. I have definite prostatitis symptoms to bore him with too - perineal pain & willy pain etc. (all symptoms have occurred post biopsy on 20th Dec). I have been off the horse-tranquilising pills - Seroquel, for a wee while & have been on Mirtazapine since. Anyway, I'm still around and probably know that I should press for another PSA despite Uro writing to me saying I could wait a year from my last one in November (PSA had gone down from 7.9 to 5.8 in the 3 weeks prior to MRI & subsequent negative result).

Anyway, as you can see, I'm still a wimp and still harbouring latent fears that everyone told me to shut up about!

All the best - just hope West Ham don't lose too heavily to M. City tonight....

User

Posted 12 Mar 2019 at 12:49

Hi John - hope you are well etc. It's been a while, but thought I would come back and recount the latest. Not sure anyone actually cares given my previous history on here, but thought I'd give it a whirl.

I went along for my 3 month follow-up appt. today. Urologist said what I expected him to say. Yes, it was possible that cancer was missed and that is why I need to do another PSA to see if my level has dropped significantly enough.

My symptoms of perineal pain etc he thinks are prostatitis (inflammation of prostate - not related to cancer). He has prescribed 6 weeks of antibiotics for this, which I can take when I am “ready" for my PSA. Basically, the antibiotics will normally lesson the prostatitis and give a more accurate reading of my next PSA. Prostatitis in itself can increase the PSA result, which he thinks might have been the reason for my elevated PSA before Christmas.

I need to take the PSA two or three days before I end the course of antibiotics in order to give more chance of an accurate PSA.

He said that I could do this now and have the PSA in 6 weeks’ time or I can hold back and take the antibiotics later and have the PSA towards the end of the summer holidays. He said if there is cancer a few months is unlikely to make any difference to the stage of cancer.

If my PSA is below 3 then he would be happy just to keep having a PSA every year. If it was above this, then he would recommend a perineal biopsy via general anaesthetic (this is considered to be a more thorough biopsy than the TRUS one I had done in December) & probably skip any MRI scan beforehand.

Of course, I was wanting him to say “just get on with your life and forget it ever happened”, which I guess he was never going to say.

I will need to make a decision on when to have this PSA or to forget about it and take my chances. Not sure right now what to do - clearly having the test is the most sensible option, but I am not sure I can endure the merry-go-round that was anything but "merry" last time out.

All the best & I guess my gut feel is that, despite regaining my marbles, there will be no real peace for me either way unless I get this PSA done.

Haig

User

Posted 12 Mar 2019 at 13:28

Hi Howard,

Back again? I wonder if psychosomatic stress can actually cause prostate cancer? 😉

If you had had a template biopsy in the first place you probably wouldn’t be where you are today. I was told by two friends with PCa to avoid the TRUS that you had, and a leading oncologist said “the TRUS biopsy is as bad as we thought it was”.

Go with your urologist’s suggestion, monitor your PSA, and be positive.

Do you have a middle name of Thomas (doubting)?

All the best.

Cheers, John.

User

Posted 12 Mar 2019 at 13:36

Yes, I know that the template would've been better, but I wasn't given that option. MRI then 6 days later the call to come in for the TRUS. I guess it all comes down to what so many things come down to - money. It's as if they hope to find Pca with the TRUS in order to save a few bob by not having done the template. Maybe I'm being cynical; it wouldn't be the first time. I guess it's time for some more Panic, Stress & Anxiety (PSA).

All the best & thanks for the reply,

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