Waiting results from biopsy

User

Posted 04 Apr 2019 at 14:14

Hi. Well. Where do I start? I am 52 years old.

About a month ago I had my yearly private medical. All good apart from showed up that I have raised PSA levels

So visited GP. Had another test that said PSA levels were still high .

So referred to urologist whom arranged a MRI and prostrate biopsy.

Had MRI last week and prostrate biopsy today.

MRI showed white spots which could indicate cancer. But Dr also said bottom of prostrate looked enlarged which could indicate infection. Dr said 50/50 chance of cancer.

Now have to wait two weeks for results if biopsy. A bit of a waiting game and cant help but worry.

Has anyone been through similar or can offer any words of experience?

Thanks in advance

User

Posted 04 Apr 2019 at 18:06

Hi I had my biopsy on tuesday only have to wait a week for results.

User

Posted 04 Apr 2019 at 18:49

Three weeks is normal in my NHS trust before you get your next appointment and results, although I just had a 4 week wait for results from a scan carried out at a different hospital.

Some of this is that these results all go into a weekly MDT (multi disciplinary team) meeting where they are discussed between the urology and oncology consultants, and the next action is planned for each patient, and then they post out the invite for your next consultation. You get an extra 1-2 week's delay here depending on timing of the results. For one of my scans, the MacMillan nurse setup the next consultation to be an hour after the MDT, and that knocked a week off the normal time to post out appointments following the MDT.

It is annoying they don't even have a proper way to get things like PSA results to you faster, which they get back the next day. I have found that a nurse may tell me if I pop in. I have ended up repeatedly making official requests for my hospital records to get full copies of things like blood test results, scan results, etc, but they take up to 30 days.

User

Posted 04 Apr 2019 at 20:48

Hi Paul,

Waiting on results is the worst part for sure. I found the not knowing was worse than actually getting the results, you go through all the scenarios and ultimately think the worst - my glass half full outlook did anyway. At least when you get the results you then know what your dealing with, and it could be nothing. It’s just something your going to have to try, difficult as it may be, to put at the back of your mind until they come through. Try not second guess, and remember no amount of worrying is going to change anything. I know that’s really easy to say, and remember shitting myself waiting on the results. But all that worry didn’t help, just made me feel awful. So hang tight, try not to worry and let us know how you get on.

User

Posted 04 Apr 2019 at 21:10

We've all been through it, Paul. Waiting is the most difficult part of the whole process in many ways, but you just have to take it a day at a time and get through it.

Please keep us updated when you get your test results.

All the best,

Chris

User

Posted 04 Apr 2019 at 21:41

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. You are all quite correct, the waiting and not knowing is the hardest
Going to try and be positive. Although that is easier said than done

User

Posted 04 Apr 2019 at 23:52

Hi,

I am afraid you’ll just have to sit it out and wait for your results. It’s ‘slightly’ encouraging that you were told you only had a 50% chance.

I twigged I had the big C after my raised PSA and an irregular digital rectal examination, and before my MRI and diagnosis. I consoled myself by looking up the mortality results of prostate cancer compared to other cancers.

Hopefully, you’ll be clear, but if not, it’s not the end of the world, as so many on this website will attest to.

Best of luck.

Cheers, John.

User

Posted 05 Apr 2019 at 00:11

How high was your PSA?

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

User

Posted 05 Apr 2019 at 08:06

I had lots of waits because I had lots of tests (almost every test going), because my PSA is up where it's expected to have spread, but each test couldn't find any spread, so I ended up going for a different one.

I found the waits useful to mentally play out the 'what ifs' in my mind, which I think made me more prepared to hear the results when I did. My family didn't like the waits - when possible, I didn't tell them I was waiting for more results, and only told them afterwards when I'd had time to digest the results and research what they meant.

User

Posted 05 Apr 2019 at 08:11

Hi Lynn

It was 6.2

User

Posted 05 Apr 2019 at 08:15

Hi Paul,

Check out my bio, we are very similar in everything. I am awaiting my results after biopsy last Tuesday. I was told between 2/3 weeks and as most on here said you end up worrying and googling everything with prostate cancer in it. Under the circumstance's and after initial worrying I am quite calm with it all now as the way I'm dealing with the wait is to gather information and a 'shopping list' for 'if' I get the bad news. I want to be organised / prepared and ready so I don't have to think about that part, sounds morbid but I have made a will, changed my death in benefits at work ( I am a single dad), collected info of what to buy after any prostate operation etc.

I am planning for the worst but hoping for the best, I am very pragmatic and whatever the result is I will accept and take it from there.

User

Posted 07 Apr 2019 at 15:14

I am trying to be optimistic as much as possible. If I don't have PC then great. But if I do I will do my best to beat it!

I had blood in my urine today. Is that normal?

Oddly. I have had no symptoms whatsoever which baffles me and the Dr. If it wasnt for the private medical showing the slightly raised PA then would have been none the wiser.
Strange thing life. Everything seems to be ticking along nicely and then bang! Something like this comes along to burst your bubble@

User

Posted 07 Apr 2019 at 17:20

Yes, blood in urine is normal for a few days, particularly the first few cc's as you start peeing in my experience. You may get bits of clots too.

Blood in semen is even more common, and can go on for 3-6 weeks, and can look very dramatic (you would think it was pure blood). After a few days, it changes from bright red to brown, and then gradually gets fainter.

By the way, as the charity which did my original PSA test said, the most common symptom of PC is...
... nothing.
Which is of course indistinguishable from no PC until you've been fully diagnosed.

At the stage when the symptoms are nothing, it's at its most curable.

I had exactly the same emotional feelings, as did many others here.

User

Posted 08 Apr 2019 at 23:14

Hi there

My husband had a similar experience 2 years ago. No symptoms but a raised PSA at his BUPA medical confirmed by the GP.

He then had a scan and a template biopsy under general and it took a while for him to fully recover from that biopsy with a lot of bruising, blood in the semen and a less than 100% erectile for a few weeks following

The wait for results was the worst and my husband was one of the lucky ones with a low risk Gleason 6 (3+3) diagnosis.

He was and continues to have no symptoms but the biopsy and his chosen focal laser ablation took a while to fully recover from

Good luck

Clare

Edited by member 08 Apr 2019 at 23:19 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 08 Apr 2019 at 23:39

Fortunate men get diagnosed before they have symptoms. It is often suggested that once you have symptoms, you are a bit late to start to deal with the issue.

The PSA reading should be seen in context of a range. A range for people of an age, but in that range there are those who are high or low in that range. Range gives a high and a low. You do not know what your normal is, or your range is.

Your 6.2 may be high for your general age range, seems so to me, but may be normal for YOU. You MAY have a PCa issue?

My friend has PSA 2.0 at age 67. Very very low for his age. He has PCa. Zero symptoms, but he has PCa, zero symptoms, negligent PSA, BUT he has Cancer. Which he needs to be dealt with.

atb

dave

All we can do - is do all that we can.

So, do all you can to help yourself, then make the best of your time. :-)

I am the statistic.

User

Posted 10 Apr 2019 at 08:43

Nearly two weeks since biopsy but still not heard anything .
Starting to get anxious now wondering why not heard anything 🤔
I will contact the hospital tomorrow if no news today.

User

Posted 10 Apr 2019 at 16:13

Got letter for appointment today. 24 April. Need to take fresh urine sample. Plus details of any other medication.
Still none the wiser as to what my results are.
But sounds rather worrying having to take sample of urine
😭

User

Posted 10 Apr 2019 at 19:43

The urine sample will be to check if you have a urinary tract infection. PCa cannot be detected via a urine sample, unless it is a very new test called Select MDx and only carried out in a handful of private clinics and evaluated by just one lab in Britain. So don’t worry overly about that.

https://www.santishealth.org/prostate-cancer-information-centre/the-selectmdx-test-genomic-prostate-cancer-testing-without-a-biopsy/

Cheers, John.

Edited by member 10 Apr 2019 at 19:48 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 10 Apr 2019 at 20:29

Thank you.

I have kind of vkme to the conclusion that I have PC. If results were negative I would think they would tell me before.

User

Posted 10 Apr 2019 at 20:33

I really wouldn’t make any assumptions about the results, Paul. Wait and see.

Cheers,

Chris

User

Posted 10 Apr 2019 at 21:09

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Thank you.

I have kind of vkme to the conclusion that I have PC. If results were negative I would think they would tell me before.

In some areas, it works the opposite way round - they contact you earlier if the results are positive. John got a letter in the post with a date for scans before he got the appointment letter for the biopsy results, so we knew what they were going to tell us before we got there :-/

Waiting is horrible but everyone goes through it and survives.

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

User

Posted 10 Apr 2019 at 21:14

I got a phone call this afternoon to see my consultant tomorrow at 10:00hrs for results. Had my biopsy last Tue so 8 day turn around for me. Sleeping tonight with everything crossed ;-)

User

Posted 10 Apr 2019 at 22:15

Bless you all.
I had MRI scan before biopsy .
I will update you lovely people as soon as I know

User

Posted 19 Apr 2019 at 16:54

Not long now until I get my results. Wednesday is a day I will remember for a long while no doubt

I have been keeping myself busy to try and take my mind of thevwhat ifs.

Now it is coming around to tge day I fond out it is at the forefront of my mind again.

I have been reading the leaflets and also copy of letter urologist gave me for the GP.

I should have asked at the time but didnt think

I wondered if anyone knows what this means

Prostate 5.26 MRI - 2 prostatitis

Thanks in advance

User

Posted 19 Apr 2019 at 17:32

MRI 2 is probably the score they have allocated to the images - on a range of 5, a 2 indicates that they think it is unlikely to be cancer and it sounds like they suspect prostatitis, which is an infection that can be seen on MRI

The 5.26 I am not sure about; did they do another PSA test? It could be that your PSA has dropped a little bit since the last test.

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

User

Posted 24 Apr 2019 at 16:15

I am very pleased to say that I got the all clear today. So so relieved.
I have an infection hence raised levels. No treatment required as will sort itself out.
But I am to return in 6 months to make sure infection gone.

Thank you to all that have offered support and advise.

And good luck to all that are fighting PC.

User

Posted 24 Apr 2019 at 16:42

What wonderful news! You must be so relieved!

now go and enjoy the rest of your life.

User

Posted 24 Apr 2019 at 17:36

Happy days!

I hope you get your wee-wee problem sorted out soon now, best of luck.

Hopefully, your PSA will be checked regularly in future. You should ask your urologist how many of his patients who present with symptoms like yours have not got PCa. I suspect the majority, but not a vast majority.

Cheers, John.

User

Posted 25 Apr 2019 at 08:09

Excellent news - I told you not to assume an early appointment automatically meant bad news! Delighted that you've been given the all-clear.

Very best wishes,

Chris

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