Copied from a post I made in the ladies group on Facebook
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Hi,I'm after some information. Can I please ask how long your men waited between being diagnosed and meeting with an Oncologist to discuss treatment? My husband was diagnosed three weeks ago & he's heard nothing since. The urologist at the time said to him in 'dont worry you're not going to die tomorrow' and 'its the type of cancer you want to have'. We're not happy anyway with the hospital he's currently under but our GP refuses to transfer him to the other local hospital (Newcastle Freeman, which is the pinnacle hospital in the area for prostate cancer and train consultants from all over the world on techniques and treatments). Apart from the mistakes the hospital he's currently at has made in his care, one or the main concerns I have is the delay in which I've heard others have had treatment. My husband's cousin was treated there for PC, opted on diagnosis to have his prostate removed & waited 8 months between diagnosis & oncology appointment. When my husband was in hospital having his biopsy he was talking to another man who had been diagnosed 6 months previously & had opted for radical radiotherapy, he didn't even get an oncology appointment, just got an appointment for surgery to have the gold implants for the radiotherapy.
My husband was given a Gleason score of 6 but I'm worried he's having symptoms beyond his diagnosis. For the past 18 months he's been suffering from extreme fatigue to the extent that he's literally only awake when he's at work & for a couple of hours in the evening. He's also suffering from pains in his hips, back & shoulders. I know these symptoms could also be a sign of old age but at 53 with a physical job that keeps him fit. He's also got the usual symptoms of having to get up through the night, needing to go immediately when he gets the urge, unable to stop mid flow etc. I'm worried his symptoms are excessive for the diagnosis he's been given so I'm concerned in case it's actually more advanced than what his consultant has decided so I specifically don't want his waiting 6-8 months before seeing the oncologist, which appears to be the case at this hospital.
Am I being over sensitive? Is it usual to wait so long to see the oncologist? He phoned the Macmillan nurse on Tuesday last week to enquire as to how long it would be but we're still waiting for a response 😟