Pirads level 5

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Posted 09 Jan 2020 at 11:21

So I bit the bullet and despite my mind being in denial I had the biopsy done as planned. Was more surgical than I was expecting but otherwise quicker than expected. So it’s the waiting game now 2/3 weeks.
Yes I was irrational and yes I probably came across as offering no justification in this. Pain in the arse excuse the pun. I’m actually quite a sensible problem solving person but this whole thing floored me.
Thanks to all who offered up the posts in a very diplomatic manner.
The medical staff were excellent.
Onwards and upwards.

User

Posted 09 Jan 2020 at 12:01

Delighted to hear it, Ian. Good decision. It sounds too as if you've established a level of trust with the people who'll be treating you, and that's absolutely essential.

Very best wishes,

Chris

Edited by member 09 Jan 2020 at 12:04 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 09 Jan 2020 at 13:13

Difficult decision to have made. So pleased to hear you went ahead and that the Medical Staff were excellent. My husband Keith can’t fault the NHS and all the Medical Team he has encountered during his journey so far. He keeps saying it is what it is and you have to make these difficult decisions and move forward.

We hope you receive good news in 2/3 weeks time.

As you say Ian, onwards and upwards.

Best wishes

Ange

User

Posted 09 Jan 2020 at 14:22

Just had a good sleep and just a little blood in the back passage. Woke up with a nice erection which was good but my penis seems a bit sore. Maybe my imagination. Scared to pee or masturbate in case I have some blood but I’m told this is natural.
Drinking more water and everything seems ok.

Edited by member 09 Jan 2020 at 15:27 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 09 Jan 2020 at 14:57

Drink lots of water, you need flushing out. Expect red wine colour at times, fading to pink over the next week or two. Go easy on the masturbation, for a few days. Semen will be pink for a while.

Dave

User

Posted 09 Jan 2020 at 15:27

Well done Ian, glad you got there in the end.

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

User

Posted 09 Jan 2020 at 17:02

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Drink lots of water, you need flushing out. Expect red wine colour at times, fading to pink over the next week or two. Go easy on the masturbation, for a few days. Semen will be pink for a while.

More like vivid red than pink, at least in my case! It'll change to the colour of HP sauce as the blood cells die, but it'll probably take a couple of months to clear up, so don't worry about it - it's completely normal and expected.

Chris

User

Posted 10 Jan 2020 at 08:57

Good decision on the Biopsy Ian. I left any ejaculations for a good 10 days - 2 weeks. when it arrived it was definitely HP Sauce / Iron brown coloured. Wishing you all the best for the future.

User

Posted 10 Jan 2020 at 09:17

I would take a different view; the more you ejaculate the quicker it will return to normal. Dig deep and find that inner teenage boy that used to clear up on a discarded sock, into a pile of tissues or on your mum's best towel when she wasn't looking :-)

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

User

Posted 10 Jan 2020 at 12:19

Such a positive outlook :) Yeah it seems to be a more positive to keep all my bits and pieces active.

Edited by member 02 Feb 2020 at 10:43 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 10 Jan 2020 at 17:15

There is now the inevitable wait for results to be considered by the MDT and for you to be told what your options are. If you have not yet done so I would download or obtain a hard copy of the "Tool Kit" from the Publications Department of this Charity. This can help

you understand more about what various treatments entail and being prepared ask any further questions about options when you have a meeting to discuss any treatments appropriate in your case. For those diagnosed with PCa it is indeed a journey.

Barry

User

Posted 10 Jan 2020 at 21:58

I’ve just read over all the posts and realised just how irrational I had become. Anger , frustration and looking for problems before they even existed. My apologies all round. I just come off a stressful period at work and to meet this problem head on has been a step to far. The advice given on here has been excellent and very informative. Yes I’m still scared of what’s next but I’ve started to research the options. Can anyone tell me if the MRI is saying Pirads 5 my consulting Professor said 30/40 % chance and he targeted 6 shots on the prostate that it should come back with a result rather than more biopsy’s needed. I’m not offering any denial on that but I’ve convinced that it will be bad news.

User

Posted 10 Jan 2020 at 22:41

If the TRUS biopsy doesn’t show cancer, they’ll sometimes ask you to have a much more thorough template biopsy to get more detailed information. That’s what happened to me, but it’s not that common an occurrence. A template biopsy is done under general anaesthetic, so you won’t know a thing about it. It just leaves you with a rather spectacular bruise on your perineum.

The normal way forward now, if the biopsy finds cancer cells (which one would expect it to given the scan results) would be a bone scan to check for mets (very unlikely that it has spread with your low PSA, but it’s a standard test) and then all the information would go to MDT to discuss the results and what treatments are recommended. They may come back with a recommendation for a specific treatment (that’s what happened in my case) or you may be offered a choice, which would generally be between surgery and radiation. If given a choice, you’d have a meeting with a urologist to talk about surgery, and an oncologist to talk about non-surgical options. It would be up to you then to go away and decide what your preferred option was.

The important thing to remember is that when caught at an early stage, prostate cancer is a relatively easily treatable condition, not a death sentence.

Best wishes,

Chris

Edited by member 10 Jan 2020 at 22:49 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 13 Jan 2020 at 16:57

I’ve just had a letter in for my biopsy results for a week on Friday. The letter was dated the same day as my biopsy. Would this letter just be generated as standard procedure or could they have examined the biopsy in the same day and generated the letter.

User

Posted 13 Jan 2020 at 17:14

Standard procedure, without doubt. Two to three weeks wait between having the biopsy and getting the results is absolutely normal.

Best wishes,

Chris

User

Posted 24 Jan 2020 at 17:42

Just back from my biopsy results with the specialist nurse today. Yes I’ve been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer ( I’ve just admitted it for the first time ). Gleason score is 3+4 and it’s contained within a small area in the middle of the prostate so it’s not all bad news. So awaiting the recommendations from the MDT as to my next step. It’s stage 2a. So much info today I’ve forgotten what stage 2a means ?

Tbh I’m a lot more upbeat than I thought. Don’t get me wrong I know it could have been a lot worst as I read of the many journeys in here soldiers.

I’m thinking radiotherapy and hormone treatments but wondering if I should hold off for a bit or just get treatment as soon as possible.

So much to think about. Any suggestions very much appreciated folks.

User

Posted 24 Jan 2020 at 18:11

As someone who has just finished 18 months Hormone Therapy, my advice would be try Radiotherapy first. The side effects of HT are life changing, that’s a proven fact and is what I’m experiencing.
IMRT Radiotherapy is both very accurate and effective, it’s what I had and it involves getting key points on your body tattooed and the RT is targeted and aligned with recent CT scans, your tattoos and live images.

Some people would advise the Watchful Waiting policy, but personally I would not want to live like that. Some CCG’s might not give you an alternative to WW as there are schools of thought that some cancers are “over treated”, like in your case, where it is not advanced, as Prostate Cancer is slow growing

User

Posted 24 Jan 2020 at 21:13

Watchful waiting and active surveillance are slightly different. You would almost certainly be on AS with the objective of curing the problem if it starts to advance.

Unlike pallance, though I respect his opinion, I would be inclined to AS with your disease. These cancer treatments are not pleasant if you can avoid them or delay them then that's what I would do.

I think you need three things in place if AS is to work for you:

1. The onco says it's appropriate for you.

2. You have a personality type where you won't suffer anxiety with this approach.

3. You trust the hospital to do the psa tests, biopsies etc. and not forget to look at your file.

I think the best thing about AS is it has no side effects, if you decide at a later point to change your mind and have treatment you can. If you go down the radical treatment route, you can't change your mind once it's done.

Dave

User

Posted 24 Jan 2020 at 22:08

Totally agree with your view Dave

Alan

User

Posted 24 Jan 2020 at 22:09

Agree with what Dave has said. You don't have to rush into a decision but do have some grade 4 cells so will need regular monitoring if you go with AS. Although the cancer seems to be well contained there is no indication of how much of it there is, apart from it being in a small area. It is likely that unless there are other contraindications it is likely that you will be offered surgery or radiation as well as AS. However, you might be a suitable candidate for HIFU which has milder effects but is slightly more likely that you may need either a form of radiation or surgery at some time in the future - certainly worth asking about.

Barry

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