Being diagnosed

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User

Posted 11 Mar 2020 at 20:15

Hi just been diagnosed with prostate cancer at 55 had no symptoms what so ever had biopsy and another blood test psa level is now 9 was 6 back in December 19 also had Mri scan on this area now awaiting another scan a full body could anyone tell me if they have had this scan they have told me it's not spread ??

Thanks tim

User

Posted 11 Mar 2020 at 23:43

Tim,
Sorry you find yourself here. You are at the most anxious stage - not yet knowing your diagnosis, not knowing what's coming, and being new to prostate cancer. We've all been there, it's horrible, but you will get through it. As your diagnosis gets clearer, you can start taking back control of your life.

There are several types of full body scan. Most men during diagnosis have at least one of them, and for most, the scan shows it isn't spread, so don't worry that just having the scan is bad news - it's not, it's normal.

User

Posted 12 Mar 2020 at 00:03

Hi Tim, sorry you have joined our club. I was diagnosed a couple of years back age 53. Your psa is high but not so high that it would suggest the cancer has spread, and I wouldn't read too much into that rise. Mine fell 25% in a week; I don't think the test is super accurate and if tests were done in different labs one may have under reported and the other over reported. Also if one test was after a biopsy the reading would be quite inaccurate.

I assume the full body scan is a bone scan, this is pretty much standard in the early stages of diagnosis. Your treatment option will be radically different depending on if this shows your bones are clear of cancer or not.

I assume they have told you it has not spread because it looks contained in the prostate based on the MRI image.

I think that with a psa less than 10 and no sign of spread on the MRI, then highly likely the bone scan will be negative (negative is a good thing, it means clear). Assuming it is negative the cancer is considered localised and you have a high chance of having the cancer eliminated.

At some point you will be told your TMN staging and your gleason score. When you know them post them here and people will be able to offer you more accurate help.

Dave

User

Posted 12 Mar 2020 at 04:24

Yes, I think your scan will be a bone scan, which is nowhere near as onerous (and noisy) as an MRI. They inject the you with a radioactive tracer, you go away for three hours (in my case, down the pub), come back and lie on a bed and the scanner floats over you. My Mrs was in the room when it happened.

You are advised to avoid babies and pregnant women for a while whilst the radioactive tracer dies a quick death due to its short half-life.

Best of luck.

Cheers, John.

User

Posted 12 Mar 2020 at 06:14

Thanks everyone for information means a lot at this scary time in my life will keep you updated

thanks again

Tim

User

Posted 07 Apr 2020 at 20:18

Good evening

okay finally got Gleason score 4+4 pas 6/9 and a T2 ?? Anyone could let me know what this means as not seen a consultant yet

thanks guys tim

User

Posted 07 Apr 2020 at 20:59

Your Gleason score is G8, made up of 4+4. The numbers indicate how distorted the cells are on a scale of 1-5 where 1 is completely normal and anything from 3 to 5 is cancer. The higher the number, the more aggressively the cancer could behave. The first number is the most common pattern and the second number is the second most common pattern so basically, the vast majority of the cancer cells in your samples were very distorted but not the worst.

The total (G7, G8, G10, etc) is used to predict how aggressive your cancer might be if not treated. A G8 is higher risk than G6 or G7.

The T2 indicates that the cancer is inside your prostate, can be seen on a scan or felt with a finger and probably hasn't burst out of the edge. Imagine your prostate is an orange ... T2 means that they believe the cancer is inside and can't be seen on the skin.

You will (should) get some more details; the fill diagnosis is usually written as G8(4+4) T2b N0 M0 or similar. T2a, T2b or T2c tells the doctors how much cancer there is inside the prostate. The N indicates whether or not the lymph nodes are affected and the M indicates whether there is spread to bones or other parts of the body.

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

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