Extremely worried

Extremely worried

User

Posted 23 Dec 2020 at 20:53

Edited by member 13 Jan 2021 at 21:15 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 24 Dec 2020 at 00:08

mpMRI can't diagnose cancer, it can only see suspicious areas and then predict the likelihood of cancer being present.. The decision to book a bone scan before biopsy could be because your PSA was so high that prostate cancer is a forgone conclusion or could just be that the bone scan is quicker to arrange during Covid (if your area offers template biopsies there may not be a lot of theatre slots available).

I don't think you should assume it is locally advanced ... it can spread to bone, lymph nodes or soft organs while still being contained in the prostate. 'Spread' is different to having burst out of the gland and while the MRI might see that a suspicious area has broken through the covering of the prostate, it can't see much of the rest of your body.

If they haven't even told you the result of the PSA result, your GP practice should be able to give you this.

Edited by member 24 Dec 2020 at 00:09 | Reason: Not specified

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

User

Posted 24 Dec 2020 at 00:27

Noel,

I don't think you can assume anything - sequencing of tests is currently often out of order because of COVID.

You should probably call the Urology Clinical Nurse Specialists, and ask for a chat.

User

Posted 24 Dec 2020 at 09:37

Thank you both.

Even though I'm worried, I think with it being Christmas eve I will try and call my GP practice on Tuesday to find out PSA. Do you think they have the result even though I had my bloods taken in hospital?

I have found being called for the bone scan before biopsy extremely unsettling. It makes sense that things could be out of sequence due to COVID.

User

Posted 24 Dec 2020 at 10:50

My GP practice can't see blood test results ordered by the hospital, even though they are done by the same lab and stored on the same system (ICE), but this varies considerably by area.

You are most likely to get hold of them, and get any associated explanations, by calling the urology clinical nurse specialists at the hospital, and they know much more about prostate cancer than your GP will.

User

Posted 26 Dec 2020 at 22:49

What makes you think it’s locally advanced? The bone scan? That’s just a routine part of the diagnostic process. Try not to think about it. Wait for the diagnostic process to finish and then you’ll know what’s what.

Best wishes,

Chris

User

Posted 26 Dec 2020 at 23:07

I guess being called for the bone scan prior to biopsy.

Also reading that symptoms often don't appear until it is advanced.

You are right, I just have to wait it out. Thanks for your reply

User

Posted 26 Dec 2020 at 23:33

As I said above, it can be advanced prostate cancer without being locally advanced so nothing can really be deduced about staging from the bone scan appointment arriving now. Having said that, they would have been unlikely to book a bone scan if your prostate had been soft and the MRI had been completely clear so it seems there is some suspicious area on the MRI.

Edited by member 26 Dec 2020 at 23:35 | Reason: Not specified

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

User

Posted 27 Dec 2020 at 16:03

Ref your comment 'symptoms don't appear until it's advanced'. It's not true.

The only symptom you've mentioned is urine hesistancy. That only suggests something might be wrong and it could be several other things. It's the same with most symptoms. The only thing that proves a case is the combined results of several tests coupled with a skilled interpreter. Sometimes several skilled interpreters.

My GP can read the psa results from the local hospital that he refers to and you might try there although getting through after the holidays might be another matter. I had the operation at another hospital and he can't read results at that one. Results normally come through the same day also the person at the GP will likely know nothing about what the result means except a general note the GP has written for all psa tests. At the hospital they might give you more information although it might be based on the usual and not absolutely your case.

I had a biopsy which hardly showed anything at all, just one needle found it on 5% of the sample, then they booked me for an MRI and Bone scan on the same day only 4 days later. My psa wasn't that high either.

Try not to get ahead of the situation, diagnosis is a very worrying time. All the best, Peter

Edited by member 27 Dec 2020 at 16:09 | Reason: Not specified

Notification

Similar Topics

Join the online community now.