New patient waiting results

Di,

Sorry you have someone going through this.

The rough sequence of events, if it eventually leads to a prostate cancer diagnosis is:

mpMRI scan of abdomen/prostate
Biopsy
Initial diagnosis given, but extent not always clear yet.
Nuclear Bone Scan (usually, but not always done)
Abdominal CT Scan (rarely done)
PET/CT Scan (rarely done)
Whole body MRI scan (rarely done)
Treatment options given.

Obviously, you bail out of the process any point up to the initial diagnosis if you are found not to have prostate cancer.

Each diagnostic procedure, analysis of the results, discussion by the clinical team, and you having a consultation to feed back took about 3 weeks in my case. They often go straight from the mpMRI scan to biopsy without an intervening appointment (particularly during COVID), which speeds thing up a bit. But you are probably looking at 4-6 weeks, plus any extra COVID delays.

Prostate cancer diagnosis is rarely very urgent as you may have heard with some other cancers. The cancer usually moves slowly.

We know this is an anxious time, being hit by something new you probably know little about, and not knowing where it's going to take you, and feeling like you've lost control of your lives. I'm afraid you just have to wait out this diagnosis period, supporting each other, and of course you can ask questions here, but we can't predict the results of the diagnosis. When you get to treatment choices, you will be starting to understand things better, and that marks the start of you taking back control.

Hi sorry to see you here.

As the others have said it can takes a few weeks to get a diagnosis. 

They need to gather information from different areas to determine grading and treatment options.

Just need to be patient and start reading up on PCUK packs when you have that Information to hand. And don't be afraid to call the PCUK nurses. They are a power of strength. 

Good luck

Sandy

Pirads 1 is probably an absence of cancer

Pirads 2 is low likelyhood of cancer

Pirads 3 is 50/50, which ties in with their yes there's something there but we don't know what.

Pirads 4 is probably cancer is there

and pirads 5 is highly likely it's there.

So it's not an actual grading but more saying yes or no that something needs investigating.

BTW I may have missed it but do you have a PSA level or a DRE result.?

2. Two friends of mine who had had a rectal ‘stab in the dark’ TRUS biopsy told me not to have that one, as they had done and they subsequently had to have a transperineal biopsy to confirm their cancer. Many men on here have had the same ‘buy one get one free’ experience, and a man on my ward had the same and ended up with a transperineal biopsy eventually.

The infection rates for TRUS biopsies are higher as the biopsy needles pierce the bowel in umpteen places with the obvious risk of subsequent infection. The NHS used to like them as it’s a quick job, probe up the bum, shoot a few needles and discharge the patient with copious antibiotics within 90 minutes. That procedure is rapidly becoming phased out.

But frankly, TRUS and transperineal biopsies are day cases and are not much worse than going to the dentist, and I am a big baby. He might get the all clear if he has a transperineal biopsy where they take around forty samples from the gland, compared to a TRUS which samples only around 12.

Have you ordered the ‘Tool Kit’?

Cheers, John.

He is unlikely to be able to speak to a consultant beforehand; that's what the nurse is for so he could always phone her back to ask for more information like whether it is to be done under local or general anaesthetic and how long he might have to wait. In some areas, you don't get allocated to a consultant until after you are actually diagnosed.