Hello my name is Dave and I have recently within the last couple of months been diagnosed with Prostate cancer, and whilst I appreciate it is not at the moment life-threatening I am terrified of my future prospects.
Three months ago I decided to have a medical MOT so to speak, to check out that everything was okay and in order, I never expected the result to come back that there was something wrong with me. As part of the MOT, I had blood taken and a PSA test carried out.
The result came back as I had a PSA of 10.7 which I was told equated to me having a 50% of prostate cancer, all of which I was told over the phone. to say my world fell apart is an understatement.
I was placed on an 8-week cancer fast track testing program and after several unpleasant tests and procedures have come out with the following diagnosis:
PSA 10.7, DRE shows nodule on the left side, Gleason score of 3+4=7, they believe it is contained within the prostate gland.
I had a biopsy where 12 samples were taken under a local, with the following results: the lefthand side 6 biopsies showed that only 3 of 6 were cancerous, with a score of 3+3 and the right-hand 6 biopsies showed that 4 out of 6 were cancerous with a score of 3+4 =7.
The surgeon said I was lucky in so much that I had every option available to me, [Active Awareness, brachytherapy, radiotherapy, hormone treatment, and radical prostatectomy].
I was given several leaflets and told to go away and choose one.
This prompted me to do research contacting the Prostate Cancer UK helpline and finally looking for a second opinion and paying to go private, as I did not like the symptoms and quality of life outcome, suggested by the NHS consultant which was to have a radical prostatectomy carried out.
As part of my research, I found FOCAL THERAPY what appeared to give a much better quality of life and fewer symptoms.
I now have seen the private consultant who was amazing, he tended to agree with me that the best options for me would be:
1) Focal Therapy - if I qualified;
2) Nerve-sparing prostatectomy
3) something to do with L-lynx
My question is that, is this the best course of action, and can I genuinely have a semi-normal life after treatment, I'm scared to have surgery as feel I am still too young to lose function and quality of life down there.
Thank you for reading and any support is truly appreciated.