Symptom return- advice please

Email this conversation Print this conversation

User

Posted 11 Jan 2022 at 22:15

My oh’s psa reading has been stable at 0.1 for a while now. He’s been on HT since April 2020, and had chemo that summer followed by RT at the of 2020. However, he’s been getting progressively worse constipation over the past few weeks/months. The worry is, looking back, that this was one of the symptoms he was experiencing before he was diagnosed (that and urinary flow issues).

Could this be a sign that something is going on? Is it possible that the pca is growing but it’s not showing in the psa reading? He was going to contact his GP for help but I wondered if he should contact his oncologist for some further investigations?

User

Posted 12 Jan 2022 at 00:10

Does he have his testosterone tested along with his PSA? It is possible to have prostate cancer progression without an equivalent rise in PSA but it is vanishingly rare.

I think starting point is the GP and then onco if the GP can't identify the problem.

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

User

Posted 12 Jan 2022 at 07:54

Constipation isn't a normal symptom of prostate cancer. Was the cause of the constipation identified?

One thought is that people with lower urinary tract symptoms (problems with peeing) often respond by drinking less (which is usually a bad idea), and that can cause constipation. Make sure he has a good fluid intake, and his urine is light straw coloured.

User

Posted 12 Jan 2022 at 09:33

He’s never had his testosterone level measured. Should we ask for this at the next oncology appointment?

With regard to urinary issues, he doesn’t experience them now so drinking less for that reason wouldn’t be the answer. In fact he’s doing all he can to sort out the problem which includes drinking more.

The oncologist didn’t explicitly say the constipation was due to the pca - he has a very woolly oncologist who’s answer to everything seems to be ‘oh I’m sure it’ll be fine’. We have to really dig to get answers. However, she thought it might be related and it progressively got better and then went after chemo/RT. We will ask at the next appointment as well as making an appointment with the GP.

User

Posted 16 Mar 2022 at 11:43

Hi - update psa levels unchanged and bowel issues put down to radiation damage. A bit of a relief. Thanks for your help and comments.

Email this conversation Print this conversation

Join the online community now.

Click through to become a member and gain access to support, information and real time replies.