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User
Posted 02 Feb 2022 at 20:40

Hello Everybody.

I’m 74 and after a routine blood test for repeat medications discovered my PSA at 8.4 . I also had a pelvic X-ray which shows a patch  on my Right  Superior Pubic Ramus  whatever that means ?
so my Dr is referred me for urgent urology appointment and a scan.So now to put it mildly I’m very frightened.Apparently I’m passing excess protein but I’ve never experienced blood either in urine or ejaculaton .I have sometimes a dull ache down there but since last August find myself in a new relationship with a lady 11 years younger and let’s say she is very understanding of my limitations but we manage a sex life that we both enjoy.

I was diagnosed with an enlarged Prostate must be 10 years ago ? and was given drugs to reduce it but due to a bad reaction stopped  them and was told I would have to live with it which I have been, just suffering “flow” problems sometimes.

Has anyone else been down this particular route..?

I fear that I do have Cancer so please I need to know what the future holds.

Thanks fo reading this 

 

User
Posted 02 Feb 2022 at 22:43

Hi Mick,

My husband had a PSA very similar to yours when he was diagnosed but he didn’t have an enlarged prostate and I believe that can make your PSA higher. 

Is it an MRI scan that has shown something on your pubic bone? This may well be nothing, I assume they will send you for a bone scan if they haven’t done already. And a biopsy?  I’m not very experienced about prostate cancer so only going of our experience (I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will help you out soon). Take a look at my profile though, my OH was told he had cancer in the bone but after a second opinion they disagreed and a further scan confirmed what the 2nd opinion thought.

This is a really scary time when you don’t know what exactly is going on, and most on this site have been in your position. It’s unfortunately a waiting game….but….the chances are it could be nothing to worry about, if it did happen to be cancer though there is so much that can be done these days and can be very well treated and managed.

Six months ago we thought our world had fallen apart….we are now in such a different place….even though cancer is hanging over our heads we are on the other side of operation and just trying to get on with life as before.

Really hope everything works out well for you. Please keep us updated.

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 09:41

Hi Mick,

The fast track if a potential cancer referral should be two week wait….so you should be seen within the 2 weeks. It’s really easy to say not to worry and not to google 🤦🏻‍♀️ but we were exactly the same (or I was) if you search Google long enough though it’s always going to lead to a bad ending!

So sorry for everything that you have been through, it’s obviously been a very difficult couple of years for you. It’s sounds like you have found someone lovely in Sue though, and she will be there to support you.

As many will tell you on here, it appears that prostate cancer is becoming part of being a man, and most men will have it at some point if they live long enough. The thing is that most will just carry on through life never knowing they had it and not dying from it but with it. Yes of course there are cases where treatment will be needed but so many options now as I said on previous message.

Hopefully you will get your appointment quickly and you will find that everything is ok. My husband is just a year younger than you and so far seems to be doing really well and we have lots to be positive about. 

Keep strong and positive over these next few weeks.

Elaine x

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 10:59

Morning Mick

 

As alluded to by Elaine, many men with prostate cancer don't know they have it and often die of something other than the cancer.  And, in your case, until you have undergone a biopsy you will not know whether you have prostate cancer or are suffering from something else. Apparently, 1 in 5 men ( US research suggests it is 2 in 5) aged 40 have evidence of prostate cancer, most men of 60 have and all men over 80 have it. Prostate cancer is usually very slow growing ( a single slow growing prostate cancer cell can take over 400 days to form) and a 1.5 cm lesion, like mine was, could be 40 years old. There are so many treatments for prostate cancer nowadays that, if you do have it, you will be spoilt for choice as to what to go for.

 

By the way, your PSA level for your age is not particularly high  ( Bob Monkhouse's was over 1300 when he was diagnosed  and PSA levels of 12000 are not unknown) so, though a lowish PSA level is not a cast iron guarantee that you don't have cancer, it is not a given that you do.

 

Ivan

 

Ivan

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 17:53

Yes, Mick, this is a great forum when trying to get to grips with the fact that you might have prostate cancer. It certainly helped my journey when I joined early last year.

 

It is worrying when you hear the "C" word but, as I have said, there are many treatments now available and more coming on line and often the hardest bit is trying to decide what treatment is best for you. They all, unfortunately, come with side effects of one sort or another.

 

Since I was diagnosed with prostate cancer  ( I had my prostate removed at Addenbrookes on 21/12/21), I have come across 2 other men in my small village of 300 people who have had it ( both were diagnosed in 2010, had surgery and both are doing fine some 12 years later- one is now 81 and the other is 79) and several ex-work colleagues too.

Great that you now have a date for the scan, Let us all know how you get on.

 

Ivan

 

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 18:47
Protein in your blood is more likely to be as a result of kidney problems / urinary tract infection (UTI) - blood in the urine can't always be seen by the naked eye. The dull ache would also be more in keeping with periodic infection / inflammation than with cancer. If you have had an enlarged prostate for many years and sometimes have flow issues, this a) increases your risk of kidney damage b) increases the likelihood of you having deep-seated chronic UTIs and c) a corresponding increase in your PSA. If your prostate is that enlarged and has been for years, your PSA seems quite low!

It is right to see a urologist and get checked over but your fear that you may be about to put your new partner through yet another trauma may be completely unfounded.

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

User
Posted 18 Feb 2022 at 07:40

Thanks all for your input to my initial post.

Your comments helped me enormously make sense of the information overload.

Since then I have stopped researching and just concentrated on the tests .

As promised here’s an update which I’m sure you’ve all too familiar with.

I’ve had another blood test . No change.  

A CT scan with contrast ..no report yet

A phone consult with Prostate Nurse Practitioner 

And yesterday an MRI with contrast 

Now I guess It’s a wait for results to be collated .

Im sure it’s been aired here before but I have (wright or wrongly) been taking  Saw Palmento and not sure if it’s physiological but have an some improvement in flow and that dull ache I had has subsided.

I guess at this stage I’ll try anything 

Kind regards,

Mick 

 

 

 

User
Posted 19 Feb 2022 at 23:35

Wishing you lots of luck for good results on your tests Mick. Will look out for your next update 👍🏽

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User
Posted 02 Feb 2022 at 22:43

Hi Mick,

My husband had a PSA very similar to yours when he was diagnosed but he didn’t have an enlarged prostate and I believe that can make your PSA higher. 

Is it an MRI scan that has shown something on your pubic bone? This may well be nothing, I assume they will send you for a bone scan if they haven’t done already. And a biopsy?  I’m not very experienced about prostate cancer so only going of our experience (I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will help you out soon). Take a look at my profile though, my OH was told he had cancer in the bone but after a second opinion they disagreed and a further scan confirmed what the 2nd opinion thought.

This is a really scary time when you don’t know what exactly is going on, and most on this site have been in your position. It’s unfortunately a waiting game….but….the chances are it could be nothing to worry about, if it did happen to be cancer though there is so much that can be done these days and can be very well treated and managed.

Six months ago we thought our world had fallen apart….we are now in such a different place….even though cancer is hanging over our heads we are on the other side of operation and just trying to get on with life as before.

Really hope everything works out well for you. Please keep us updated.

User
Posted 02 Feb 2022 at 22:46

Sorry just realised you said it was an X-ray that you had.

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 08:06

Hi Elaine,

    Thank you so much for your reply and it was nice of you to reply.
Yes I’m to be fast tracked for a Uroligy appointment and a scan ( whatever fast is these days?)

in Nov 2020 my wife of 33 years died from Covid in less than 10 days ,I joined Sue Ryder bereavement site as there was no help to be had anywhere .Over the months I formed new friends going through bereavement and when lockdown eased we began to meet up face to face .Long story but I now find myself in a new relationship to Sue who lost her partner to the effects of prostate treatment.He opted for the radio active seed’s treatment and due to a rare heart condition he died in his sleep.(5% risk I believe)

So you can begin to understand how I feel as she has to face this again.

I have said to her I she wants out then I understand but she says its not an option.,ever.Problem is she still works and we live 130 miles apart only seeing each other weekend  But in three months she’ll retire from her secretarial job in the NHS and go part time then we plan to live together full time.

So right now living alone with this going on Is pushing me over the edge,too many hours alone to think and Google !!!
But thanks for you reassuring words.

Mick x

 

 

 

 

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 09:41

Hi Mick,

The fast track if a potential cancer referral should be two week wait….so you should be seen within the 2 weeks. It’s really easy to say not to worry and not to google 🤦🏻‍♀️ but we were exactly the same (or I was) if you search Google long enough though it’s always going to lead to a bad ending!

So sorry for everything that you have been through, it’s obviously been a very difficult couple of years for you. It’s sounds like you have found someone lovely in Sue though, and she will be there to support you.

As many will tell you on here, it appears that prostate cancer is becoming part of being a man, and most men will have it at some point if they live long enough. The thing is that most will just carry on through life never knowing they had it and not dying from it but with it. Yes of course there are cases where treatment will be needed but so many options now as I said on previous message.

Hopefully you will get your appointment quickly and you will find that everything is ok. My husband is just a year younger than you and so far seems to be doing really well and we have lots to be positive about. 

Keep strong and positive over these next few weeks.

Elaine x

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 10:12
Thank you,yes I’ve been up most of the night researching..As you say a little or in this case too much knowledge a dangerous thing!

Thanks again for the reassurance you sound just like My Sue ….. we’ll face it when we know until then just carry on

Mick x

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 10:59

Morning Mick

 

As alluded to by Elaine, many men with prostate cancer don't know they have it and often die of something other than the cancer.  And, in your case, until you have undergone a biopsy you will not know whether you have prostate cancer or are suffering from something else. Apparently, 1 in 5 men ( US research suggests it is 2 in 5) aged 40 have evidence of prostate cancer, most men of 60 have and all men over 80 have it. Prostate cancer is usually very slow growing ( a single slow growing prostate cancer cell can take over 400 days to form) and a 1.5 cm lesion, like mine was, could be 40 years old. There are so many treatments for prostate cancer nowadays that, if you do have it, you will be spoilt for choice as to what to go for.

 

By the way, your PSA level for your age is not particularly high  ( Bob Monkhouse's was over 1300 when he was diagnosed  and PSA levels of 12000 are not unknown) so, though a lowish PSA level is not a cast iron guarantee that you don't have cancer, it is not a given that you do.

 

Ivan

 

Ivan

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 17:40

Hi Ivan,

Thanks for the information.

I must say being on here is the right thing to do as to get solid first hand information.

Although still worried I am a little calmer now reading first hand accounts from fellow sufferers .

My scan letter arrived today so things are moving 🤙

 

 

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 17:53

Yes, Mick, this is a great forum when trying to get to grips with the fact that you might have prostate cancer. It certainly helped my journey when I joined early last year.

 

It is worrying when you hear the "C" word but, as I have said, there are many treatments now available and more coming on line and often the hardest bit is trying to decide what treatment is best for you. They all, unfortunately, come with side effects of one sort or another.

 

Since I was diagnosed with prostate cancer  ( I had my prostate removed at Addenbrookes on 21/12/21), I have come across 2 other men in my small village of 300 people who have had it ( both were diagnosed in 2010, had surgery and both are doing fine some 12 years later- one is now 81 and the other is 79) and several ex-work colleagues too.

Great that you now have a date for the scan, Let us all know how you get on.

 

Ivan

 

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 18:47
Protein in your blood is more likely to be as a result of kidney problems / urinary tract infection (UTI) - blood in the urine can't always be seen by the naked eye. The dull ache would also be more in keeping with periodic infection / inflammation than with cancer. If you have had an enlarged prostate for many years and sometimes have flow issues, this a) increases your risk of kidney damage b) increases the likelihood of you having deep-seated chronic UTIs and c) a corresponding increase in your PSA. If your prostate is that enlarged and has been for years, your PSA seems quite low!

It is right to see a urologist and get checked over but your fear that you may be about to put your new partner through yet another trauma may be completely unfounded.

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

User
Posted 03 Feb 2022 at 22:10

Hi Lyn,
Thank so much for all of that what the Dr. said over the phone begins to make sense a bit now .
it’s a lot to take in when your hit with it early evening over the phone .I’d just dished up my dinner,which was still by the cooker this morning.

Earlier in week I was told to book another blood test third week of Feb.Then boom ! another call and panic button pressed it seemed. I grabbed a pen and note pad,tried to make notes as she spoke but in the state of shock I was in they only now make a bit of sense from what you’ve kindly explained.

Thanks 

Mick 

 

User
Posted 18 Feb 2022 at 07:40

Thanks all for your input to my initial post.

Your comments helped me enormously make sense of the information overload.

Since then I have stopped researching and just concentrated on the tests .

As promised here’s an update which I’m sure you’ve all too familiar with.

I’ve had another blood test . No change.  

A CT scan with contrast ..no report yet

A phone consult with Prostate Nurse Practitioner 

And yesterday an MRI with contrast 

Now I guess It’s a wait for results to be collated .

Im sure it’s been aired here before but I have (wright or wrongly) been taking  Saw Palmento and not sure if it’s physiological but have an some improvement in flow and that dull ache I had has subsided.

I guess at this stage I’ll try anything 

Kind regards,

Mick 

 

 

 

User
Posted 19 Feb 2022 at 23:35

Wishing you lots of luck for good results on your tests Mick. Will look out for your next update 👍🏽

 
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