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Velocity >2ng 3 Abnormal PSA Tests And A Biopsy

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User
Posted 24 Sep 2022 at 17:16

   Like so many others in life I had many dreams and had all these future plans in place. That is until my urologist told me I may have prostate cancer and that I need to get a biopsy. But my PSA results are under 4 I said. She replied that for a guy my age a PSA level greater than 2.5 is abnormal. 

My first test 9-2021 was normal at 1.75 then a March 2022 test showed 3.18 and 5 months later it was 3.19.  I pleaded with the Urologist to do one more PSA test maybe Im causing the high numbers because I did not abstain from sex before the last test. The urologist agreed to try this and I abstained from sex and vigorous excersize like bike riding for 5 days.  According to various theories these things could effect a PSA result. I took the new test a month later and not only did my theory fail the PSA result was even higher standing at 4.04. 

She said I need a biopsy and I tried one last time to get out of it. Cant we just do an MRI?, cant we just look at the prostate to see if it has cancer on it? She said I was free to make my own decision but if it were one of my relatives Id tell them to get the biopsy. 45 is young and your PSA has been rising. 

So I got the biopsy yesterday with a 20% chance it will come back as prostate cancer. I had other symptoms I didn't know were significant that I probably should not have ignored. A weaker urine stream and an interrupted stream. Sometimes having to strain really hard via breath holding to force urination. 

And so I find myself here looking to the advice of others that are either fighting PC or going through a similar thing. It will take two weeks to get the results. I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder and this has made it all much worse. I don't feel like doing anything anymore. I have no pleasure doing what I use to do, chasing storms as a professional photographer. I was going to launch a podcast new video production and now I don't even know if Ill be here in 10 years. The good news is there is an 80% I don't have cancer but 20% is a significant risk. I don't know what the future holds anymore.

Edited by member 24 Sep 2022 at 18:30  | Reason: Spell Check

User
Posted 24 Sep 2022 at 18:41

Hello, I'm guessing you're not in the UK, because we do MRI before biopsy, and I'm not sure there's much storm chasing here.

We now know that lower urinary tract symptoms you describe are almost never related to prostate cancer, but to enlarged prostate, and there's almost no connection between these two conditions (enlarged prostates are very slightly less likely to get prostate cancer, but this difference isn't very significant).

Having had a biopsy, you can't really do much until you have the result, but waiting for results is always an anxious time. Did they tell you how large your prostate is? They may have a rough idea from the ultrasound imaging for the biopsy.

User
Posted 24 Sep 2022 at 19:39

If you have prostate cancer, with a PSA of 4 it’s extremely unlikely to be anything other than localised cancer, which is an eminently treatable condition with an excellent treatment success rate. It’s a shock to be told that you may have prostate cancer, but try not to get too stressed about it. If it turns out that you do have it, get it sorted, and then get on with your dreams and future plans. 

Best wishes,

Chris

Edited by member 24 Sep 2022 at 19:58  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 26 Sep 2022 at 18:48
Most people actually find the diagnostic process more stressful than being told that they have cancer - not knowing is worse. It’s a shock to be told you’ve got cancer, but it’s honestly not a question of “courage and strength”. You cope because you don’t have any alternative. It takes a while to come to terms with the diagnosis, but you do, and everyone finds their own way of doing so. Living with cancer becomes “the new normal”. You get treated and you get on with life.

All the best,

Chris

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User
Posted 24 Sep 2022 at 18:41

Hello, I'm guessing you're not in the UK, because we do MRI before biopsy, and I'm not sure there's much storm chasing here.

We now know that lower urinary tract symptoms you describe are almost never related to prostate cancer, but to enlarged prostate, and there's almost no connection between these two conditions (enlarged prostates are very slightly less likely to get prostate cancer, but this difference isn't very significant).

Having had a biopsy, you can't really do much until you have the result, but waiting for results is always an anxious time. Did they tell you how large your prostate is? They may have a rough idea from the ultrasound imaging for the biopsy.

User
Posted 24 Sep 2022 at 19:39

If you have prostate cancer, with a PSA of 4 it’s extremely unlikely to be anything other than localised cancer, which is an eminently treatable condition with an excellent treatment success rate. It’s a shock to be told that you may have prostate cancer, but try not to get too stressed about it. If it turns out that you do have it, get it sorted, and then get on with your dreams and future plans. 

Best wishes,

Chris

Edited by member 24 Sep 2022 at 19:58  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 26 Sep 2022 at 18:24

Prostate size is normal, Dr. doing the biopsy said the only unusual thing he saw was a slight bulge in the prostate pushing on urethra but that he was not worried about it. All I can do is wait for the results, I have no fear of dying from cancer itself it is the loss of control and independence I fear the most and I refuse to be a burden on anyone. The odds are in my favor 80% chance of not having cancer and even if the result is positive it might still be at an early enough stage to cure it. As long as I still have control and the resources to fight I will fight. Everything has become much more real now under what has become a waiting game. It is depressing to have a potential disease that can ruin all of my long term goals and its possible that I will need to just let it go. Im probably just overthinking all of this and running constant worse case scenarios, not balanced reasoning I know but I'm working on that.

User
Posted 26 Sep 2022 at 18:39

Hopefully its not cancer because the risk is much higher that it would be the aggressive type since my PSA has risen by over 2.29ng over the course of 4 tests in a year. Any rise over .75 is not a good sign. Hopefully its not prostate cancer but even if the biopsy comes back negative all that means is they didn't find any cancer cells that could indeed be there dividing out of control. It is discouraging to read of some guys having rising PSAs going through repeat biopsies only to catch the cancer on the 5th one. I wish we had better technology to screen for this. For all of you out there that have been diagnosed with PC how do you cope with it all? How do you keep it together with such courage and strength? 

User
Posted 26 Sep 2022 at 18:48
Most people actually find the diagnostic process more stressful than being told that they have cancer - not knowing is worse. It’s a shock to be told you’ve got cancer, but it’s honestly not a question of “courage and strength”. You cope because you don’t have any alternative. It takes a while to come to terms with the diagnosis, but you do, and everyone finds their own way of doing so. Living with cancer becomes “the new normal”. You get treated and you get on with life.

All the best,

Chris

 
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