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Raised PSA with "Hard" prostate, how likely is cancer?

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User
Posted 14 Jul 2024 at 15:02

Afternoon all,

I'm sorry we find ourselves on this forum but very glad that it is here.

I am a carer for my Dad who has fairly late stage Vascular Dementia. In the last month, by chance at a routine appointment, I noticed his reported weight had suddenly dropped 18lbs. He has a calorie rich diet and is almost completely immobile so weight loss unexplained. This prompted a GP appointment where he was referred to Urology. We saw the consultant on Wednesday, PSA is 8.4 (Dad is age 74) and prostate is "hard raising suspicion" It is difficult for Dad to recall.and relay symptoms so not sure how long he has experienced issues.

I wondered, for those of you who are much more knowledgeable than me, is it most likely that this is cancer? With the weight loss and I should also mention his brother has prostate cancer which I believe raises the chances by 50% ?

Any and all feedback/advice welcome

User
Posted 14 Jul 2024 at 18:48

Hi,

Hi Lea, Weight loss isn't a normal symptom of PCa.

The psa isn't that high, although it's higher than normal.  

A hard prostate is sometimes a sign but it might be inflamed or large.

The psa would make the chance under 50%, the hard prostate might increase the chance but it will take more tests.

In any case unless it's a very rare case he's likely to last longer than 80.

I thought I'd answer now as no-one else has, perhaps due to sports today, although I'm about to go. 

All the best, keep in touch.   Peter

User
Posted 14 Jul 2024 at 22:27
I think the general thoughts are that most men of his age are likely to have some form of prostate cancer but it's typically very slow growing. His PSA is relatively low as Peter mentioned and indicates that any prostate cancer is likely to be still contained within the prostate and not running amuck through his system.

Of course you will have to discuss with the specialists and your Dad, as much as you can, as to how to treat him going forwards - it's always a balance between longevity and quality of life. He may be put on hormone therapy which tends to halt cancer growth rather than cure it and possibly radiotherapy depending on how he can cope with the process. It's painless and relatively side effect free in most cases - I doubt that they will recommend surgery but could be wrong.

However, he may have problems being able to handle scans/biopsys - MRI machines are not easy to handle for some people.

So it's really a deep conversation with his specialists and getting them to fully understand what he can and cannot handle due to his condition.

Wishing you both the best of luck!

Steve

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User
Posted 14 Jul 2024 at 18:48

Hi,

Hi Lea, Weight loss isn't a normal symptom of PCa.

The psa isn't that high, although it's higher than normal.  

A hard prostate is sometimes a sign but it might be inflamed or large.

The psa would make the chance under 50%, the hard prostate might increase the chance but it will take more tests.

In any case unless it's a very rare case he's likely to last longer than 80.

I thought I'd answer now as no-one else has, perhaps due to sports today, although I'm about to go. 

All the best, keep in touch.   Peter

User
Posted 14 Jul 2024 at 22:27
I think the general thoughts are that most men of his age are likely to have some form of prostate cancer but it's typically very slow growing. His PSA is relatively low as Peter mentioned and indicates that any prostate cancer is likely to be still contained within the prostate and not running amuck through his system.

Of course you will have to discuss with the specialists and your Dad, as much as you can, as to how to treat him going forwards - it's always a balance between longevity and quality of life. He may be put on hormone therapy which tends to halt cancer growth rather than cure it and possibly radiotherapy depending on how he can cope with the process. It's painless and relatively side effect free in most cases - I doubt that they will recommend surgery but could be wrong.

However, he may have problems being able to handle scans/biopsys - MRI machines are not easy to handle for some people.

So it's really a deep conversation with his specialists and getting them to fully understand what he can and cannot handle due to his condition.

Wishing you both the best of luck!

Steve

 
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