Hello everyone!
I want to make it VERY clear that I am not boasting in any way shape or form, or trying to in any way diminish anybody's anxiety and concerns about this disease and their very real struggles. I found this forum to be an excellent source of information and comfort through my journey but one thing that stuck out time and time again is people popping up scared out of their mind, being given reassurance, then disappearing and long term members saying nobody ever follows up if it's not PC. So I just wanted to give a brief follow up to give back to this community which is a real shining light in the internet and helped me immeasurably.
I'm a 47yo man living in Australia. In January 2024 went for a GP checkup for the first time in pretty much forever. No issues with anything except an elevated PSA (which I admit I didn't actually know anything about). To my detriment I don't have a record of the numbers involved but it was say 4 point something. GP said wait 3 months and do it again and it was maybe 5 point something. Righto he said, you're off to see a Urologist.
Luckily I had a great Urologist I trusted from getting the snip a few years ago. He referred me for an MRI which was mostly OK but some areas they weren't sure about (from memory it was a PIRADS 2 assessment). The Urologist (never forget they are surgeons and surgeons love to operate) said we'd better get a biopsy then. Fine I said without having the faintest clue what that would involve. How the hell would they biopsy something way up there?
That's when I found this forum and discovered what a Trans Perineal Biopsy actually was! Went in for that (under a GA) and it was a very entertaining experience actually when I tell it. Especially the bit about being wheeled into theatre to find a 7 foot tall orderly lubing up what looked like a kids baseball bat (it was the ultrasound wand).
A week later I get the call that results are back and there's one section that they're not sure about. The nurse says the results are indicative of, but not diagnostic for, PC. Urologist says rest up we're going back in for a second biopsy in 3 months targeting that area and that it's about 50/50 there's something there. Damn.
At this point I've convinced myself I do indeed have something growing in there. I do a lot of research but I don't tend to dwell on Google searches, mostly just the major charities and organisations for reliable information. This forum is an excellent source of information and you should all be very proud of your contributions. While convinced I do have something, I'm re-assured that it's going to be OK actually as it's early and hard to find and contained.
Last week it's back into hospital for the second biopsy. Things not as smooth as the first time - minor problems after the operation and struggled a bit more to recover but nothing serious. I have a bunch of mates who are Anaesthetists and ran into a couple of them throughout the morning who were very shocked to see me there! Then there's the week of waiting which as everyone knows is definitely the worst bit. Reading other people's stories here made a very big difference to getting through it and preparing for bad news.
Then today I got the call - you do not have PC! The pathologist report says absolutely no evidence of anything benign or malignant. Literally the best possible result you could dream of. So it's back to regular PSA tests and the Urologist will set a threshold for when I may need to go back see him but he's otherwise done with me.
So that's my story of my brush with PC. Again I re-iterate that this is not intended to be anything other than giving back to this community with a tale that many people mentioned was missing from the archives. I probably won't be an active member going forward - I'll be going back to Reddit to look at stranger's mobile phones and Pokemon no doubt - but I have been genuinely touched by this community and the people in it. I have a new found respect for those who are going through this journey and a newly acquired thorough understanding of the disease in general. I'll definitely be giving donations to related charities and following the news in hopes of a breakthrough in treatment. I may very well end up back here with a more serious problem one day - there's no certainty that two biopsies didn't miss something - and as men we all have to deal with this in some way one day.
Genuinely - best of luck to everyone!
Benno