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PSA 7, age 39 - stressed!

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User
Posted 01 May 2025 at 13:33

Hi all

I am 39, my PSA after a routine check was 7 - I had the blood test because my father died from Prostate Cancer years ago so obv have a clear family history

I immediately went into panic mode and to be honest i've not been great since I heard I was referred on 2WW for an MRI - no retest PSA, no DRE, nothing just a call to say I've been referred for an MRI. 

I have partner aged 34 and a 2 year old so I should be in prime of life enjoying myself but this is just hanging over me, I can't stop thinking about worst case scenarios. I've been to GP for some zopiclone sleeping pills it's that bad, and have lost 4kg from not eating in a week. I've been having water and meal replacement shakes because I just can't eat. My partner suggested getting some CBT therapy and maybe try getting beta blockers or something because I just can't see an end to it and can't function properly due to the anxiety. Was almost vomiting this morning from the stress. My partner is very supportive I've been ringing her/messaging her with my worries and when I start to "spiral" and she does calm me down but she can't reassure me I don't have cancer. Her viewpoint is that if it is cancer it's probably very early and very treatable. She even said if I need surgery etc she is fully in support of that, she is a "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" type of person. I wish I could be but I just can't get out of this panic/anxiety that's set in. 

I had my MRI this morning in and out 30 mins, went up to Urology hoping they might say "we'll call you later with results" but they couldn't reassure me at all when results might be. I then went to see a private Urologist, he was great, he did a DRE and said that prostate felt enlarged but regular, and that this was good. He also said if there's anything cancerous it would most likely be contained in the prostate but he won't know until he sees my MRI. He did say he will try and take a look at it today as he works at the NHS dept I go to also and is working there today and tomorrow. Was v grateful for this. 

He said PSA could be high because that's just the norm for me, it could be because prostate is enlarged, it could be cancer - obviously he can't say. He didn't find anything concerning from examining me but did say he could tell I was very stressed and worried. I just know I am going to be even more on the ceiling if he rings me and says I need a biopsy. My partner is genuinely worried as to how I will cope. I haven't been out, done anything, seen friends etc for a week and I can't muster the desire to go out for the day or do anything I just feel in limbo. 

 

 

 

 

 

User
Posted 01 May 2025 at 14:23
It’s a horrible feeling, I over think about my husbands situation so understand.

Infection and enlargement can raise PSA so it may not be the worst. Try keep busy to minimise the opportunity for over thinking. It is a rollercoaster and awaiting tests and results isn’t nice but if you can see fiends etc hopefully it will be a distraction until you get results.

One day at a time. Best wishes.

User
Posted 09 May 2025 at 11:48

Hi everyone thanks for your replies @idk2 I am not sure how he could tell the size, I suppose a guess from feeling? I have had a call with some MRI results it wasn't a clinician it was a lady from the booking team. She said results are classed as reassuring with no change between the scan with and without contrast. I can only presume this is the best result possible?! They want to see me for a "short appointment" next week to discuss why my PSA was high - infection etc. I am very relieved. Hope this will be the end of it or at least something minor to not have to worry about so much

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User
Posted 01 May 2025 at 14:23
It’s a horrible feeling, I over think about my husbands situation so understand.

Infection and enlargement can raise PSA so it may not be the worst. Try keep busy to minimise the opportunity for over thinking. It is a rollercoaster and awaiting tests and results isn’t nice but if you can see fiends etc hopefully it will be a distraction until you get results.

One day at a time. Best wishes.

User
Posted 02 May 2025 at 07:15

The MRI will tell you much more. Although something felt on a DRE may be suggestive of cancer , not finding anything on the DRE does not concur the opposite. Many men, including my husband with a normal DRE on completion of subsequent tests are found to have cancer.

At your age cancer is a possibility but another cause for a raised PSA more probable. Sadly there is nothing you can do but to wait for your MRI to rule in the need for further tests or rule out.

I think the advice to try and keep active and busy is good advice. I know it is hard but locking yourself away physically and emotionally will only send you on a downhill spiral and will bring you no closer to the answers you desperately want. Your private urologist who is better equipped than anyone on this site  has said IF anything is found it is likely to be contained, so that is good news. He also gave you all the more probable causes for your raised PSA, the norm for you, enlarged prostate etc.  Also remember that IF is a very big IF

User
Posted 02 May 2025 at 11:34

I've nothing to add because others have said it already but just wanted to let you know that we've all been through this waiting period, it does end, you'll know what's happening and you'll feel so much better. Just battle through take some exercise which is so good for mind and body and be aware that if it is PCa it'll probably be eminently treatable. 

Good luck and keep us informed...

User
Posted 06 May 2025 at 05:02

Have they checked things like your prostate volume or considered prostatitis as a potential cause? PSA can spike for all sorts of reasons, including something as simple as recent sexual activity, bike riding, or a mild infection. Not to dismiss your fears, but those can be just as likely

User
Posted 07 May 2025 at 09:19
Hi all thanks so much for your responses, I really appreciate them. I have had a DRE and it says "60g" prostate, benign and non-tender

I have not heard from the MRI yet. I rang the medical secretary and she wouldn't tell me anything, not sure if this is a bad thing?

User
Posted 07 May 2025 at 10:37

For a man your age that is quite a large prostate, I would say approx twice or slightly more than the normal size and this may in part account for your raised PSA. My husband’s prostate weighed 85g with seminal vesicles but he is a lot older than you, he was told this was a large prostate.

I am not sure how they can give weight of prostate from a physical examination but the MRI allows radiologist to calculate CC.

User
Posted 09 May 2025 at 11:48

Hi everyone thanks for your replies @idk2 I am not sure how he could tell the size, I suppose a guess from feeling? I have had a call with some MRI results it wasn't a clinician it was a lady from the booking team. She said results are classed as reassuring with no change between the scan with and without contrast. I can only presume this is the best result possible?! They want to see me for a "short appointment" next week to discuss why my PSA was high - infection etc. I am very relieved. Hope this will be the end of it or at least something minor to not have to worry about so much

User
Posted 09 May 2025 at 13:32

Great news. Would be brilliant news for anyone but it would have been devastating given your age if it had been cancer. The odds were always in your favour. Now try and forget about this nightmare. 

 
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