I'm interested in conversations about and I want to talk about
Know exactly what you want?
Show search

Notification

Error


Bone scan dilemma

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 11:54

Hi. I have recently been diagnosed with Gleason 4+3 cancer after nearly three years of monitoring, including three MRI scans and two biopsies, the first of which was ‘clear’. I am currently being told about the various treatment options. I had a bone scan and was told the results at the hospital in a meeting with an oncologist and a surgeon. They seemed to think it was fine - a bit of arthritis here and there- but mention was made of a small ‘uptake’ on the pubic bone which they thought was unlikely to be cancer. Therefore, they thought it was localised. I asked if that area should be the subject of further scans. The oncologist seemed unconvinced. The surgeon said I should have a PET scan if I was anxious about it. I asked if it would delay treatment and he said it would by a few weeks, but he too thought it was unlikely to be spread. I don’t think a further scan would have been discussed if I had not brought it up. Obviously, i am not sure whether to ask for a further scan or not. I don’t want one just for peace of mind. I am assuming that if it has spread, then treatment options would change, so I don’t want to have unnecessary ones now and find out bad news later, but equally, I don’t know whether, say, having a prostatectomy would be beneficial even if it has spread. I have another meeting with a focal therapy doctor this week and will ask them, but I wondered if anyone on here had had any similar experiences, or just opinions?

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 13:41

Hi Tony 

I had exactly the same issue. When they eventually discovered, during AS,  that my disease had progressed, they gave me a bone scan. 

The surgeon had a look at it and was a bit concerned about some 'lytic areas' in pelvis and legs. They later put this down to arthritis or something quite similar.

At least, whilst they were faffing about with whether it was or was not cancer, it cured my constipation. I was sh*tting myself. 🙂

Edited by member 30 Jun 2025 at 13:42  | Reason: Typo

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 14:28

Hi Adrian. Thanks for the reply. You get the feeling that each time they do a test there is bound to be something that is not clear cut. 

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 14:37

Exactly mate. The deeper they dig, the more they find. I've often felt like a very old car going for an MOT. I just scrape through but with hundreds of advisories. 🙂

 

Edited by member 30 Jun 2025 at 14:39  | Reason: Typo

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 14:56

Good comparison. We’re you ever given the choice of having extra investigations or did they just think about it a bit more before deciding on what it was?

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 15:09
If you have the RP and it has spread then having the RP is still beneficial to your long term survival.
User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 15:16

Thanks Francij. I am assuming they don’t offer RP if it has spread? If it is still of benefit, why don’t they offer it, assuming I am correct? This is part of my dilemma. If RP is good, then, perhaps I shouldn’t sabotage it by looking for a further scan. But, if it is not good once it has spread, then I could be having problems like incontinence that were not needed if I had gone for further tests that proved it had spread.

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 15:37

I'd get the op done. If your psa is still detectable afterwards you'll have more investigation and perhaps salvage RT. If it's just one stray they'll hoover it.  Having the mothership removed is said to reduce the rate of development. It sounds logical if you remove a perhaps 10mm lesion and have only a 1mm one left.  Sometimes layman logic isn't the full story though.

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 16:10

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
We’re you ever given the choice of having extra investigations or did they just think about it a bit more before deciding on what it was?

If you read my profile our circumstances are are quite similar. By the time they did my surgery, I was Gleason 8 (3+5), later upped to 9(4+5), with capsular breach, staging T3a. During my 'has it spread to the bones' dilemma, I was constantly told with a PSA of only 7 it was highly unlikely. I believe you're also in a similar range.

I had RARP, and two years later my PSA is still undetectable. As others have said, I'd get on with the op, and if there are any problems later, deal with them then.

Edited by member 30 Jun 2025 at 16:11  | Reason: Typo

User
Posted 30 Jun 2025 at 16:19

Thanks to all. You are kind of saying things I was hoping the medics would articulate, but maybe they are wary.

 
Forum Jump  
©2025 Prostate Cancer UK