Symptom-free Prostate Cancer
I could be plain lucky or this could happen again.
I was a fit 65-year-old enjoying life with regular tennis to keep me fit. Initially I had no symptoms. When I had had a couple of pints I got up to pee in the night but the rest of the time, unbroken sleep. no discomfort and unfortunately no mates saying ‘go and get a test’ and no regular screening.
One night, out of the blue I had an intense pain- that felt like it was in the gut - but later established to be my back. This was the Prostate cancer secondaries on my backbone rubbing together. Blissfully ignorant of the real cause, I went to the doctor who diagnosed ‘kidney stones’. The three month wait for an ultrasound scan to find nothing was interspersed every week or so with the intense back pain. I would hang on the wardrobe for half the night, writhing around as the only way to relieve it.
Back to the doctors - ‘it must be an ulcer’ and another three months wait to come for a colonoscopy. I could not wait, went private and duly had the scan. Happily the colorectal consultant was more perceptive than my GP. He told me he had found no ulcer but looked at the X-ray of my backbone and asked ‘haven’t you had a PSA test’. He immediately arranged it and rang me back at 7 on a friday night (brownie point there) to announce my PSA was 1200 and arranged an appointment next monday with an oncologist. I looked up PSA levels and presumed 1200 must be some different units…. It wasn’t!
From there it was the NHS at its best. In quick succession a biopsy and outline of options. In the process the oncology consultant offered me the current ‘Stampede’ Prostate Cancer trial. It offered computer chosen options of a range of treatments to allow comparison of results. As I had no idea what or how to choose - this seemed as good as any so ‘yes please’.
The computer chose the only drug only option. Abiraterone ( a new drug) with the well proven Prostap. (referred to by the consultant, charmingly, as ‘chemical castration). Sarah the wonderful oncology specialist nurse arranged the medicines and other support.
As part of the assessment I had a bone scan - which showed secondary cancers everywhere from my skull to my ankles including heart and lungs. Happily no-one said ‘you will be dead in a few months’, but it didn’t take a lot of extrapolation to work out that my chances were not rosy.
After the flurry of activity I was surprised that I had no further back pain attacks. With the three month visits to oncology my PSA was substantially reducing and six months after the first bone scan I had another.
Apparently Sarah went to collect the scan result , looked at them and took them back as she thought she had the wrong set. All the secondaries had gone leaving only traces in the lymph nodes.. My PSA levels were in single figures and heading for the zero where they have been for the last 12 years.
I still have regular PSA tests and am currently off all the Prostate meds to see if my Testosterone levels will rebuild. I can’t say the medicines did not affect my life. I put on weight and grew the breasts that I was promised originally. My general energy levels have been reduced and my sex drive had its wheels removed, a spin-off from the lack of testosterone. But ‘fat or dead’ isn’t much of a decision. .
I saw my GP some time after the original diagnosis. He explained why GP’s don’t ‘offer’ PSA tests and then expressed surprise that another of his patients had a PSA over 1000. I didn’t comment.
I have several friends who have had prostate cancer. Two of them have died. I think I am looked on as a ‘bit of a nag’ for pushing all the men I know to have a PSA test. No apologies!. We need regular screening!!
Pete Yates December 2025