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Posted 27 Apr 2026 at 11:11

I wanted to share my experience leading up to and post biopsies..

November 2025 I have a PSA score of 35. I'm referred for a bone scan (this is clear), MRI scan (shows a shadow). I'm referred for a biopsy. In the meantime I have another PSA test and the score drops to 22. I have symptoms of a UTI for about 10 days (urge to pee, go to the toilet more times than normal) but my urine diptest is negative for infection. After 10 days I'm back to normal, so UTI is suspected.

On the day of the first biopsy I insist on another PSA test; my reasoning is that if the score continues to drop and they find nothing then this is good; if the score goes up and they find nothing then they may have missed something. 

3rd PSA score drops to 15. The biopsies return one sample with low grade cancer (Gleeson 3:3) but not in the shadow detected in the MRI. A template biopsy is recommended in case they missed something in the first biopsy. A 4th PSA is carried out leading up to the template biopsy and the score drops further to 7.5. 

Template Biopsy: 54 samples are taken and one sample shows low grade cancer (Gleeson 3:3). I'm relieved that no further treatment is required, just monitoring. The cancer is not expected to cause issues for 20+ years. 

I had a combination of NHS and private treatment and I cannot fault the care and professionalism of all those involved. A big thank you.

Following the first biopsy, sexual function returned to normal after about a month.

As of posting, It's about a month since the template biopsy and the recovery process is taking longer. I would say my erection strength is about 85% of normal and short lived. I have not been able to ejaculate for the last two weeks but did twice a week after the template biopsy; I would seem to have gone downhill in the last 2 weeks but I'm hopeful this will improve over the next month.

I'll come back and report further when/if things improve

I hope this helps anyone going through this experience. If you have any questions or similar experience that you can share then I would be happy to help and listen.

Good luck in your journey.

Edited by member 27 Apr 2026 at 21:41  | Reason: Typos and further clarity

User
Posted 27 Apr 2026 at 11:11

I wanted to share my experience leading up to and post biopsies..

November 2025 I have a PSA score of 35. I'm referred for a bone scan (this is clear), MRI scan (shows a shadow). I'm referred for a biopsy. In the meantime I have another PSA test and the score drops to 22. I have symptoms of a UTI for about 10 days (urge to pee, go to the toilet more times than normal) but my urine diptest is negative for infection. After 10 days I'm back to normal, so UTI is suspected.

On the day of the first biopsy I insist on another PSA test; my reasoning is that if the score continues to drop and they find nothing then this is good; if the score goes up and they find nothing then they may have missed something. 

3rd PSA score drops to 15. The biopsies return one sample with low grade cancer (Gleeson 3:3) but not in the shadow detected in the MRI. A template biopsy is recommended in case they missed something in the first biopsy. A 4th PSA is carried out leading up to the template biopsy and the score drops further to 7.5. 

Template Biopsy: 54 samples are taken and one sample shows low grade cancer (Gleeson 3:3). I'm relieved that no further treatment is required, just monitoring. The cancer is not expected to cause issues for 20+ years. 

I had a combination of NHS and private treatment and I cannot fault the care and professionalism of all those involved. A big thank you.

Following the first biopsy, sexual function returned to normal after about a month.

As of posting, It's about a month since the template biopsy and the recovery process is taking longer. I would say my erection strength is about 85% of normal and short lived. I have not been able to ejaculate for the last two weeks but did twice a week after the template biopsy; I would seem to have gone downhill in the last 2 weeks but I'm hopeful this will improve over the next month.

I'll come back and report further when/if things improve

I hope this helps anyone going through this experience. If you have any questions or similar experience that you can share then I would be happy to help and listen.

Good luck in your journey.

Edited by member 27 Apr 2026 at 21:41  | Reason: Typos and further clarity

User
Posted 27 Apr 2026 at 12:09

Thanks for the info. In particular how high your PSA was and then how fast it dropped. We get many people making a first time post who have just had a high PSA and think they definitely have cancer (as may have been your thoughts). Being able to cite real examples of high PSA not leading to 'significant' cancer, will help others.

Naturally I'm sorry to hear post biopsy recovery is slow, but hopefully you will get there. Also it is good that you are now on the cancer radar with a low grade cancer, if it does advance it will presumably get treated long before it becomes dangerous.

Dave

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User
Posted 27 Apr 2026 at 12:09

Thanks for the info. In particular how high your PSA was and then how fast it dropped. We get many people making a first time post who have just had a high PSA and think they definitely have cancer (as may have been your thoughts). Being able to cite real examples of high PSA not leading to 'significant' cancer, will help others.

Naturally I'm sorry to hear post biopsy recovery is slow, but hopefully you will get there. Also it is good that you are now on the cancer radar with a low grade cancer, if it does advance it will presumably get treated long before it becomes dangerous.

Dave

User
Posted 27 Apr 2026 at 12:50

Hi, Macca

Welcome to the forum, mate. For the same reasons as Dave, thank you posting.

Good luck with your further monitoring. 👍

User
Posted 28 Apr 2026 at 13:54

We do suspect biopsies have an impact on erectile function from the PROTECT trial. Men on Active Surveillance for a long time found a reduction in erectile function compared with men who didn't have cancer, and that's most likely due to multiple biopsies, although the effect is very rarely noticed in a single biopsy, so possibly small but cumulative. However, you have some healing to go yet most likely. It might be worth asking for some Tadalafil for a few months, which besides improving erections, and help improve blood flow down there even when you haven't got an erection and that helps things heal. The usual doses for this are 5mg daily low dose, or 2 x 20mg/week. You might need to ask your consultant as GPs can be reluctant to prescribe it.

It seems likely your PSA was significantly raised for some other reason, as a raised PSA due to cancer doesn't drop significantly other than through treatment.

 
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