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User
Posted 31 Jan 2021 at 16:30

Hello to everyone. After several months of frequent urination that worsened over time and due to daughter pressure I had  a PSA test 2 weeks ago. The Doctor phoned me the following day and made an appointment for me the next day as my PSA was 64. I have a scan booked for Wednesday. What may I expect? How soon after would there be if a biopsy was required?  

User
Posted 03 Feb 2021 at 13:16
If they were certain it was advanced, they wouldn't bother with a biopsy but would go straight to the bone scan. The fact that you're having the full suite of diagnostic procedures strongly suggests that it's all very much up in the air, still. Don't assume the worse - wait for the diagnostic process to be completed and then you'll know where things stand.

Best wishes,

Chris

User
Posted 03 Feb 2021 at 18:13
Don’t waste your money on any more quack remedies, the drugs to help with urgency / frequency are Tamulosin and / or Finasteride from your doctor.

And don’t assume the worst, as a PSA like yours can sometimes be down to a prostate infection.

Now you will have an agonising wait for your MRI, and then another wait to hear the results of the scan. If there is any suspicion of cancer there will be a biopsy - another wait - and finally a consultation (maybe by phone these days).

So you can look to a several week wait before you know what’s what, but you may console yourself that if you do indeed have prostate cancer, it is usually slow-growing, so a delay of a few months before the start of treatment will be neither here nor there. Nevertheless, you will be on a cancer fast-track, so the NHS will be going as fast as they can under the present difficult circumstances

Best of luck.

Cheers, John.

User
Posted 06 Feb 2021 at 18:47
There is a lot of useful information on Message Boards, particularly this one but patients should always put what their clinicans say above anything on Boards and remember that individual experiences related may be quite different to their own. PCa is a complex disease of many types and often with varying results from treatment.
Barry
User
Posted 06 Feb 2021 at 19:51
Sounds as though the diagnostic process is proceeding apace, which is good. People generally feel much better about things once the result's through - waiting for test results is never easy.

Best wishes,

Chris

User
Posted 06 Feb 2021 at 20:36

I don't remember much about the tests I had but I do remember me 'peeing in a bucket' and having a biopsy, then being operated on to have my Prostate removed by the Da Vinci Robot in April 2015. It worked for me and have never had a problem since.

User
Posted 15 Feb 2021 at 10:28

I did and it wasn't a problem

User
Posted 15 Feb 2021 at 15:46

I normally use a motorbike for hospital appointments as the parking is easier. On biopsy day I decided to take a taxi, just in case. I think I would have been fine in the car, probably would have been fine on a motorbike but didn't fancy taking the risk.

Dave

User
Posted 15 Feb 2021 at 16:28
J had his biopsy on the way to work - driving was fine.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 15 Feb 2021 at 21:40


I headed in to the one stop shop on 1st July 2020 following a 54 ng/ml PSA test the week before, and in three hours underwent a DRE, MRI scan, and a Biopsy.

I left with a four week supply of bicalutamide tablets, a T3 prostate cancer diagnosis, and the promise of Bone and CT scans in the very near future.

I was advised not to drive myself to the one stop shop.

The scans were both done on the same day 10 days later. Full marks to the NHS for efficiency.

Edited by member 17 Feb 2021 at 09:01  | Reason: Correct a spelling mistake

User
Posted 24 Feb 2021 at 16:46

I think wait for your full diagnosis first - the multi-disciplinary team will look at your case in detail and determine which treatments are available and suitable to you. Carlisle may only offer treatments that are available in Carkisle; you can then do some research and if there are treatments that interest you and available at Newcastle, you can ask for a referral.

We self funded for private treatment; it is nice to have a private room and a coffee machine at clinics but it cost a fortune and the treatment failed so J had to have salvage treatment 2 years later. The usual aftercare and support is not always available on the NHS for patients who go private. Lots of things to think about but get your full diagnostics first.

On the flip side, my dad paid £25k 23 years ago for nerve sparing surgery (which wasn't available on the NHS then) and he has only had a recurrence in the last 2-3 years 

Edited by member 24 Feb 2021 at 16:49  | Reason: Not specified

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 24 Feb 2021 at 17:27
And I had private surgery for my kidney cancer but DIDN’T have a private room. I was in an NHS urology ward in an NHS hospital, because the private hospital didn’t have the Da Vinci robot. Private treatment doesn’t necessarily equate to more comfortable rooms, etc.

Chris

User
Posted 10 Mar 2021 at 20:33
Don't believe the 5 year survival thing - the urologist sounds like a bundle of laughs. We have men here with your diagnosis who are still living a good life 10 years later and in a few cases, 15 years or more. I hope that the urologist has now referred you to an oncologist?
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

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User
Posted 31 Jan 2021 at 20:05
Quite often they do the biopsy same day depending on what they immediately see on scan ! Depends on your area. I had both done same day aged 48 ! Best of luck on the day !

If life gives you lemons , then make lemonade

User
Posted 31 Jan 2021 at 20:25

I think my biopsy was about two weeks after MRI. I'd be surprised if they did it the same day as you may have to take antibiotics or have anaesthetic (probably local) so there may be issues about driving home etc.

It can be very different in different areas. 

Dave

User
Posted 31 Jan 2021 at 20:52
Do you mean what can you expect from the scan? It'll be an MRI scan. Have you had one of those before?

Best wishes,

Chris

User
Posted 31 Jan 2021 at 21:37
It will be my first MRI scan. I guess it will show if there is a tumour and its broad characteristics and the biopsy will indicate its scale and options / nature of recommended treatment, if any.
User
Posted 31 Jan 2021 at 21:54

Lying very still for about 20 minutes. More noise than you would expect. Probably an injection of "contrast". For me about a week later I was called in to be told the results that the image showed a suspicious area which was just beyond the prostate and a biopsy was recommended. 

I don't think the MRI can ever be conclusive for cancer, I think all it shows is areas with different type of soft tissue, and if some tissue is somewhere it shouldn't be it needs investigating, which is where the biopsy comes in. 

Edited by member 31 Jan 2021 at 22:27  | Reason: Not specified

Dave

User
Posted 31 Jan 2021 at 23:44

Ian,

As said, for the scan you just lay still inside the MRI scanner. I think mine took 40 mins. It's completely painless, but they may want to use a Gadolinium contrast dye, in which case a machine will inject it towards the end of the scan (they'll tell you when it's going to happen, but it's painless). If you have the contrast dye, drink lots of water immediately afterwards so you pee it out as quickly as possible.

It's very unlikely the scan will be analysed while you're there. What usually happens nowadays is you'll get an invite to a one-stop-shop up to a week later. The invite is usually sent out before the scan is analysed, so it can't tell you anything.

You'll also get an invite for nuclear bone scan. For that, you get given an injection, told to go and relax and drink water and pee for a couple of hours, and then come back to be photographed with a gamma-ray camera, which I think took around a minute. One word of warning, try not to pee on your trousers, as it will make them light up bright white in the images!

At the one-stop-shop, they'll have the MRI scan result, and decide what to do next, such as a biopsy if appropriate. They try to do all the diagnostics on that visit, so expect to stay in the hospital for the rest of the day.

In know in a local NHS hospital, they've moved the one-stop-shop to a local COVID-free private hospital. COVID may disrupt some of the normal timings and orderings.

User
Posted 01 Feb 2021 at 09:34
For an MRI scan you lie down on a table which then pulls you inside the scanner, which is basically a hollow tube with you in the middle. It's VERY noisy, so you'll be given headphones to wear both to reduce the noise and allow the operator to give you instructions. You're given a "panic button" to hold so that if you feel uncomfortable you can press it and the scan will end (people with claustrophobia can have problems with MRI scanners). Basically you just lie still for half an hour or so, and that's it. You won't feel anything.

Best wishes,

Chris

User
Posted 01 Feb 2021 at 09:37
Not everyone gets a nuclear bone scan, Andy. I had a full-body "skeletal" MRI scan instead. Apparently it's considered more sensitive for picking up mets than the nuclear scan. Probably depends where you live and what equipment is available.

Chris

User
Posted 01 Feb 2021 at 10:20

I felt a little uncomfortable in the scanner. I have since read up on MRI induced vertigo, not all people get it, and maybe I am more susceptible as I have hemochromatosis and a high iron content in my body. 

Dave

User
Posted 01 Feb 2021 at 14:18
Many thanks for all the information and advice.

If you don't mind I will chronicle my experience so that anyone at the same stage in the process can gain an on-going indication of the process.

As I noted previously, my need to pee started several months ago but was not a great issue when I was on holiday in August - I jusr made sure my bladder was empty before going out. However, I got my first "natural" remedy in September ( A.Vogel Prostasan Saw Palmetto 30) but that did not reduce urination pattern. I then bought Solgar Gold Specific Prostate Support Cápsulas vegetales which initially worked and in late December I ordered Prostagenix (expensive) from the USA. That is still en route. Meantime my Dr said not to use natural remedies and prescribed tamsulosin, which is effective.

The Dr did ask me if I had any pain in my pelvis or arms. For a couple of years I have felt occasional aching in my hips that I put down to arthritis or rheumatism. I have suffered from gout over a number of years. Despite taking allupurinol full time for the past 12 months until December I had constant gout attacks - some severe in terms of pain - despite the uric acid being down to to normal. Colchocine aided that but predisolone (highly effective ) was needed twice. I did google gout / prostate and there has been some research but it was too complex for me to understand

Once again, thankyou.

Ian

User
Posted 01 Feb 2021 at 14:19
p.s. I am 67
User
Posted 03 Feb 2021 at 11:21
It turned out that it was consultation and not a scan. But surgeon did do DRE and found prostate hard and concluded it is cancer. Within 2 weeks or so I will have MRI and biopsy and possibly bone scan. From what he was saying he implied that it was advanced i.e. if any pains in legs etc to go straight to emergency.
User
Posted 03 Feb 2021 at 13:16
If they were certain it was advanced, they wouldn't bother with a biopsy but would go straight to the bone scan. The fact that you're having the full suite of diagnostic procedures strongly suggests that it's all very much up in the air, still. Don't assume the worse - wait for the diagnostic process to be completed and then you'll know where things stand.

Best wishes,

Chris

User
Posted 03 Feb 2021 at 18:13
Don’t waste your money on any more quack remedies, the drugs to help with urgency / frequency are Tamulosin and / or Finasteride from your doctor.

And don’t assume the worst, as a PSA like yours can sometimes be down to a prostate infection.

Now you will have an agonising wait for your MRI, and then another wait to hear the results of the scan. If there is any suspicion of cancer there will be a biopsy - another wait - and finally a consultation (maybe by phone these days).

So you can look to a several week wait before you know what’s what, but you may console yourself that if you do indeed have prostate cancer, it is usually slow-growing, so a delay of a few months before the start of treatment will be neither here nor there. Nevertheless, you will be on a cancer fast-track, so the NHS will be going as fast as they can under the present difficult circumstances

Best of luck.

Cheers, John.

User
Posted 04 Feb 2021 at 13:51
MRI scan scheduled for next Tuesday. I feel well and positive ... so long may it last!
User
Posted 05 Feb 2021 at 09:03
Just received appointment for whole body bone scan on February 15.
User
Posted 06 Feb 2021 at 17:09
NHS now being efficient - biopsy scheduled for February 23. I don't know whether to be happy or worried! But I guess it is better to get uncertainty out of he way and move on with whatever treatment is needed.

I ordered the tool kit on Wednesday and it arrived Friday. Again - excellent. The Surgeon suggested I do not read message boards - bt to date it has been a great help. Thank you

User
Posted 06 Feb 2021 at 18:47
There is a lot of useful information on Message Boards, particularly this one but patients should always put what their clinicans say above anything on Boards and remember that individual experiences related may be quite different to their own. PCa is a complex disease of many types and often with varying results from treatment.
Barry
User
Posted 06 Feb 2021 at 19:51
Sounds as though the diagnostic process is proceeding apace, which is good. People generally feel much better about things once the result's through - waiting for test results is never easy.

Best wishes,

Chris

 
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