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I just received a PSA result and i'm so worried

User
Posted 09 Dec 2024 at 22:15

Hi Again

Just for some further info for you My husband was virtually continent  straight away only needing a pad for leakage coughing sneezing, he had a few minor dribbles early just because he wasn’t near a toilet, he wore a pad until this month I think for piece of mind in case of an accident! He now dosnt have any problems coughing etc. He did have one accident the week of his surgery. That’s been his experience. 

With regard to pain he did have some discomfort for the first week not terrible but enough to want painkillers but it was short lived. 

With regard to erections his back story is that he had the prosectomy and one side of the nerve bundles taken. The surgeon said he thought he would start to get natural erections again after time and indeed he has but he also had the aid of a device that he has used with I think has helped in that direction! A friend of his also had prostectomy at similar time but no nerves taken and he has had little or no change to his sex life. 


It is true that a DRE dosnt always pick up as my husbands was also found to be u remarkable but others do have cancer picked up this way. 

I know it’s hard to not worry when you suffer from anxiety but reading forums you do normally hear the worse end of scenarios as people who either find they don’t have cancer or get over it we’ll tend not to be posting much about their experiences. 

take care 

 

User
Posted 10 Dec 2024 at 00:28

Just to add to the above post about people having positive experiences not posting.

I had a PSA of 3.9 completely out of the blue on a routine health check. The second test six weeks later was 4.8.

That triggered an MRI scan which found two lesions the lickert score being 4 out of 5.

That led to a transrectal biopsy a couple of weeks ago.

I managed not to get too scared about what might come next if the results of the biopsy were bad. I did try to prepare myself for bad news because things did look quite bleak from my point of view; significantly worse than your single raised PSA result.

But I didn't dwell on how a cancer diagnosis and treatment would affect my life. There simply is no point in doing so until you have confirmation of cancer being present. 

I understand you saying you are a worrier but you really are not doing yourself any favours by looking too far into the future, to things that may never happen. Your second PSA test may be below the threshold, an MRI scan may show no issues with your prostate,  a biopsy may find no cancer, even if it does the cancer may be one that can be treated or even not require treatment at all.

When my letter arrived this morning with the results of my biopsy it simply said no sign of cancer had been found and that I was being discharged. 

I was obviously relieved, but can you imagine how I would have felt if I had expended so much emotional energy on worrying needlessly.

Many people have advised you to try and take a step back, see what has happened and deal with it rationally. Please try to take on board what they are saying, you really do not need to torture yourself at this stage of the game. Stop looking at the nasty experiences of others and reading too much into your psa score. 

There's a way to go yet before things get really stressful, so do yourself a big favour and save your energy for if things develop. But there is more of a chance that this will be nothing, really the numbers are on your side.

 

 

 

User
Posted 14 Dec 2024 at 20:30
An update:

I got my second PSA test result: still a bit high (4.6) but lower than the first (5.3). I will discuss the results with my urologist and see what he wants to do next, but right now I feel a bit less anxious.

User
Posted 18 Dec 2024 at 02:40

The urologist find that the PSA is still too high for my age (especially relative to the normal value 2 years ago), so:

- a new PSA test at the end of January

- an MRI in February-March

 which means 3 months to keep worrying...

User
Posted 18 Dec 2024 at 04:14

Hi, yes your psa is a little  high,  but relatively low, if they were really  concerned they would  bring it forward, and you would be having  a biopsy I imagine they are giving  it a few months to get an accurate  reading  etc.

Even having an mri is not conclusive they are all indicators,  unfortunately a biopsy is the only definitive answer. I'm nor sure if you have  medical insurance? If so then a psa and mri would  be done in days.

Keep the faith. 

User
Posted 18 Dec 2024 at 04:30

Thank you for your reply,

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Even having an mri is not conclusive they are all indicators,  unfortunately a biopsy is the only definitive answer.

The urologist feels the PSA is not high enough to do a biopsy right away.

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

I'm nor sure if you have  medical insurance? If so then a psa and mri would  be done in days.

He wants to wait 6 weeks before doing another PSA test (3rd one); as for the MRI, I could decide to pay (about 1000$) and do it in a private clinic or wait until February-March and do it at the hospital.

User
Posted 18 Dec 2024 at 07:38

You could spend alot of money on a MRI but I'd be following your consultants advice.

Join the rest of us at this time of year, and waste your hard earned cash on unwanted Xmas gifts.🙂

Joking apart. 

You obviously suffer from anxiety issues but try to remember that:

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” 

User
Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 06:00

I wish I could follow your advice about anxiety.

My 3rd PSA test is next week now and I have been thinking about the possible results almost every day in the last month; playing out the different scenarios: did it stay the same? did it continue to go down? maybe the 2nd test was an outlier? did it go up?

And then there's the wait for the MRI, at least another month.

Even though the DRE was normal and the urologist said the risk of cancer was low, there are days when I can only think about what will I do if it is cancer.

 

User
Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 09:11

Hello again mate.

Your anxiety issues seem worse than your prostate problems. Most of us worry about PSA results and how a unfavorable  results could affect our lives, however, your stress levels seem abnormally high.

Are you on any medication or had and sort of counselling to try and reduce the anguish?

User
Posted 23 Jan 2025 at 10:38

I agree, speak to your doctor about, anxiety  to see if he / she can help, this is a long process,  you don't  need additional issues, I'm sure you will be fine

User
Posted 29 Jan 2025 at 17:54

Sorry about my last post (a bit ranting). As I said before, I'm in this alone and sometimes the pressure is too much.

In any case, I have the results now and my PSA is still elevated (back to 5). So not really good as it never went down during 2-3 months, but at least it didn't increase. Next step will be the MRI.

User
Posted 29 Jan 2025 at 18:17

It's normal to be anxious, think everyone on here would agree. If caught early the prognosis is pretty good. I had prostatectomy in 2016, PSA undetectable until September 2023, only reached 0.2 in November 2024. Had a PSMA PET scan and positive mets on a pelvic lymph nodes, so being lined up for radiotherapy, February 2025. It was a shock when PSA rises, but I believe it's the C word that freaks us all. I have started getting my head around it thinking along the lines of being a chronic illness that will need monitoring and treatment. 

User
Posted 30 Jan 2025 at 04:08

I'm sorry  to hear, I'm just on no 15 of 20 radiotherapy sessions,  and have met loads of blokes having  treatment . Some have had prostrate out, and now need radiotherapy some have low psa readings,  someone  has it at 160 but we are all having radiotherapy. The underlying thing  I have noticed is to stay positive. Yes it's very  worrying,  ct scans, mri, bone scans, biopsy etc but it's not painful it's a necessity. 

Genuinely I think the hardest part to deal with is the length  of time the process takes. I wanted answers in days and treatment immediately but, it took time. I saw 3 consultants in total they all said the same thing, it's not a fast cancer, it's slow, thus they can take their time to find the right solution. 

It has to be hard to deal with this on your own, can you join a support  group  in your area, talking  about your fears to like minded men, does help.

Great to hear from you on line, stay strong .

User
Posted 22 Mar 2025 at 02:30

After quite a long time, I finally got my MRI results. While I still need to talk with my doctor, the results seem mostly encouraging:

- prostate is indeed big: 78 ml (so PSA Density is 0.06)

- light T2 hypo signal, but probably due to chronic prostatitis

- no obvious suspect focal lesions

- no PIRADS lesion 4 or 5

 

Edited by member 22 Mar 2025 at 20:15  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 22 Mar 2025 at 07:57

Great result, mate. I'm very pleased for you.👍

User
Posted 25 Mar 2025 at 22:18

Fantastic now think about a peaceful nights sleep with no worry! If have anything like this in the future remember things can work out just fine and don’t waste any further life worrying about things you don’t yet know! 
Good Luck 

User
Posted 30 Mar 2025 at 03:31

Another update.

I spoke with the urologist, and because of the volume of the prostate (78 ml), he's not worried about cancer, even with the elevated PSA (5). However since the prostate too big for my age, I'll have to start taking Proscar and see the results in about 6 months (hoping the side effects are not too bad).

Edited by member 30 Mar 2025 at 03:33  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 09 Apr 2025 at 01:46

I have a psa of 36. i'm 70, no symptoms whatsoever. mri next week so, wish me luck.

User
Posted 23 Apr 2025 at 21:45

my psa is 31! no symptoms. never had a second blood test, went straight to mri. mri found something but urology won't tell me what! tried to book me in for a biopsy but i said i wanted more info. now on a waiting list for two weeks to speak to them! who knows what's next? just gotta stay positive and carry on.

User
Posted 31 May 2025 at 04:11

Hello everyone!

Can someone explain the true PSA result because my doctor says it's normal but I couldn't understand him, on according to normal values in healthy men?

My PSA result is 0.21 at 55 years old.

In the information I may search are different to my results.

 

 
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