Hi, I've joined this forum for some advice for my Dad. He is 83 years old and has various health conditions including CKD, heart failure, diabetes and dementia. We've noticed urinary problems for quite a while now and last week saw the kidney consultant for the first time who said they were trying to find a reason for his rapid decline in kidney function and it could be to do with his prostate. (He had a kidney ultrasound in April and in this they noted incomplete emptying of the bladder but said the prostate did not look enlarged). The Dr did a PSA test which was 24.8. In the last 3-4 weeks he has been complaining of lower back pain and has noticeably lost weight. But because he has so many other conditions, it's hard to know what might be causing these symptoms.
He has been given a urology appointment for next week so must have been referred on the 2 week cancer pathway even though cancer wasn't mentioned at the appointment with the kidney consultant. So this has all come as a bit of a surprise and I'm trying to find out all I can about prostate cancer and what is likely to happen at the urology appointment next week so we can be prepared.
My Dad is quite frail and I am sure would not be offered any treatment because of his age and comorbities but we would like to know whether it is cancer and what the prognosis is so we know what to expect. I'm interested to know how they diagnose prostate cancer and how invasive the different tests are? What is the urologist likely to suggest given his age and comorbities?
Thank you in advance for reading.
