Psa test 132

Hello Murcao and welcome. We were where you are now when diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer in July 2020 and thinking we had a death sentence. How did we deal with it - by finding out as much as we could from reliable sources, rely on the experts who told us they had plenty of tools in the toolbox and doing what we could in terms of a positive attitude, exercise and living as healthy lifestyle as possible. For starters I have attached a link to an excellent book which you can download for free which answers many questions. The brilliant folk on the forum will pull you up when you have wobbles and join with you in your success.

https://issuu.com/magazineproduction/docs/js_prostate_cancer_guide_for_patients_ezine

We have just come out of seeing the oncologist who has confirmed that everything is still under control and his advice is to carry on enjoying life to the full.

Please come back with any questions but believe me when I say that things do get better once you have had all your tests and a treatment plan is in place. This may take a few months. Banish the what if's. You can live for many years even if you get the worst diagnosis.

For emotional support you can also ring Macmillan on 0808 808 00 00 or you could drop into your local Maggie's if you have one.

Hello Murcao, I’m sorry to hear of your problems but I can hopefully reassure you that you have come to the right place for support:)

The shock of hearing there might be a problem is literally earth shattering for all of us! We all react differently but I think fear of the big C is profound. We all grew up knowing that cancer is a certain and quick death sentence but that has, in a lot of circumstances ( there are certain cancers that still defeat us quickly) changed. A lot of Cancers have been redesignated as ‘long term conditions’ that are manageable and treatable,  if not curable. Prostate cancer is one of these. It is usually slow growing and there are a whole host of different treatments out there. 1 in 8 men are now being diagnosed with it and there is a lot of ongoing research with new treatment options being regularly introduced. 

As Always Hope suggests - knowledge is power! I found the most useful documents about the journey were to be found at www.prostatecanceruk.org This site tells you about the different diagnostics, treatments etc and, for me, it gave me some sense of control when the whole world was spinning out of control and I was contemplating imminent widowhood!

I hope this helps! Please talk to your wife. My husband clammed up and that was really hard to deal with. This is a couple’s illness and you will be stronger talking and tackling this together! we are two years into this journey and we now talk more than ever before, are much closer in our relationship and Life is good! 

best of luck!.

Thanks for your reply ,if you allow me a question ,how is your life quality in the last 4 years ,and if you don't mind asking what was you age at diagnose ?

Thanks, was your husband stage 4 metastatic? Can you tell me is age and is situation details? I'm not trying to be noisy, just to have something to grab on ,earing that someone was in the same position and still good for years is real hopefull . Thanks. 

Hi Murcao sorry you have joined our club, but as you have already seen from other posts, we have experienced the same turmoil that you are now going through.  I had a fairly bad diagnosis at the start and have had a pretty good quality of life over the last 7 years so try not to worry.  I was 68, so at 54 you have a better chance at fighting PCa which is in your favour.  When you have more information or if you have anything you are unsure about, please ask any questions.  Do you have a date to see a urologist yet? Best wishes, David

Thanks brother ,I already had an appointment with an urologist and have my mri ,today ,I'm trying to stay positive for me and my family, I'm in a feelings roller coaster ,one minute I'm OK in other minute fall apart and star crying, very difficult to deal ,hope it gets better. 

It's the waiting is the worst thing ,I had finger test in February and finally started treatment in July, I am south wales and things have got a bit quicker down here ,you are in the system now sow slow or fast in diagnosis you will get there ,good luck to you 

Hello Murcao, I’m husband was 75 when diagnosed T3a N0M0. Gleason 4+3=7 But , his PSA was monitored, at first yearly, then 6 monthly for about 10 years before due to a strong family history of breast and prostate cancer. At that time, MRIs were not routinely offered before biopsy. Biopsies were done through the back passage and could only reach one part of the prostate and so false negatives were rife and septicaemia was a known risk. A digital examination showed no evidence of cancer - but, again- only part of the prostate could be felt. His PSA just kept creeping up and, eventually, a newly qualified GP at the surgery happened on his PSA result and referred him back to urology. 

the time from getting the mri result and going through the different diagnostics was the worst. I couldn’t sleep, cried enough tears to fill a reservoir and was a nervous wreck. Hormone therapy was commenced on November 4 th 2022 with radiotherapy in Feb/ March 2023. Hormone therapy carried on for 18 months

So, we have lived with the threat of prostate cancer for years and the confirmed diagnosis of it for just over 2 years.

our quality of live has been, to a certain extent, constrained. Ie we couldn’t get reasonably priced travel insurance to cover the cancer until the radiotherapy was completed. I think my husband has struggled at times with the hormone therapy but he has also been contending with another health problem so he’s had a lot going on. That said, we’ve not at any point considered that our quality of life is poor! We are much closer than we’ve ever been and have enjoyed lovely holidays and family times. We also have hobbies which keep us busy, I think the cancer diagnosis was a wake up call for us both - we need to enjoy life to the full as much as we can and try to let tomorrow take care of itself.

Would we have made the same decisions about the treatment? I’ve just asked my husband this question and he says yes, knowing what he knows now, he would chose the same treatment pathway and ‘do nothing or surgery’ would have been wrong for him. But, everyone is different and all decisions are so very personal and deserve equal respect.

I feel as if, in a very disturbed world, we have found some sort of oasis of peace, calm and happiness.

Does that answer your question? Probably not all the things you wanted to hear but, hopefully shifting your thought processes from the ‘I am dead’ in your original post to ‘I have a life ahead of me and I can make it as good as I possibly can’?

My husband was 76 when diagnosed and we live a pretty active life and work around the treatments but the main thing we have to contend with is the fatigue from the hormone therapy. The standard therapy for this is exercise, including resistance training as there is a tendency for muscle loss. We live in Greece so are lucky that we can go out for a meal twice a week plus coffee or ice cream twice a week. We have just come back from a holiday and plan more to come. My husband still has no cancer pain, only from arthritis but he is 81. Our days are pretty hectic either gardening or socialising so I would say we have a pretty good quality of life, not much difference now compared to before diagnosis. The main difference is that my husband and myself are much closer, we talk about our fears, we have put our house in order with wills etc and have made a conscious decision to take each day as it comes, spend time together but do things now rather than putting them off until tomorrow. Things have to fit round regular blood tests, hormone injections and doctors appointments, plus the different treatments, but that is a small price to pay for keeping the cancer under control.

How about work ? Did you still work normally, so you you can provide for your family?