Anyone offer any experience/advice?
Age 69
8years ago 2011 PSA 3.3 no abnormalities in DRE
March 2019 PSA 5.4 ---abnormalities prostate hard and enlarged 47 cc
No symptoms IPSS 5 no abnormal urine retention
MRI awaiting results---long wait for results What can I expect?
Morning Swede and welcome
It doesn't have to be PC, could be BPH , enlarged prostate
But only further tests will tell what's going on, it's impossible to speculate.
The MRI may show a dark/shadow area which could indicate PC but a biopsy would be needed to be certain and to give a Gleeson score which indicates aggressiveness.
Your Psa is still low so hopefully if PC is confirmed it will be a slow growing affair confined to the prostate and therefore easily treatable.
Best wishes
Steve
Swede,
Same as the above post really. While PSA levels are the be-all-and-end-all for prostate cancer patients, it is a really unreliable test especially on its own. The only sure way to know is a biopsy. For a man aged 60-70 normal PSA can be up to 5.5. For 70-80 it can be up to 6.5 although a simple ratio used elsewhere as a rough guide is 50-60 = 5, 60-70 = 6, 70-80 = 7 and so on.
PSA tests can be affected by some very simple events: having sex 24 hours before will raise the reading as will riding a bike. It is also affected by the time of day and can be different in the morning from late afternoon. So a reading of 5.4 on its own with no other evidence should not cause you worry and distress especially as the other symptoms appear normal. If you are seriously worried then a biopsy is the only sure way to find out.
Hopefully you will not join this club.
Regards
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