It all feels so unreal!

Hi Willow67,

I am so sorry to hear about your husband diagnosis. My husband was diagnosed 3 months ago and the feeling that date were shock and horror and I totally understand how you feel. The waiting is the worse part. Whatever the outcome and it may be not that bad, the treatments for prostate cancer came a long way. Following our diagnosis we have started treatment with HT immediately and life carry on almost normal. My husband quality of life is good and he keep living the same life he had before, knowing that the HT shrinking his cancer every day.

We were waiting 3 weeks for biopsy but it was irrelevant because the picture of the cancer was very clear from the MRI. 

You can try calling the hospital and suggest that your husband will take any cancellation and he is ready to come on any day if there is a cancellation. Many times there are cancellations!

I want to say an important point: This is not the end! you can read on this community how people living normal life and searching for holidays and travel insurance and when ever travel insurance topic come up, many people here are very excited. 

Please stay with this community and update us with his diagnosis. Many people here are very experienced and happy to share their knowledge.

All my love

Dafna

Thank you Dafna.

Its very easy to slip down the rabbit hole to the worst possible scenario especially as we don't yet have the full picture.

One miniute I feel positive after reading others comments and then it goes really dark again.

I suppose we just have to take it as it comes.

Thank you again for your reply and best wishes to you and your husband for his recovery xx

Hello Willow67.

A warm welcome. I think it is human nature to initially think the worst but I can I give you a couple of thoughts. A PIRADS 5 score from an MRI means that your husband has an area which is highly SUSPICIOUS for prostate cancer but not definitive. Your husband still has a relatively low PSA - it is only just above the norm for his age so if he does have prostate cancer it is more likely to be contained which means he would be on a curative pathway. Prostate cancer is normally slow growing. 98% of men die with prostate cancer and not of it.

If your husband is diagnosed with prostate cancer you may be offered anything from Active Surveillance where he is just monitored by his PSA, to treatment of some kind in which case you MAY have a few months while the cancer is being actively dealt with. After this life returns to normal for most people.

The way my husband and I looked at it was that it gave us a wake up call to get our house in order, prioritise what was important to us and ditch the unimportant, and to live life to the full. It was definitely not the end, just the beginning of a new way of life.

And finally, I will always remember that oncologist said to us that he could do 50%, the other 50% was down to us in terms of having a positive attitude and with lifestyle changes.

Thank you for your reply.  Its the not knowing and the waiting that I'm finding difficult. Your explanation is reassuring and I know we have a lot if positives on our side. I know I will deal with it better when we know what we are dealing with. 

Hi Willow

I go along with what AH has just said in that cancer is not def until biopsy done and that if it is,  hopefully contained in the gland which does make it easier to treat. With a near normal PSA the outlook is for a potential cure . I know that the waiting is the worst part but hopefully in the next few weeks , if it is cancer then at least he can go on a treatment plan and it does get easier after that.

Just my opinion but I wouldn't tell your son until u know the biopsy to confirm what's happening

keep posting

all the best

Steve

Thanks Steve. There are a lot of positives on our side.as you say it's the waiting. 

Hi Wllow67,

I found out that I had PC about three months ago and it was certainly a wake up call. However this forum has been a source of information and inspiration. It felt like we had everything going our way, paid off the mortgage and booking holidays etc then suddenly we had this news. I took any cancellation and we found that it was pretty serious, see my profile, and started on HT the same day. I have an appointment for radiotherapy planning at the end of this month with a view to starting that mid May after our holiday in April. 
It brought us up with a start at first but as time goes on we are sorting out our lives with relatively little change. We are still going to have a holiday in the spring and have booked 2 holidays later in the year.  
Life can go on and it is time for you both to have some time together. 
this forum is about helping each other so stick with it. 
Magly

Hi willow I've had all of those feelings....see my profile. Its normal I keep busy to distract my thoughts...once you talk to the urology team and get a better idea of what's happening and treatment things will be clearer.

Hi Willow67,

Indeed, the waiting can be intolerable. It's worthwhile pressing for a cancellation, which happened with my biopsy which I had a couple of days before Christmas, otherwise it wouldn't have been until early January. I was told there would be a delay with the results, however, due to the bank holidays, and so the Christmas and New Year period was an anxious one to say the least. In the event, I had to wait four weeks for the results, though I'd prepared myself for this delay. Even so...

I concur 100% with all the sound advice so far offered to you and your husband on this fabulously supportive forum.

Stay focused and positive, and look ahead to wonderful things.

All best,

David 

Thanks Magly. I hope your treatment goes well and is successful. Its helped a lot just heating other voices. Makes it all seem not a bad. Thanks again