Terrible diagnosis worries

Good Morning Followyourfrontwheel4c1d63 

A belated warm welcome to the group from me - I am on holiday in Turkey at the moment - !!.

The diagnostic stage of the journey is the hardest part - once you have a full diagnosis, you will know where you are going and be able to make plans-please stay away from Dr Google and ask any questions you have - however trivial they are here.

I am older than you and started my journey with a PSA of 182 - I am a T3aN0M0 - you can read my entire journey by clicking on mt name or avatar.

Best wishes - Brian.

My husband is 68 he was diagnosed 2 years ago. His PSA was 353 it's now 2.4. After his treatment. He is not curable it's spread. But he has got through it pretty well. He's doing great and we are making memories that will last a lifetime. Please don't be too down hearted. It may not be as bad as you are expecting and there's loads of help out there like this forum if you reach out. I wish you well on your journey  

Hi Followyourfrontwheel4c1d63 - I’ll start by saying “histology is King”.  Believe it or not, your phrase that stood out for me is “DRE confirmed cancer”.  You see, there are different ways that prostate cancer can spread. If your urologist can feel the bumps on your gland, that could suggest adenocarcinoma- think of this as a large wart which is lumpy and pushing on the capsule edge.  A large adenocarcinoma would normally result in a large PSA.  Some others have small PSA, but spread via nerve sheaths (perineural invasion or PNI), or via lymph nodes.  So you will no doubt progress through MRI (don’t worry if they say PIRAD 5 - this merely means they have a clear picture - could mean that your cancer is a large adenocarcinoma or simply that you are slim and they have a clear path to view the cancer). Then the all important biopsy.  Histology will give the Gleason score :  grade of cancer (how aggressive/ likely to break away and travel through the body, requiring curative for bog standard prostate cancer or systemic treatment for spreading cancer).  In the meantime, go through the various bios on this site, when you see rough matches to your diagnosis statistics as they appear via your own personal pathway.  Check mine out : I had aggressive features of PNI and cribriform (note the past tense - I’m a born optimist) - these required tough treatment (threw the kitchen sink at it) before it could progress beyond the pelvis. You mention staying fit : this will stand you in good stead. My PSA is currently undetectable.  My life has resumed and I like to think of this initially worrying and difficult episode as in “the rear view mirror”.   Stay with us and good luck on your pathway.    AW

Yes this change gets us all at the start of the travels with prostate cancer. It not only affects you but your partner and family, then your friends and colleagues. You choose how to and who to tell, I’m still not able to tell everyone still, even after three years. It’s the head and your personal views about treatment and your changing body that’s important now. If you keep asking questions and reading or listening to answers you will gain a little of what’s in store but remember nobody is the same and there are no crystal balls, in fact balls are indeed a major concern in this pathway of masculinity failure so don’t get weight down with details, everything is now up for grabs and your own free will will take charge naturally. But be patient. Be your own advocate, talk to counsellors like I did to help when times are hard. Keep positive when you can and you’ll be better for it. Good luck but give yourself time to acclimatise.

Hello there and so sorry you're here. I've just joined the forum and the PC club and at 55 too.

My head is a shed at the moment but human spirit and resilience tends to kick in. Waiting for results is so hard,  I hope you find some peace and wisdom in this group.

Regardless of your PSA numbers, what matters a lot is that you're young, fit and generally healthy - which gives you a damn good start. 

Basically, whatever the outcome of your scan, the very fact that you've a good constitution means that you have a fair chance of being able to take whatever life flings at you.

Also, what is almost as important is not to lose heart - you need the will to fight.  You've got the health, so what you need now is the will power.

And it is going to be a fight because you've got cancer but cancer can quite likely be beaten especially if you stay positive.  Ok, there's no guarantee that you'll beat it but if you can keep looking at life with a smile and perhaps the occasional laugh despite the "terrible" diagnosis then it might well feel that you're getting somewhere rather than failing.  And who knows - maybe your willpower and health will work together to do the job.

Stay bright and positive - and I wish you the very best of luck.

Chris