Results of prostate MRI - advice please and whether to pay privately for the biopsy?

Welcome but sorry you find yourself here.

To answer just the priority question, guess depends on how long a wait you're being quoted. 

Good luck, Dave.

Hi Murphy and welcome 

You don't say how long u have to wait for biopsy but I think I would wait for a NHS biopsy, don't think works that well going private and then back to NHs.

Your stats don't look too bad , PSA ok.

15 mm lesion not too bad, possibly find out if nearing the capsule edge , I know that it's not broken through.

£6k for a private biopsy does seem too much by the way 

Best wishes 

Steve 

Hi Murphy22,

You will get plenty of replies from guys who will advise you. However, from what I have read and experienced, they normally do not mess around with Prostate Cancer results, so I would not advise spending so much just yet and wait.

Regards

Gina

Hi Murphy22  When I was at the same stage as you I panicked and went private but was advised by the consultant to get back on the NHS pathway (which was harder to do than I expected).  If you plan to go private all the way (cost completely unknown) then maybe there is a case for going private, otherwise I would most definitely stay with NHS.  PCa is generally very slow growing and unless it is in danger of escaping the gland in the next few months, stay in the system.

We asked about going private to speed things up but was advised no. They preferred for the same hospital doing all the relevant tests .  So we harassed and continually called for a cancellation . We also contacted our MSP & MP for support 

it’s worth asking the question as we feel your frustration. 

Best wishes 

Liz & OH xx

Hi Murphy22 As posters have said £6k seems a bit steep but it is your choice in the end. My journey is on my bio, but in short - blood test late November. Op on March 12th, all in all pretty quick in my opinion. Mine hadn't spread which meant I'm on a curable pathway. My stats and results were broadly similar to yours. Have you had the bone scan and MRI to confirm it's contained? 

I've been pretty impressed by the speed I've been dealt with and can't really complain. My team did say that waiting times increased following the coverage of Chris Hoy's PC, but as with other Health Authorities they put extra resources in to reduce waiting times. So there may be a factor around how your HA approaches PC

It is all very overwhelming following a diagnosis, but I found that the support I got from the forums from both comments and bios helped me immensely and I accepted my situation. I can't change it but seeing people who talk the talk as well as walk the walk on here was vital for me.

Talk to friends, family (if you feel able to) and come back here when you want or need to. It does help.

Take care

From a clinical perspective the extra few weeks it will take on the NHS will make little difference as prostate cancer is relatively slow growing so there won't be much change while you wait for the results.

Before spending £6000 you would also need to make sure it would actually save time as the biopsies probably all go to the same labs for analysis.

Also when you have the biopsy results you need to take your time and carefully weigh up any treatment options before making a decision. In most cases rushing into a decision on treatment is not a good idea.

Your PSA is low indicating you have probably caught things early so time is on your side.

Its a personal choice but my treatment on the NHS was excellent.

Rob

Thank you Dave.

Thank you Rob. Much appreciated.

Until I receive a Gleason score, I will not know if it's aggressive or not, but I am hoping it is slow growing.

Thank you so much. That is very helpful