In 58 yrs old, live in South London with a teenage family. I'm semi-retired & pretty fit & healthy. I got hip pain in Spring '23 which i thought was from jogging but asked my GP to check me for prostate cancer, considering the family history - my father was found with stage 4 prostate cancer at 58yr & died 2 yrs later, & my mother died of melanoma (& a broken heart) 4 yrs after at 64yrs. It was an awful time. Anyway, I was given a manual prostate examination (finger) & then sent for bloods & was then contacted a week later to say everything was fine. I was relieved and the pain subsided after a while, so i carried on as normal but by summer '24 it surfaced again. I thought it might be sciatica as i also had nerve pain & tingling down my left leg but closer to Xmas '24 it changed & become a strong dull hip pain (uncomfortable to sit for long). In the last 3 weeks I've started to experience tingling pain in my ribs front & back and some spine pain. As part of completing some life insurance forms I asked my GP to email me my medical records. Looking back at '23 i saw notes saying my 'prostate gland enlarged consistent for age' & my PSA level was 3.38. I've spoken to an ex-doctor i know who said i should definitely have been referred to a urologist in '23 with that reading & family history & he found my latest symptoms alarming. I had a fresh PSA test today & see my GP on Tuesday next week. I'm concerned that i've sleep-walked into stage 4 cancer, the same as my father and i'm terrified. I just know something is really wrong & i'm not imagining it.
The last 6 weeks have also been sobering as I found out my 2 best friends have cancer issues; one has found a melanoma & the other's wife has found breast cancer. You suddenly realise that cancer is all around you - people & families suffering & struggling, Life can be really hard.
Calls for calm are appreciated but what i really need to know pre-GP appointment next Tuesday is, if the PSA is further raised then, what's the fastest way to get myself under an oncologist/urologist & get MRI & PET scans. I can pay privately for these (as i suspect the NHS wait will be 6wks+) but i'm unsure of cost & speed of the private route (& cost variances). Also if I pay privately to get MRI & PET scan& get a prognosis can i then drop back into the NHS system for treatment & what are likely wait times in London area for chemo/radio etc...?
Also is there any particularly good cancer hospitals or consultants in UK working with prostate cancer that I should contact? Any advise warmly received & big hugs to all those out there struggling tonight.
