Hi Matthew and welcome to Cancer Chat.

I'm not sure if you have already seen your GP today but if not I just wanted to wish you good luck and let you know we're thinking of you. I hope they are able to reassure you and answer your questions, but if not then you're very welcome to give one of our cancer nurses on 0808 800 4040, Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m.

Hopefully you'll hear back from some of our members soon but in the meantime, Prostate Cancer UK have some very useful information about the PSA test and what the results could mean.

I hope this helps and all goes well moving forward.

Kind regards,

Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi 61 can be said as high but can still be in the prostate (remember im not medically trained just a patient) .  A gent called [@woodworm]‍  had a PSA of 70 years ago. It was contained ,he had hormone therapy then radiotherapy .Don't know if he's still on forum but you are still read up on him, by going to search at top of page in thick blue line and insert his name .

Im a bit different PSA was 1581 when diagnosed , February 2016 , i had no side effects at all . i was 64, never knew about PSA test till diagnosed .

Keep sure .

Billy

Thanks for your reassuring message Billy.

My goodness, your inital PSA reading was so incredibly high at diagnosis. How on earth did you process that especailly when you saw others worry, understandbly, over single digit PSA markers? Very glad you're still here and doing some good. I certainly have found this forum very informative and supportive. And yes, I have read with interest [@woodworm]‍ uplifting story.

I had my DRE this morning and the prostate is enlarged but not massively so, it is fleshy and smooth (so far so good) but it has a small harder/firmer area on the top left of the gland, plus the usual dip located at the top is more rounded which suggests abnormality. Still, looking on the bright side, at least it's not bumpy, dense or hard which I am told can be tell-tale characteristics of some advanced cancerous prostates.

My MRI and biopsies are booked in for Monday 21 Feb. 

Like everyone in this forum knows only too well, the waiting game is often the most challenging aspect at this early stage of the game. Hoping for containment and no spread (with the increased treatment options available) but resigned to the likelihood of cancer.

Thanks for listening, appreciate the message of support.

Wishing you well,

Matthew

Thanks for reaching out like this Steph, it means a lot right now. So impressive.

As I mentioned in this thread to [@Billygoatt]‍ I had my DRE this morning, with mixed findings. Not great but could, I'm told, be worse. My MRI and biposies appointment is set for Monday 21 Feb followed by the usual wait and then the big reveal. Hoping for a curative and not a palliative outcome.

I will certainly ring up and have a chat with one of your nurses, much appreciated.

All the best and thanks again, 

Matthew 

Hi at time of diagnosis ,i had lost a couple of relatives to different types of cancer , but ignorent about it really.      i was being sick weekly so plenty of tests over months finally diagnosed with hiatus hernia, but one blood test showed something else wrong so PSA .it'd gone to lymph nodes spine ribs pelvis and lung ,had hormone therapy then chemotherapy over two years it decreased to 0.03 then increased to2.2  then jumped to 65 in three months so  stronger hormone therapy and it dropped to0.6 last reading. .

I was working for two years after diagnosis, metal fabrication and welding firm . i don't usto be a positive person but found cancer made me positive .

Then had to retire to look after my wife, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's plus other problems im her carer .

Take care keep safe and sure.

Billy

Hi again,

Sounds like a real rollercoaster with some serious challenges. Impressed you've taken the positives which is an example I will try to emulate. There are so many great examples to study and learn from in this forum.

Very much hope you and your wife remain happy and as healthy as possible.

Have a nice evening, 

Matthew 

Hi Brian,

Very grateful to you for taking the time to share your positive experience - I would dearly love to mirror your experience given I too have such a high PSA of 61. That number is we know worryingly high, I just hope the likely cancer is contained and held at stage 1 or 2. 

My wife and kids are worried to death but we will need to deal with whatever comes our way - such is life. We must be grateful for what measure of mortaility we are blessed to experience. I intend to make the very best of it. 

Thank you too for reminding me and others in this fabulous forum hat positivity is really imnportant generally but especially when facing potentially very serious health challenges like this.

Wishing you continued good health and happiness Brian [@woodworm]‍ . 

Thank you again, it was really comforting to hear from you.

Matthew

I am going through a similar situation, aged 50.

Went to my GP in January feeling fatigued.  One of the tests he did was PSA which came back as 74.  Totally out of the blue.  He also did a DRE and said one side of prostate was hard so he send me to the rapid access prostate cancer clinic.

So two days later meet the consultant.  He also does a DRE and says it did not feel too bad.  I did another PSA test and this one was 67.  Also scheduled bone scan, mpMRI and CT scan.  Bone scan came back clear.  MRI came back inconclusive but nothing at this stage to suggest cancer according to the consultant.

I did a CT scan today and TRUS biopsy scheduled for 8th March.  I also did another PSA test and will have results Monday.

Because I was feeling so fatigued I was afraid of advanced cancer but there is thankfully nothing on my scans to suggest that.

Right now I have no idea where this process will end up but I am just taking one step at a time until there is a diagnosis one way or the other.  But definitely feeling a bit better now that the bone scan was clear and the MRI did not look too bad.   Of course, the biopsy might show up cancer so will have to wait and see.

Good luck with all your tests.  One step at a time!

Rory

Hi [@Jellies]‍ Rory,

I've been searching for somone who best matches my profile and experience (with little success other than [@woodworm]‍ within this thread) so it is really comforting to hear from you. Thank you so much for reaching out.

Our story is incredibily similar so far although you have been seen by your Consultant more quickly than I (2 days versus 13 - I am being seen tomorrow). After my DRE my GP said he felt hardness on the leff upper side of my prostate, again very similar to your inital findings. Those findings combined with PSA 61 prompted my GP to cautiously prepare me for the, and I quote, "very real prospect of prostate cancer and potentially aggressive intervention and treatment". That was a big surprise given I merely asked for a PSA test because I felt it was about time at my age, absolutely no medical reason whatsoever. I suspect for both of us, the biggest thing to get our heads around is the really high PSA number given anything above 4 is considered dangerous. Our scores are many times more which leads you to naturally conclude, with basic arithmetic, this could be deadly serious.

I hope the fatigue that initiated your first GP appointment turns out in the end to be just one of those things, and that your next scans and biopsies are clear. The great news for you is that there is no evidence of cancer and at the very least, no evidence of any spread. Wonderful. I'd settle for that.

As for me, I am a few steps behind you. My second DRE and bone/MRI scans will happen tomorrow (21 FEB) so I am hoping our similarities don't end there...I will likely have a second PSA test beforehand. Perhaps we could share our progress via this thread going forward? 

Your story and progress so far was and is a real tonic and just goes to underscore that unusually high PSA scores like ours do not necessarily equate to an advanced cancer diagnosis. [@woodworm]‍ Brian in this thread had a PSA 70 found when was 67 years of age but the prostate cancer was contained in the prostate and very successfully treated. Of course, my experience may be different to yours and his but at least I feel more hopeful.

I hope your third PSA test results tomorrow show a decline...no doubt your consultant will want to keep investigating until you know why it is so high.

Looking forward to sharing, as you rightly say, one step at a time...steady as she goes!

All the best, 

Matthew