groin pain

jvs52

HI
My husband is 52 and recently diagnosed. Unfortunately this type of cancer is not entirely new to us. Less than 2 years ago his 86 year old father died of advanced prostate cancer. My husband has been very proactive about getting regular tests and checks for PC. His Dr. assured him there was no problem.

Eventually he had pain/discomfort in his groin. In the area between his scrotum and rectum. He was treated for prosateitis but the pain continued. Eventually he got to a urologist and had a biopsy, bone scan, cat scan etc. The urologist told us it was PC, we caught it early, and recommended teatment options.

The PC seems to be confined to the prosated and not spread to the bones. We are researching treatments.

The problem is the pain. The dr.s are not adressing that much and do not seem very helpful in this area. He has had vicodin, it does not seem to be helping and the Dr.s just talk around it.

It is sooooo frustrating.

Can you tell us a bit about pain. We both fear the worst, metastiss, but the urologist says no. They will not speculalte or explain.

We are looking for another urologist.
thoughts?

rogermoore

jvs,

I am sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis. I am glad, however, that you discovered this site. The only suggestion I can make is to get a second opinion, as quickly as possible, from another (independant) Urologist.

Is it possible that he may have strained a muscle in the groin area? Keep in touch and I'll say a prayer for your Husband.

Roger

Photon

Hi jvs

A second opinion is a must.

However bone scan and cat scan were negative for met disease then the probability is that the pain is something else. By the way an mri scan might show up more than a cat scan. You didn't say what your husband's Gleason score was just that it had been caught early. It is good to know those things for you and him to decide what is the best treatment.

Hope all goes well for you and your Husband
Photon

jvs52

Thank you for your responses.
The groin pain does not appear to be a strained muscle. The pain has been constant over the past 3 months. It has limited his ability to walk moderate distances, like his evening strolls with the dog.

His gleason score was 6. I do not know the 2 numbers.

I did find another urologist with a spceialty in oncology. I begged for an appointment and we have one for next week.

The other urologist informed us about treatmenat options: radiation beam, radiation seeds, RP using surgery or robotics. He suggested robotics and gave us 2 Dr.s.

We are reading and asking questions. Scouring this and other websites for answers.
I have secheduled 2 radidation consults and one surgery consult.

It is my understanding that this a critical time to gather information so we can make informed decisions.

Any tips?

Maybe the other urologist will have some different ideas.
Thanks for the tip on MRI.
I wonder if the tumor may be pushing on nerves.
Michelle

rogermoore

jvs52 said:

Thank you for your responses.
The groin pain does not appear to be a strained muscle. The pain has been constant over the past 3 months. It has limited his ability to walk moderate distances, like his evening strolls with the dog.

His gleason score was 6. I do not know the 2 numbers.

I did find another urologist with a spceialty in oncology. I begged for an appointment and we have one for next week.

The other urologist informed us about treatmenat options: radiation beam, radiation seeds, RP using surgery or robotics. He suggested robotics and gave us 2 Dr.s.

We are reading and asking questions. Scouring this and other websites for answers.
I have secheduled 2 radidation consults and one surgery consult.

It is my understanding that this a critical time to gather information so we can make informed decisions.

Any tips?

Maybe the other urologist will have some different ideas.
Thanks for the tip on MRI.
I wonder if the tumor may be pushing on nerves.
Michelle

Michelle,

Another thought just came to mind. During a Dr.'s visit for a hip problem I was informed of the following. If one has a back problem the pain will radiate to the hip. If one has a hip problem the pain radiates to the groin. Has your Husband had an x-ray of his hip? Just a thought.

Other than that, it sounds like you have all the bases covered. Stay in touch with your findings.

Good luck,

Roger

jvs52

HI,
I wanted to give an update. We met with the radiologist yesterday. He spent and hour and a half with us and gave us some good, clear information.

The pain is being caused by an enlarged prostate. Probably the result of chronic prostatitis. The cancer is "highly treatable". He is not a good candidate for seeds as the prostate is "too large"
He said his gut feeling was that surgury was the best option as it would remove the prostate and thus eliminate the pain.

We live in Philadelphia with lots of good docs. We will continue to get a few more opinions but are thankful we have an idea about the pain.
Michelle

In the post above, Re: 35, I can't help but wonder if it too is chronic prosatitis. John used antibiotic for weeks and it did no good. the radiologist said prostatitis is very illusive, and can be very hard to treat.

Photon

jvs52 said:

HI,
I wanted to give an update. We met with the radiologist yesterday. He spent and hour and a half with us and gave us some good, clear information.

The pain is being caused by an enlarged prostate. Probably the result of chronic prostatitis. The cancer is "highly treatable". He is not a good candidate for seeds as the prostate is "too large"
He said his gut feeling was that surgury was the best option as it would remove the prostate and thus eliminate the pain.

We live in Philadelphia with lots of good docs. We will continue to get a few more opinions but are thankful we have an idea about the pain.
Michelle

In the post above, Re: 35, I can't help but wonder if it too is chronic prosatitis. John used antibiotic for weeks and it did no good. the radiologist said prostatitis is very illusive, and can be very hard to treat.

Hi Michelle

I am glad you found someone who gave you straight answers. However 52 is quite young to have an operation that has a high chance of impotence and incontinence, the latter might be temporary.

There are treatments that can shrink the prostate to relieve the pain. The treatment might need to be applied at intervals to keep the prostate regular but it is better that an operation even a robotic one. Do ask some more questions

Best wishes
Photon

nightowl_625

jvs52 said:

HI,
I wanted to give an update. We met with the radiologist yesterday. He spent and hour and a half with us and gave us some good, clear information.

The pain is being caused by an enlarged prostate. Probably the result of chronic prostatitis. The cancer is "highly treatable". He is not a good candidate for seeds as the prostate is "too large"
He said his gut feeling was that surgury was the best option as it would remove the prostate and thus eliminate the pain.

We live in Philadelphia with lots of good docs. We will continue to get a few more opinions but are thankful we have an idea about the pain.
Michelle

In the post above, Re: 35, I can't help but wonder if it too is chronic prosatitis. John used antibiotic for weeks and it did no good. the radiologist said prostatitis is very illusive, and can be very hard to treat.

i had reoccuring prostatitis before i found out i had PC....now 2.5 yrs later after a RP i have no more prostatitis but am impotent. there are no good alternatives so choose wisely, feel good about your doctor and never second guess your decision

nightowl_625

jvs52 said:

HI,
I wanted to give an update. We met with the radiologist yesterday. He spent and hour and a half with us and gave us some good, clear information.

The pain is being caused by an enlarged prostate. Probably the result of chronic prostatitis. The cancer is "highly treatable". He is not a good candidate for seeds as the prostate is "too large"
He said his gut feeling was that surgury was the best option as it would remove the prostate and thus eliminate the pain.

We live in Philadelphia with lots of good docs. We will continue to get a few more opinions but are thankful we have an idea about the pain.
Michelle

In the post above, Re: 35, I can't help but wonder if it too is chronic prosatitis. John used antibiotic for weeks and it did no good. the radiologist said prostatitis is very illusive, and can be very hard to treat.

i had reoccuring prostatitis before i found out i had PC....now 2.5 yrs later after a RP i have no more prostatitis but am impotent. there are no good alternatives so choose wisely, feel good about your doctor and never second guess your decision

LouG

Groin pain
I'm 60 yrs old and have suffered from low back pain for yrs, however, this past week I got to the point of not being able to stand erectly. I have since discovered that lower back pain can be an indicator of PC. I also found a mass inside my scrotum that I pointed this out to my gp. He ordered a PSA test and my results were 21.2. I have since found it difficult to walk due to the amount of pain associated w/my groin on the left side. I have now been referred to a urologist for further tests. At first I thought I might have pulled a groin muscle, which I have done before, but this pain is so much more severe. I was wondering if anyone has ever suffered from this type of pain. I have a few pain pills left over from rotator cuff surgery and have taken a few. But the only thing they have done is dull the ache. Any suggestions or add'l questions I should ask the urologist on Tuesday.

Kongo

LouG said:

Groin pain
I'm 60 yrs old and have suffered from low back pain for yrs, however, this past week I got to the point of not being able to stand erectly. I have since discovered that lower back pain can be an indicator of PC. I also found a mass inside my scrotum that I pointed this out to my gp. He ordered a PSA test and my results were 21.2. I have since found it difficult to walk due to the amount of pain associated w/my groin on the left side. I have now been referred to a urologist for further tests. At first I thought I might have pulled a groin muscle, which I have done before, but this pain is so much more severe. I was wondering if anyone has ever suffered from this type of pain. I have a few pain pills left over from rotator cuff surgery and have taken a few. But the only thing they have done is dull the ache. Any suggestions or add'l questions I should ask the urologist on Tuesday.

See a urologist
Lou,

Your physical symptoms may be an indicator of prostate cancer. I think your urologist will want to do a biopsy as soon as possible. Please keep us informed of the results. Best of luck to you as you go forward.

K

mrspjd

LouG said:

Groin pain
I'm 60 yrs old and have suffered from low back pain for yrs, however, this past week I got to the point of not being able to stand erectly. I have since discovered that lower back pain can be an indicator of PC. I also found a mass inside my scrotum that I pointed this out to my gp. He ordered a PSA test and my results were 21.2. I have since found it difficult to walk due to the amount of pain associated w/my groin on the left side. I have now been referred to a urologist for further tests. At first I thought I might have pulled a groin muscle, which I have done before, but this pain is so much more severe. I was wondering if anyone has ever suffered from this type of pain. I have a few pain pills left over from rotator cuff surgery and have taken a few. But the only thing they have done is dull the ache. Any suggestions or add'l questions I should ask the urologist on Tuesday.

The mass
Welcome here Lou.  The mass you found in your scrotum is of concern.  That, along with other symptoms you describe, may be more indicative of testicular cancer than PCa but only a medical doctor can make a dx of cancer or a benign cause of your symptoms.  Your high PSA alone is not an indication of PCa, only a red flag, and may indicate non cancerous conditions such as infection, prostatitus, BPH, etc.  

In screening for PCa, it is highly likely that your urologist will recommend a 12 core prostate biopsy (bx), another PSA test and a DRE (digital rectal exam).  Be aware there are several factors that MAY contribute to a spike in PSA within 48-72 hrs prior to the  PSA blood draw.  These factors may directly or indirectly stimulate the prostate to secrete add'l prostate specific antigens (PSA). As such, within 48-72 hrs prior to a PSA test it's a good idea to avoid ejaculation,  strenuous  biking, prostate massage, DRE, etc.  Also, the PSA test should be taken PRIOR to, or at least  2-3 days following, the biopsy and/or DRE so that any inflammation resulting from biopsy does not skew PSA results. (It may take up to 6-8 wks for prostate inflammation from bx to resolve.)

In addition to seeing a good urologist, I suggest consulting with an experienced oncologist. You may also wish to post your concerns on the CSN testicular cancer forum and ck out the Livestrong website to obtain other perspectives.   Good luck & hoping for good news. 

mrs pjd
wife of a T3 PCa Survivor