Just Diagnosed with prostate cancer

LQCal
LQCal Member Posts: 1
in Prostate Cancer #1

I just received my biopsy results and it is not good news.  My Gleason score is 4+3=7, cancer was found in 4 out of 12 cores.  My dre was normal and my psa was 6.1 before biopsy. At this point I am looking at my options.  My question is this:  Ever since one day after my dre was performed, I have had a dull pain in the prostate area (mostly when sitting) This pain is also in my left testicle.  Could this be a sign that the cancer has spread?  It has persisted for almost 4 weeks.   I was told that mine is a moderately aggressive cancer.(this pain began BEFORE my biopsy).  Any thoughts on this?

Comments

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,817 Member
    #2
    Many Possibilities

    LQCal,

    First, sorry about your biopsy results and the need to share here.

    Your pain could be many things. The obvious person to ask is your doctor, while you decide on a treatment.  I had enlarged prostate for several years prior to surgical removal a few weeks ago, and also had chronic prostatitis/ chronic pelvic pain syndrome ("CPPS") as well.  Chronic prostatitis is usually non-bacterial and does not respond to medications, but feels like a mild case of the infection. My biopsy confirmed this, showing "chronic inflammatory tissue" that was non-cancerous (from different regions in the gland from the cancer itself).   Obviously this is not what you have going on, since yours was apparantly triggered by the DRE.  My point is that a lot of things cause pain and discomfort in the urinary tract when prostate disease is present.  I also had testicular pain on occasion (infrequent, but often enough for me to recall it), and it seemed as if the whole urethera hurt, all the way to the end of the penis.

    I would share my concerns with the doctor. In most cases there is no need to rush into PCa treatments, and it is actually usually very advisable to take your time and research options.  While a month since a positive biopsy is not a long time, what are your thoughts on treatment, which mostly consist of active survellance, various radiation modalities, and surgical removal.  It took me about two months of research, reading, and question-asking to make my own decision.  

    Your biopsy results at face value certainly would suggest that the testicular pain is NOT prostate cancer having gone there, but only advanced imaging techniques can really address that. Be aware that Staging of prostate cancer is relatively primitive (compared to most other cancers), based as it is on the partially subjective accuracy of a DRE, which can vary from doctor to doctor. My own numbers were Gleason 3+3, PSA 4.6, and 5% of ONE of 12 cores, with a DRE Staging of T1. Upon removal, the pathology showed Stage T2A. NOt a huge difference, but different from what a finger could determine.

    I hope you share what you learn and decide.

    max

  • Rakendra
    Rakendra Member Posts: 197 Member
    #3
    Pca

    Pca is a tough call for everybody.  There are simply no sure things, no sure diagnosis, no sure treatment and especailly no way to know what decisions to make.  One simply has to go with the best decision, and if it is not working, then reassess.  And, I beleive that a lot of it is guesswork on the MDs part.  One guy can have advanced stage 4 and go on for a long time with no side effects.  Another seems to have a not advanced case, and he gets big problems.  There is so much involved about one's life long habits, what is possible to do with the mind and diet to heal yourself.  And when there is burn, cut and poison in the treatment, then the treatment can turn out worse than the Pca.  It seems to be a guessing game in the end.  you just have to invistigate and go with your gut, and if you are not comfortable with what you are getting, change in a hurry.  

    Love, Swami Rakendra

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