Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

chuck910

Have had previous bladder cancer. Had surgery because of suspect areas of bladder — so worried about reoccurrence. During procedure, biopsies of prostate taken and cancer found. Gleason 3+3=6. Previous turp done. No Psa score yet. Waiting 2 more weeks. Still having frequent urination (3-4 times a night) ,blood and incontinence at times. Have follow up with urologist in 2 weeks. He stated active surveillance and mri’s with more biopsies. I’m worried because of my prior cancer and wonder if surveillance is not aggressive enough? Any advice is welcomed.

On_A_Journey

Hi Chuck, welcome aboard.

An MRI will reveal exactly where the cancer is in or on your prostate gland, possibly enabling a range of treatment options that aren't available to you at the moment.

Your PSA number is important, but if it is not ridiculously high, it is not as important as getting follow-up tests done to establish how fast it is rising, if at all. I think that's why your urologist suggests active surveillance - get a few PSA tests done a few months apart to see how aggressive the cancer is. This will also determine your treatment options in the future.

I know it is worrisome to know that you have cancer and to be told to just sit back and relax, for want of a better description. We've all been there. But one step at a time. Get your PSA results first and take it from there. I'm sure that if things need to be sped up, they will be.

Clevelandguy

Hi,

Did you have an MRI? I would think you would already have a known PSA history to you as that increasing number usually drives the need for a biopsy. If it was me I would want to know the location of the 3+3 and also the volume of each sample. Your Urologist should provide you with that info on your upcoming visit. If your cancer is buried deep inside your Prostate then you can go for a while with just doing MRIs and biopsies. The location of the cancer should be know from MRI data. Your age could also play a role in any future treatments. Older men(70+) might only opt for surveillance when younger men(50s)could opt for more aggressive treatments. Hopefully your current symptoms will subside in the neat future, if not you might want to discuss them with your Urologist. If you want to treat your cancer then a Oncologist who specializes in Prostate cancer should also be consulted.

Dave 3+4

centralPA

How many biopsy samples taken? How many of those were positive samples, and what percentage of the positive samples were positive? Were the positive samples on both sides?

JackWest

Good Q&A here dialog. Something that men should engage with. Helpful to all. Thank you.