Prostate rears its ugly head - again!

It's so worrying, Flower. My brother has stage 3 prostate cancer and has just undergone brachytherapy which he is struggling to recover from because it has affected his bladder.

He thought he had a non aggressive form.

My husband was taken ill whilst we were on holiday total shut down of the bladder has had a catheter in place for well over three weeks . Attended GP day we returned home, have been awaiting an appointment with urologist ever since or a visit from community nurse heard nothing until yesterday when we had a phone call asking us to attend hospital on Monday. All tests show high PSA but nothing else. Have gone beyond worry am angry that GP tells you what should happen and then you wait and wait and nothing happens for ages ( or it seems ages when you are waiting for the phone to ring) we had understood we were waiting for a nurse to check the catheter and then an urgent urologist appointment. The appointment on Monday turns out it is just for them to check the catheter and still no appointment with a urologist. Am beginning to wonder of anyone really does know what's going on with this particular form of this disease. Meanwhile my husband continues to go to work as best as he can considering he has a fairly manual job not really sure how much longer this will continue.

Dear *Flower I am so sorry to hear this. I do know that there is a blood test that men can take to detect prostate cancer. If your DH beat it last time it says alot about him and his DNA and constitution. My husband had diabetes and when the ambulance men came after he had a hipo they could not believe he was still standing.

Hopefully your husband will fight it and be ok [sunshine} I wish you both all the best x

Chloe just goes to show the difference in different areas, the so-called postcode lottery. Mr Aka's PSA levels were a tad elevated, he had an appointment with the urologist within a week, an MRI scan yesterday and a biopsy is scheduled next Friday. I don't think there's cause for alarm but I am impressed with the system in place here.

My cousin is on his second course of treatment in 6 years. He had radioactive seed therapy and seemed to improve but the problem returned and has spread to his bones. He had very high PSA level and I thought he would be treated with chemo but apparently not.

My husband had PSA that went from 8 to 25, after recent treatment it has gone down to 4.5 (at 74 that is seen as no problem at all) We were lucky that his enlarged prostate was found while in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest and pneumonia. We have received fantastic treatment from one of the top urologists. His cancer was stage 1 and seen to be non aggressive. He has had MRI, Bone Scan, CT and radiotherapy. He feels and looks very well indeed and his peeing problem has certainly cleared up.

I suppose it is just the worry that things can go wrong. He will be monitored for the next 5 years so we cannot ask for more than that and our Macmillan nurse is always on hand for advice if we are concerned.

Is the blood test for prostate cancer fairly new? I don't think I've heard about it. Also confused about any connection between prostate cancer and diabetes.

I read this news as my brother in law has advanced prostate cancer, first diagnosed over 4 years ago. He has responded well to hormone treatment, and a 2nd treatment has recently been added.
I don't think the blood test is new phoenix. The men in our family/close friends have all been having annual tests for a number of years. As with so many tests, it isn't conclusive but I wouldn't want those I love to stop having them, as early treatment does seem to help.
for you flower