@jym626, thanks.
Don’t hesitate to ask about urgency; your Dr should be able to answer those questions directly. If you want to move as quickly as possible, feel free to express that as well. It may not be possible, but it is worth checking if you have a preference. It seems Dr’s will often follow the patient’s lead on how far to go with options and info, though they rarely go too many steps past the next test.
Well interesting updated info at the appointment today. Apparently the “treat an elevated PSA with antibiotics to assume first that it is prostatitis” is not the current standard of care. The psa may come down on its own , even if it was from an inflammation, without a course of antibiotics.
Considering the sometimes unpleasant effects of antibiotic treatment (particularly if taken orally due to disruption of gut flora, as well as the possibility of breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria), it is understandable why one would want to avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics.
we had to wait about a month to find out if my D had bone cancer, X-rays, then CT , then MRI , then biopsy , then results. (Benign!) It was horrible. My empathize with all of you.
Veruca, having to wait a month is horrible.
A friend of mine was coughing and there was a thought he had lung cancer. He was getting one test a week. After three weeks he went to Stanford for an opinion. Stanford was shocked. Stanford said you need the tests done and analyzed…now.
Next thing I heard, everything was done in a few days.
My friend did have lung cancer. Had to have surgery. Two years later…still cancer free.
@Veruca- been there, too. Grateful for it being “benign”, yet still a harrowing ordeal for our patient and a nasty type of benign with a high recurrence rate.
@jym626 - that approach almost 40 years ago is what prevented my fil’s prostate cancer from being identified in a timely manner. He was young and in the absence of non-invasive diagnostic options, like PSA, lost months to obviously ineffective against CA antibiotic treatments. I think his age, coupled with the state of the field at the time, made for a higher likelihood that the “hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras” approach would be taken.
So sorry to hear that, travelnut.
My DH, I think, has a tin ear. He heard what he wanted to hear- heard “3 mo PSA checks” as “6 mo”. No, thats not was they said. Now the good news is the updated MRI (report didnt show up til the end of the appt) did not sho and clear evidence of progression that could be visualized on the film, but the PSA shot up. Hopefully thats due to the enlarged prostate size. They want to monitor in 3 mos, but sadly the surgeon (urologist) is relocating so DH has to start with a new doc.
Ack, typos. The MRI didnt show any clear evidence of progression, and they reduced the suspicion level (If I heard correctly) from a 4 to a 2. Still , he had 3 positive cores a year and a half ago. But we wait…
Wow, jym. That is tough. I’m keeping a good thought for you and DH. It’s a complicated equation and much stress along the way. Ambiguity isn’t easy; here’s hoping those 3 month checks get on the calendar.
I overheard DH telling his sister he will be checked in 6 mos. NOOOO it’s 3 mos!!! Maybe his next surgery will be to get is head out of his behind!
@jym626, you will have to make sure that your H doesn’t use the doctor change as an excuse to lag behind schedule!
Trust me, I will not let that happen. My plan is to wait until the next PSA is run, and when he gets the results (they are supposed to do this by phone and its right when the current MD is leaving. I will suggest we make an appointment to meet the new doc then especially if the PSA is up, but if its not the current MD said he could wait another 3 mos and meet him at that second PSA test. Ugh!
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My DH, I think, has a tin ear. He heard what he wanted to hear- heard “3 mo PSA checks” as “6 mo”. No, thats not was they said
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Dear @jym626 First, so sorry to hear what y’all are going thru. Prayers for a complete recovery.
Secondly, thank goodness that you already know that your dear husband hears what he wants to hear. Please go with him to his appts so that you will get the whole story. When my dad was first Dx’d, my mom was working and not going to his post-surgery appts…and dad also “heard what he wanted to hear” after he had his surgery. A huge mistake.
What happened, m2ck?
well, after dad’s prostate was removed, he was supposed to get PSA checks …but dad didn’t “hear” that. Instead dad “heard” that since he didn’t have a protate anymore, so how could he get prostate cancer (again). so, he didn’t bother to go back for further checks. My mom didn’t know what was going on. Then when he got prostate cancer again, he kept saying, “I can’t have prostate cancer; I don’t have a prostate.” Anyway…it went to the spine, painful…
Oh so sorry!
Well, that is actually what PSA testing was originally for – to make sure that all prostate (including prostate cancer) cells have been removed after someone has had surgery to remove the prostate. I.e. PSA should be zero and stay zero if the surgery was successful (the inaccuracy of PSA values for screening is not a problem for this use, since any non-zero PSA value after prostate removal indicates potential trouble).
Just thinking about this thread as the latest biopsy, which was supposed to be like 9 mos ago, was just done. And we will get the updated results in about 10 days.
Wow–great your friend is a lung cancer survivor! Sadly it’s often caught WAY too late and there aren’t many survivors. It is bad when things that benefit from prompt diagnosis and treatment are NOT addressed as quickly as they ought.
I have had mixed experiences with Stanford when I’ve been there for a lung evaluation. The doc tested me for latent TB and I had a positive test result but we didn’t discuss or agree on what to do. I had repeat testing in HI and Denver to confirm whether I have latent TB and both of those were negative. There were a few other things he did–some were good and others weren’t so good for me.
In Denver, we agreed I should not treat for latent TB unless at some point in the future it becomes essential to do so, as for me, the risks outweigh the benefits.
Sorry for going off on this tangent. It does make sense that “code words” can get the patient seen sooner. Some docs allow you to be waitlisted for a cancellation if you want to be seen sooner than you were scheduled. Other docs allow/require you to keep calling to see if a cancellation or opening is available.