Fingers crossed you get a good result.

freitasm:

 

Small update: the follow-up was change from last Monday to this Friday, waiting on biopsy results.

 

In the meantime, the MRI specialist noticed a small mass on my femur, but being a bone it can only be identified through a CT scan.

 

Hopefully everything turns out ok for you Mauricio :-)

Another good reason to go to your GP, get an issue looked into, and they might find something else that you wouldn't have known about. Time is everything.

Similar story to others - rising PSA level but no abnormalities from the DRE (finger test).

MRI showed very small area 'that my be nothing - but best to check it out'.

Biopsy detected a 'very small' positive sample for cancer - I learned all about the 'Gleason score' and it was graded at the lowest level at that point.

Had a 12 month follow up MRI which said it showed no "suspicious lesions".

I am on the active surveilence program and having a 2 year follow up MRI at Greenlane on Sunday morning.

Wish me luck.

I work in a pretty much all female office - made sure they all new what I was doing - women are good with talking about health and they all have men in their lives.

One collegue mention her husband was having to get up in the night several times and having some issues. He was reluctant to go to his doctor. Told her to make the silly sod get it checked.

He has had a biopsy in the last month and they found a small positive - so I gather he is going on the surveilence program and on meds for an enlarged prostate.

I think we just have to be very honest and open about it and make sure others (male or female) are aware of prostate issues. They are an almost inevitability.

Time for a holiday snap since I've been there

I could imagine pulling out that snapshot at a BBQ as a conversation starter  stopper.

Is that a whole prostate? What are we looking at?

AFAIK it was views of each side of the whole cut in half. It was later tested to establish that any cancer had clear margins.

There are types of cancer whose effects are only noticed when you die at an advanced age. 😁 Others strike within six months.

It depends greatly on your ancestors. Based on my history and PSA level, the doctor sent me on my way yesterday with ‘see you at your next check-up in two years’.

freitasm:

 

Had a consult with the specialist today.

 

The biopsy result came back positive.

 

We discussed radiotherapy and surgery. We decided for a surgery and a referral was sent to one of the two surgeons available in Wellington.

 

I am really sorry to hear this, but it sounds like you have excellent support available to you so I am looking forward to hearing some good news after you've had surgery. 

My GP ordered a blood test for me earlier this year and frankly I had no idea what he was testing for. It sounds like routine blood tests are actually a really good thing to be doing. It's also a good reminder of the value of health insurance, even though premiums have made it tough to budget for in recent years. 

I decided to load my old DNA test (not a conplete genome map, but enough data it appears) into Promethease and got this as one of the results:

So it tracks and again, happy this was caught early. Let's see how it goes after the surgery.

It’s such a worrying feeling knowing you have something hiding inside you that you can’t see but you know it’s insidious. Your brain is constantly thinking about it and it’s not easy to distract yourself from those thoughts. It takes a lot of effort to rid yourself of Cancer Brain but eventually those thoughts do fade. 

Support groups or talking with a survivor one on one can be very helpful and takes away some of the loneliness of this very personal battle and journey. No one understands you better than someone who is going through it. Don’t dismiss the support you can gain.

Best wishes for absolute success and speedy recovery.

https://prostate.org.nz/support-groups

As mentioned above there's plenty of support groups. Please go

And also please go to a pelvic physio for prehab, strengthening, and then rehab after surgery   

https://www.libertyphysio.co.nz/services/male-pelvic-health

Sorry to hear this has happened to you. 

But glad to hear you are taking all the right steps including encouraging others to get it checked. 

I had a colonoscopy in september, and I had my bits checked. Nothing too concerning but was good to have it done. I hope surgery goes well, and everything goes well. 

freitasm:

 

Surgery booked for the week of 17 Nov.

 

Good luck! All the best!