I had my MRI scan on the 28th January but heard nothing for over two weeks. I eventually phoned to see what was going on and heard that the scan had not been seen by the multidisciplinary team yet. A week later I phoned again to be told that there was no change and I would remain on active surveillance. I got a letter to this effect on the 18th February recommending staying on active surveillance and that a blood test would be due in three months, i.e. mid May. So all was well. However, on the 25th March I received another letter saying the MRI scan results had been reviewed and that certain features warrant further discussion and targeted biopsies. This was immediately followed by another letter with an appointment for the 21st April for the procedure when I would be away in Norfolk for a family holiday. I phoned Ian, my contact nurse, to find out what was going on and he explained that their usual expert scan interpreter had been away and someone else had looked at it and said all was well. Since then the main person had returned and reviewed the scan and decided all was not necessarily well. I don’t know yet whether the first interpretor saw the same thing and thought it insignificant or whether they missed something altogether. Either way this was a bit of a shock. Ian suggested I skipped the discussion with the consultant, Mr. Singh, and we booked an appointment for the biopsy for as soon as I got back from holiday. I opted to have the discussion first as I wanted to be sure another biopsy was really necessary at this time and whether it would be reasonable to continue with blood tests for the moment. So I’ll be seeing Mr. Singh Thursday this week. One of the big problems with prostate cancer is the uncertainty of diagnosis for the sort of low level cancer I have. I can see why some men opt for the surgery regardless and have done with it. If I have the biopsy and the result is that I have surgery this is likely to be in in late May or June. This could well bugger up my arrangements to be on holiday in early July, a second summer wasted.
Prostate update
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