Road To Diagnosis

Road to diagnosis

Back in March 2021 I noticed a weird smell when I peed so I went to see my Doctor (GP) to find out why. He sends me for blood tests including a prostate-specific antigen test (PSA) and urinalysis. A high PSA can be an indicator of prostate cancer.

The tests come back and indicate that I have a urinary tract infection (UTI) and high PSA. (Results from blood work and urinalysis can be viewed online before seeing the doctor).

I’m back at my GP and he reveals the results and does a physical prostate exam – ugh. He says one side feels hard and that is not normal. He sends me to a urologist who does the same thing – ugh, and he sends me for an MRI of the prostate. Two weeks later I’ve heard nothing from the urologist so I contact my GP and I make an appointment to find out the MRI results.

He does not know why I’m there so I explain and he pulls up the results. Under his breath he is actually gasping as he’s looking at the results. Fuck, this can’t be good. The urologist should have done this but somehow it slipped through the crack so to speak – ha. I tell him I tried many many times to get through to the urologist but could not so that’s why I’m here. He calls him while I’m there and he can’t get through either. My GP orders a bone scan as he says there are scars on the bones in the pelvic area. I do my own research and discover that this could mean that cancer has metastasized (spread) to the bones. Before I leave he says he’ll get through to the urologist.

At dinner time that night I get a call from the urologist and he tells me I have to get a prostrate biopsy. We have a few “words” – I’m a little angry at the way this happened but I calm down and he sets up the procedure. He also gives me a phone number where I can get hold of him.

As it turns out the bone scan is a day before the biopsy. I have to go several hours before the scan for an injection of radio active isotope. I have the scan and I’m told to wait ‘till the radiologist reviews it. It’s reviewed and they want to do another more detailed bone scan of the pelvic area and a CT scan which are done immediately.

The next day I get the biopsy procedure and when I’m signing off the paperwork before the procedure there is something there about taking a look at the bladder. I’m told this means they have to stick a camera up my penis to the bladder. I was not aware this was part of the procedure and that’s probably a good thing – ignorance is bliss.

Two weeks later I meet with the urologist that performed the procedure and he says ALL the results have come back negative but he’s NOT convinced I’m in the clear. He wants to do another procedure called a Guided MRI Fusion Prostate Biopsy.

This procedure happens almost four months later. It’s now late January 2022. I’m at the hospital lying on my side on a gurney, knees at my chest, with my naked ass hanging out over the edge of the gurney. I had been directed to be in that position by the nurse. The doctor walks in and he says his name and within 10 seconds says that I have prostate cancer. I have to crook my neck around just to see him – he’s basically talking to my naked ass. His diagnosis is based on his years of doing this and my MRI that he’s looked at.

Emotionally and physically I’m in just about the most vulnerable position I could be in, I have never met this guy, he hasn’t even done anything yet, but he said that. You could not paint a more demeaning picture – he must have skipped bedside manner 101.

It’s not like I didn’t expect this and I understand the stress that our health care system is under, but FUCK!

It’s been almost a year since this determination process started. But I don’t find out for sure until I meet with the urologist and get the results from this biopsy. This just happens to be on February 14, Valentine’s Day. There’s some kind of dark humour in there somewhere – give me time and I’ll find it.

So it’s Valentine’s Day and I’m diagnosed with intermediate prostate cancer. Obviously this is not a surprise and I just need to know what are my options. The two options I’m given are removal of the prostrate or radiation (there are other options but those were 1 & 2). He explains the side effects of both options… lah, lah, lah, blah, blah, blah. He asks me if I want to see an oncologist to find out more information and I say yes. The urologist recommends removal.

The next day I call all my kids to let them know of this diagnosis. Probably the toughest part of this journey so far. I have kept this whole process from them until I was sure about a diagnosis.

“Your prostate is a small gland that lives inside your body, just below your bladder. It sits around the urethra, which is the tube that carries pee from your bladder through your penis. Only men have a prostate. Your prostate produces some of the fluids contained in your semen, the liquid that transports sperm.

The two prominent quality-of-life issues associated with living without a prostate are the loss of urinary control and the loss of erectile function”.(2,3)

That’s just about all a man really cares about right: marking his territory and having an erection – told ya I’d find some dark humour.

“If you are at average risk of developing prostate cancer, consider testing from age 50. If you are at high risk of developing prostate cancer, consider testing from age 45. Black men (including men of African or Caribbean ancestry) and those with a family history of prostate cancer are considered to be at high risk”. (1)

The above story also relates to MS because of diagnosis. It’s a cautionary tale as I’ve had issues with peeing since the onset of MS and always assumed that whatever is happening in that department is because of MS. NEVER ASSUME! I have mentioned a few times throughout this blog that blaming everything on MS can be dangerous.

Whatever MS is doing to your body don’t discount that it could be something else. Get it checked out and be your own best advocate.

Take care.

(1) Canadian Cancer Society
(2) www.health.qld.gov.au
(3) Urinary control will return in time. Erections will return with the aid of medication. Lots of men my age require help in this department regardless of a cancer diagnosis.