Father diagnosed

Hello all,

Last week my father (59) told me that he has prostate cancer. After being in some state of shock for the first couple of days I am now trying to read all I can in books and on the internet. That's how I ended up on this forum. Even though I'm from The Netherlands I already got a great deal of information (and hope) from this forum. Thank you for that.

As most people here have the experience with this decease that our family (luckily) lacks I am planning to post my father's progress here in the hope of getting feedback and maybe tips on what to ask/look out for.

We don't know much yet. My dad has been having regular tests for a couple of years and as I understand his psa was always a bit high. Last time it went from 5.1 to 5.3 and the doctor decided to do some more tests. If I understand correctly he then had a biopsy. The hospital told him he has a tumor, but that they wanted him to go home and come back in three months to check on it again. They didn't give him any more information than that. This was more than a month ago.

Last week, because of some other case my father is going through, he got to look at his medical files and also skimmed across the biopsy results. On this he found that his tumor was classified as a Gleason 6.

I am so frustrated that the hospital didn't give him this information (or any other info/advice). I would think that when you're diagnosed with cancer they will at least tell you what your options are and give you every detail they know.

My father will now go to another hospital to have another biopsy and hopefully to get more information (which stage is it in? is it spread? is it aggressive? what are his options?).

He will call the hospital (if he can decide on which one) after the weekend to make an appointment. I am hoping that some of you might be able to give me some advice on what my father should ask for when he goes in. What are the important details to know?

I would appreciate any response. My father doesn't want anyone outside of us 5 (me, sis and boyfriend, mom and dad) to know so I don't really have anyone I can talk to about this and I don't want to burden my family with all these questions I'm having.

Thanks so much and I wish the best to all of you.

Post Edited (maybesomeday) : 7/29/2011 2:03:49 AM (GMT-6)

Welcome to HW. Not sure your father needs another biopsy as much as he need his report from the first biopsy. Personally I would liked to have left the hospital with as many details as possible, rather than being told to come back in 3 months. Easy for them to say that. I would be froceful about getting the records from them as they belong to your father. After that you can do some research and get a second opinion if needed. Stay focused as his numbers are not too high and he might have many options at this point.

Michael

Thanks for your responses. It really helps a lot.

@steve He did ask for the biopsy report and what they gave him was a paper with one sentence on it saying that it's Gleason 6 and that the patient decided to wait instead of operate. So.. they didn't give him the results really, only the conclusion. And a false conclusion at that (my father didn't decide anything, he was told to wait). I am trying to convince my dad to call them again to ask for the actual results.

@michael and ralfinaz Even though he will try to get the full biopsy report he probably will get a second biopsy anyway. We don't have any trust in the hospital that took the first biopsy. Even our own doctor is advising us to get a new biopsy.

I'm a little bit mad at my dad right now, because I thought that the biopsy was about a month ago, but it was more than 3 months ago. He knew about it this long and didn't tell. Grr. I know I shouldn't be mad, I know he had a lot to deal with. And I guess I'm not really mad, just a bit frustrated.

So, the rise to 5.3 didn't happen before the biopsy, but 3 months after. He got the biopsy when it was 5.1. After the result of the psa being 5.3 three months later, the urologist said that was excellent and that he should come back in 6! months. Is it normal to have so much time between tests? Even if you choose for active surveillance?

It is so important to "trust" any Dr. Sounds like you have your hands full but thank goodness for you and your love for Dad! His biopsy can be accessed by him and should best sent to prostate cancer specfic labs like Bostwick just to name one such. It's a bearcat to hear the word "CANCER" at first but then it takes getting about half mad in order to combat the beast. He has many options but testing is key in deciding which path. Good folks here.