Hi my dad is 83 and been told he has Psa of 85. I live 300 miles away from him. He has other pain in his back etc and a hernia. I am very worried about him. Does 85 mean define cancer as that is what the consultant is saying. Thanks all x
Sorry to read about your dad. My psa was 70 whenI was diagnosed My understanding is it iis possibly cancer. But take heart for I had two years of hormone therapy plus radiotherapy and my psa came down to 0.01. Treatment has progressed a lot in the past few years. Hope they can soon sort a treatment programe out for him., Brian
The PSA is not a totally reliable test on its own to diagnose prostate cancer, but combined with further investigations can indicate cancer. A high PSA can mean it is cancer, but because I am not involved in his care I do not know for sure. Doctors may want to biopsy the prostate to confirm cancer and to find other features such as the grade. The grade can indicate how fast growing a cancer is, it is known as the Gleason score and as well as the stage (the size and extent of the cancer) can determine what treatment is needed. Other factors that influence treatment are the symptoms the patient is experiencing and how well and fit they are.
I wonder if your dad has told the doctor about his back pain as this may also need to be looked in to. The doctors may want him to have a bone scan. If you have not already seen it you may find our information about how prostate cancer is diagnosed and treated useful to read, click here to see it.
It can be difficult if you do not live close to your dad to really understand what is happening and this can make a situation more worrying. So I wonder if it is at all possible for you or a family member to go with your dad to his next appointment with the specialist doctor. Being able to hear what the doctor has to say yourself and perhaps being given the opportunity to ask questions (providing you have your dad’s permission to do so) may give you much more of an insight about what is happening.
I hope that this has been helpful and if you have any other questions do contact us again. If you would like to telephone our Freephone number is 0808 800 4040. We are here from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am to 5pm.
