Is a PSA Test for prostate Cancer accurate.

Christmas 2021 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

I had been very ill for over 8 months with a Urinary Tract Infection that laid me desperately low, loosing over 2 stone - 28lb - 13kg in weight and I lost an entire summer season - laying in bed freezing cold or sweltering and sweating - going through 6 or 7 bath towels a night in bed trying to stay dry.

The doctor leaned over his table towards me and in a gentle voice said

'You have cancer of the Prostate Mr. Bellamy as your PSA levels are between 15 and 16 - somewhat heightened and we need to monitor this.'

I replied how I was not prepared to go onto medication as I knew exactly how toxic the meds were and have known several people die from drug treatment for prostate cancer and I was not going down that road.

He stated that we could monitor it every 4 months with a simple blood test and see how the PSA levels behaved.

Luckily I am not one of those doom and gloom merchants that worried further and went home and just laughed it off - and got on with my life - being more concerned with my every day medical problems of regaining the weight I had lost and getting my head together after such a long period of bad health - rather than worrying about the cancer.

Four months later I went for another blood test and this time my PSA levels were down to 4.8 - NORMAL.

My last blood test - just last month, this time my PSA levels are down further - to 3.8 WHICH IS NORMAL FOR A MAN OF MY AGE - and proves one serious misconception that needs looking at.

The first high result that enabled them to assume I had cancer, was a false reading, high because I was in the very early stages of recovery from the UTI and my weakened body system - obviously - gave a false high reading - BUT NO ONE THOUGHT TO INDICATE THIS COULD BE THE CAUSE - and I was left to worry for nothing.

Just as well I didn't become obsessed or mortified by such bad news and get myself all stressed out about it - and it is just as well I completely ignored it.

A wank - a tiring day at work, stress, all sorts of every day occurrences can alter your PSA levels yet the doctor never made this clear to me and never indicated it could be a false reading and that it could be because I had been so ill until my second visit after it had dramatically lowered in its count and THEN he claimed it could be a false reading - rather than give me this information at the beginning ... and I was not given correct and accurate input concerning this.

I have always said ask your doctor questions and more questions and never take what they say as gospel - which I did at the initial time, but I had no reason to think there were false readings so never went down that road of enquiry.

I do recommend all men over a certain age - mid 40's, have their PSA levels checked but at the same time, remember a stressful day can alter the readings and not to take it too seriously until after several readings over a period of time prove it to be one way or the other.

My prostate is swollen and enlarged and I do pee a dozen times a day - or more - and several times at night, but that is normal and not cancer and my twin brother has the same thing but - no cancer - and I do take meds for that - which kill my stiffy - and other than the usual arthritis, gout, IBS and other things that I have had for decades, at least I appear to be cancer free.