Monday 14th September

I've never written a blog before & I'm not known for my ability to write well so you'll have to bear with me.

Today is Monday 14th and my operation is on Thursday. Up to now I think I've been dealing with my cancer quite well, I'm very positive and convinced of a good outcome but as the operation gets closer I have been worrying about the procedure more & more. I know I shouldn't but I'm finding it difficult.

Over the next few days I'll try to write about my journey. 

Here goes:

I have a Prolactinoma (a micro one at that). For those of you that don't now it's a pituitary tumour, in my case completely benign. I see a lovely consultant at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH), Dr Wheatley. As part of my treatment I tend to have lots of blood tests including a PSA test.

PSA stands for Prostate Specific Antigen and it is an early indicator of changes to the prostate.

The NHS choices website shows the following guide for raised PSA levels:

The amount of PSA in your blood is measured in nanograms of PSA per millilitre of blood (ng/ml). PSA levels can range from 1ng/ml to hundreds of ng/ml.

• If you're aged 50-59, your PSA level is considered raised if it's 3ng/ml or higher. 
• If you're aged 60-69, your PSA level is considered raised if it's 4ng/ml or higher. 
• If you're aged 70 or over, your PSA level is considered raised if it's 5ng/ml or higher.

Dr Wheatley noticed a small increase in my PSA level, raised to 4.1, and suggested a visit to a Urologist for further checks.

At the initial consultation the doctor carried out a physical examination to check the size of the gland. Not a pleasant procedure but a necessary one. My gland wasn't enlarged but the urologist suggested an MRI scan which was carried out quite quickly.

During my followup consultation I was told that the results were inconclusive and a biopsy should be done. Again this was carried out at the PRH. I did a bit of research beforehand and knew roughly what to expect. I think the following image shows the procedure quite well:

( Opps.Not sure the diagram uploaded correctly  so I'll try it again)

The procedure is not painful, just a little uncomfortable. In total 11 biopsies were taken for checking. The doctor explained what he was doing throughout and it took around 20 minutes.