ASAP, Pirads 3 and confusion

[Safemuffin]

Hi

My father passed away recently from Lung cancer. I’m trying to understand if he also had an undiagnosed prostate cancer.

2018 - Pirads 3 but I don’t know PSA

2019 - Pirads 3 stable. PSA maybe 16? Biopsy - ASAP no definite cancer

Monitored for years before and after these two years by PSA. Sometimes rose then went down again.

2024 - PSA rise to something they weren’t happy with but I’d be guessing at the PSA level.

2024 - PSA is tested again and has decreased significantly to 5.5 or similar. They said this is within ok range for his age

CT scan for lung cancer showed enlarged prostate which we had been aware of for a few years. CT scan also showed bladder obstruction and bladder wall thickness.

What’s the likelihood he had undiagnosed prostate cancer?

His brother had aggressive prostate cancer when he was 48 that only needed a prostectomy and no other treatment.

I’m really concerned about family history and obviously the more incidents of prostate cancer pose a breast cancer risk to me and my sister as daughters.

Many thanks for your help

[Don717]

I pondered the same questions when my Dad passed and had high psa and had to cath for the last 7 years of his life due to prostate blockage. However he passed due to kidney failure battling stage 4 CKD for 8 years at 93 years old. Unfortunately you will never know the answers to your question with his passing. But you can do genetic testing to see if the bloodline carries any markers related to various cancers. I did when I was diagnosed and the results were good for our daughters at least as far my donation to their gene pool and what science says. Sorry for your loss.

[Safemuffin in reply to Don717]

Thank you. Yeah, the CT scan showed bladder obstruction and and bladder wall thickness. I’m guessing this was because of the enlarged prostate rather than bladder cancer being another possibility?

What made you decide to gene test?

[Don717 in reply to Safemuffin]

Genomic testing is pretty standard fare for PC these days. Gives you a look at any mutations/recognized bad genes you might have or pass on. Like BRCA and BRCA2 for example. If you do not have actual biomaterial from a lesion you can use saliva or blood test to see if you harbor any of these genes. I did it because my moms side had a very strong cancer history with all of my moms siblings including her passing from cancer. My dads side is very clean with cancer history. As I said above I tested negative for any identified cancer causing genes when I was diagnosed with PC.