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Lower abdomen, side, and lower back pain
Was diagnosed with 7 (3+4) prostate cancer in April, PSA is around 4.5, biopsy confirmed 1 of 12 cores in area of concern (70%, 4 being 10%). Had PSMA PET full body, CT with contrast, and pelvic x-rays and nothing shows spread. Had all sorts of other tests including Prostox, Polaris, and Artera. Everything came back lower grade, early caught, chance of spread very low, but I’ve had lower back, both sides, and lower abdomen pains for some time now. I’m evaluating treatment options, but every time I feel these pains I think the cancer has metastasized. Can anyone who has been through this explain to me if they’ve had any weird pains or feelings when the cancer metastasis, or do you not feel anything. Sorry if this is a stupid question. Thanks.
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Not a stupid question. There are none when it comes to PCa concerns. Prior to being diagnosed with PCa, I went to my PCP complaining of the same type of pain you are describing. She ran blood work at 7 AM. At 10 AM she called and said, " Thank God you came in for a blood test. You are in renal failure. Get to the emergency room now. They are expecting you."
I spent 3 lovely days in the hospital where they relieved the urine retention causing the renal failure (by foley insertion, of course). It took a few weeks to determine the urine retention was being cause by an enlarged prostate due to a grade 5 cancer. That was 6 months ago. I still self-catheterize to pee even after 4 months of ADT and a week of radiation. Not saying this is what's causing yours but, don't keep the pain a secret from your docs. It doesn't necessarily have to be caused by metastatic activity. Best wishes.
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3 Reactions@mjp0512 Thank you for your response. My PCP did blood work when I went in complaining about it and both my kidneys and liver tested good. He also did an ex-ray of my back and pelvic area and that came back showing mild Lumbar disk degeneration, and mild spondylosis and facet arthrosis which he says could be causing the pains.
@ucfron
Yea, I have a blown disc @ L4-L5 confirmed by MRI and a metastatic lesion on L5 confirmed by PSMA PET. Back pain is part of daily life although I have no idea which issue is causing it. RO says he can zap the lesion but he's not a neurosurgeon and can't do anything about the disc. Certainly not signing up for back surgery at this point. C'est la vie. Getting old is not for sissys. Keep up the fight. We got this. 👍👍👍
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2 ReactionsFirst question is always “how old are you?” The helps answer a lot of questions.
I had a herniated disk at L5-S1, (as well as other degenerative disease) totally unrelated to my prostate cancer.
Don’t let your mind take you to dark places; let the test and scan numbers guide you.
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2 Reactions@brianjarvis
"Don’t let your mind take you to dark places; let the test and scan numbers guide you."
One of the best pieces of advice I've seen in the 4 months I've been here!
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2 Reactions@brianjarvis 62. I agree with your last sentence, but is hard to get those thoughts out of my head. Thank you,
Wing - Sorry to hear about the pain your having . Your 62 so we have to keep this in mind . If its HIGHLY unusual and intrusive , I would get a second and third opinion. PSMA-PET scans are very detailed and state of the art . At a PSA of 4.5 , they usually don't miss much. Have you had genetic testing? With the PSMA-PET scan was the prostate large ? Have you had a MRI with contrast ? this scan will give us a good look at the lesion , and where they/it sits inside or on the wall of prostate . At this point I would request a MRI myself. Keep asking these logical question . Plenty af great people here to help with their experience . God Bless Sir ! James on Vancouver Island .
@ucfron I know three guys, one with an initial PSA of 11,700, and two others with initial PSAs of 7,500, and 3,800, respectively. Those are what would be tough to get out of one’s mind. My PSA of 7.976 was easy in comparison to those guys’ experience.
@vancouverislandhiker High PSA was noticed by PCP in Dec 2024 at 4.3, followed up by Urologist in Feb 2025 at 4.5 which lead to Multi-axle MRI with contrast in April 2025 which showed 2.2 cm PRIRAD5 lesion. The MRI reports this as "a large anterior transitional zone mass that abuts the anterior fibermuscular bundle without extraprostatic extension". I believe this means it is inside the prostate between the inner transitional zone, and the outer fibromuscular zone layers, but I could be wrong. My Prostate volume was 41.0 ml which I don't believe is considered too large for my age group. Yes I have had a Helix genetics test back in 2020 before diagnosis which showed no genetic issues.
PS, I love Vancouver Island the one time I visited.
@vancouverislandhiker The PSMA PET Scan reports says "Moderately intense focus of uptake in the left paramedian transitional zone of the prostate which spans approximately 1.8 cm". "Demonstrates a maximum SUV of 7.1 likely reflecting prostate neoplasm. Mild prostatomegaly is present, otherwise no PSMA avid metastatic disease or lymphadenopathy noted".