Medical portals

I usually go to the lab's portal rather than my doctors office portal. The results usually show up quicker and I get an option to print a report with a bit more information than typically available on the results in my doctors portal. I have no idea if this will work everywhere, but it works for me with both the lab and imaging providers I use. Best wishes.

I intentionally do not use medical portals and EMRs. I want the support and guidance of my provider when information, like test results, is disclosed.

It all depends on where you are being Treated. My PET scan reading was posted before I spoke to my oncologist. I didn’t have a decipher since I started being treated way before that test existed. After four reoccurrences, I know my chances of a reoccurrence are high because of a genetic issue.

All of my test reports are posted on my portal as soon as they are ready, with a "Not reviewed by provider" caveat. The only time they weren't was after my biopsy, those were delivered via a tele-health video call with my urologist 7 days after the biopsy. I would have loved to have them before the call, as I would have had many more questions prepared. As it was I was shocked, although I was prepared for a cancer diagnosis with my PIRADS 5 x 3 MRI result. In early December, I had a physical and my PCP ran blood tests including PSA. In most large Hospital systems nurses and backroom staff respond to patients on their portal, including reviewing blood work. Two weeks after it was posted to my portal I was told all of my bloodwork was normal. I saw that my PSA had jumped 1.15 from 3.22 to 4.37. A little research told me a jump of over .75 in a year which put me over 4.0 was cause for concern. It took 2 months, 3 portal messages and finally a phone call to my PCPs staff to have my PCP refer me to a urologist. Weeks long wait for urologist appointment, then weeks long wait for MRI then weeks long wait for biopsy, and finally a 7 day wait to receive a 4+4=8 Gleason, with Crib and IDC diagnosis. My PSA had risen to 5.91 by April. Had I not been given those initial PSA test results, and done my own research, advocated for myself and questioned the "normal" findings, I would have gone another year with this very aggressive high risk cancer growing inside me. We all need to be our own best and loudest advocate, otherwise we may simply disappear in the monstrous healthcare system we need in order to survive.

In MyChart with my local hospital network, anything that is going to be shared with me is shared as soon as it's available. I don't get everything though: for example, I'll get the radiologist's analysis of a scan, but not the scan imagery itself.

I respect people choosing not to see results until they're in the doctor's office, but that wouldn't work for me. In October, I'll have been at this for 5 years — I have a pretty good idea of what different results mean in context, and if I'm concerned and don't want to wait for my next 3-month oncology appt. at the cancer centre, I can just call the patient support line and ask (but I've done that only once over those years).

It's been 9 months from my psa retest and finally next week will see an oncologist for Gleason 3+4 the Urology surgeon isn't till Sept 28th for consultation. When the urologist referred me he said if you don't hear anything in 3 weeks call us. 2 days later I called both offices and they made appointments, which one is this. The mri took almost 3 months so I'm not going to wait around for them to call. I figure by the time I get treated it will be close to a year.

Thanks everyone. It's a double edged sword. I received my biopsy results just a couple of days after my procedure. When I told the urologist I already knew he seemed a little upset. And it was a punch in the gut for me. It will be almost a month before I see him to get my decipher score and pet scan results. Just a little anxious I guess. After my pet scan she was checking the scans and I peeked. Saw a bunch of bright red with one bright yellow spot. Didn't know what I was looking at but thinking the worst. I keep telling myself, live in the moment, one day at a time. I'm 66 and not ready to throw in the towel.

Russel I have only been dealing with this since my diagnosis in December 2025 and surgery in January 2026. But I can tell you this; you are not alone! We overthink and I believe that it is easy to go to the negative first. Take good care my brother! All is well. Prayers your way tonight 🙏🏽

@nrfuls66
Sorry to hear your biopsy results.
If you have a Gleason 8, you have PCa that you will probably want to treat.
The PSMA Pet should confirm PCa in the prostate and rule in or out PCa elsewhere, which impacts treatment choices.
Patrick Walsh MD's book Surviving Prostate Cancer 2023 ed was my resource Bible, together with free Patient Guides from the Prostate Cancer Foundation pcf.org (download and/or hard copy).
Best wishes.

I get my blood tests from three different portals, in 3 different formats because the sharing issues legally have not been worked out. Most of the time the results are the same in formats that sometimes don't make sense (Quest vs MyChart VS Athena)

My other tests, images, clinical summaries and the like, I get ahead of time.