Prostate cancer

After your cancer treatment has ended, you will still need regular appointments with your cancer specialist. This is called follow-up. Your doctor will discuss your follow-up plan with you.

Follow-up may involve PSA tests and maybe a digital rectal exam (DRE). At first you will see your consultant every 3 months but these check-ups will become less frequent over time.

You may have follow-up appointments to check your PSA for many years. Some men have PSA tests at the hospital or you may have them at your local GP surgery.

Ask any questions you have, and to let your doctor know if you are having any problems. Tell them about any new symptoms, aches or pains you have, or if you are finding it hard to cope. It can help to write down what you want to say beforehand, so you don’t forget anything.

The end of treatment is a time when people often expect to feel relieved, happy and able to get on with life again, but it can take some time to adjust and for your body and mind to recover.

Join our Life and Cancer – Enhancing Survivorship (LACES) programme when you have finished treatment or started maintenance therapy. 

This workshop covers topics such as diet, exercise, wellbeing, finance and self-management and gives information on support and services to help you.

If treatment has been successful you would expect the PSA level to drop. Sometimes your PSA may rise again after radiation treatment, as some prostate cells may still produce PSA. Sometimes the PSA level may rise and then fall again one to two years after treatment. This is called a PSA bounce.

It is not necessarily a sign that the cancer has come back. The PSA should drop to its lowest level after 18 months to 2 years after radiotherapy. This is often called the PSA nadir.

Sometimes cancer does come back, even after successful treatment. Cancer cells may remain in your body and grow again, although your doctors do all they can to prevent this.

If the cancer comes back in your prostate or somewhere else, your doctor will advise you about your treatment options. This may include taking part in a clinical trial. You might also find it reassuring to have another medical opinion. Your doctor will refer you to another specialist for a second opinion if you feel this would be helpful.