"Heart problems and prostate cancer."

A few months ago I noticed blood in my urine and immediately made a appointment with my GP.

As a male in his early 70s I had a good idea that it might be prostate cancer, and after a rectal exam my doctor thought this might be the case and made a phone call to the local hospital and within a week my appointment came through.

I went to the North Devon district hospital originally to the urology department, they put the pulse meter on my finger and the reading was 155 bpm, I was immediately moved to the Cardiology unit and kept in overnight until it returned to a more regular beat.

The doctors were amazed that I hadn’t had any of the usual symptoms.

I was prescribed blood thinners and heartbeat regulating medication and the urology appointment postponed.

I was sent to the Devon and Exeter hospital for a full body bone scan and that came back negative for any cancer having spread to my bones

I’ve today received a phone call from the consultant urologist to arrange for another appointment for a biopsy which should happen in the near future.

The biopsy had to be delayed until after a cardiogram to put my heartbeat back to normal and also until I could miss 3-4 days of medication to avoid any bleeding if it should occur during my biopsy.

From my first appointment with my GP to my first contact with the hospital was a matter of about a week.

At all times I have been treated politely and with care and kept informed as to what was happening  by all involved with my treatment and couldn’t be happier with the why my case has been dealt with. 

I cannot thank them enough for my treatment and the precautions that were taken during the Covid 19 pandemic.