Prostate care diagnostic pathway

Diagnostic procedures for prostate cancer and a consultation with one of our specialists – all in one day.

Overview

Early diagnosis is key to treating prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer affects more men in the UK than any other cancer, but with quick diagnosis and tailored treatment there is a very good chance of beating it.

At Cromwell Hospital, our prostate cancer diagnosis pathway starts with an abnormal PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) detection at a GP appointment or health assessment, and takes you through the diagnosis and treatment options.

The diagnostic pathway at Cromwell Hospital is aimed at picking up the signs of prostate cancer as early as possible.

What tests are involved?

Depending on your symptoms, you may need to have:

blood tests – to measure PSA levels. High levels of PSA can also be caused by other prostate conditions
a digital rectal examination (DRE) – your doctor will feel the prostate through the wall of the rectum
mpMRI – this is a special type of MRI scan that identifies whether or not there is any cancer inside your prostate, and how quickly any cancer is likely to grow
a prostate biopsy – a small sample of tissue is taken using a very fine needle and sent to a lab for testing.
ultrasound scans – the prostate gland is examined using a small device inserted into the rectum.

Depending on your results, you may also need more further diagnostic scans, including:

Diagnostic pathway

An abnormal PSA is detected at a GP appointment or health assessment.
You or your GP books an appointment for the prostate care clinic
You'll have a pre-clinic phone call with our nurse to talk through reasons for referral and let you know what to expect on the day.
You'll have an initial consultation with a urologist, multi-parametric (mpMRI) MRI/other diagnostic tests and follow-up consultation to discuss your test results. Depending your test results, you may also have a biopsy if results are abnormal. All of this can be done on the same day.
If your biopsy results are abnormal, you'll be told about treatment options.

All patients with abnormal biopsy results are discussed at a multidisciplinary meeting to decide a tailored treatment plan.

What happens if I’m diagnosed with prostate cancer?

If you receive an abnormal biopsy result and are diagnosed with prostate cancer, your case will be discusssed at a multidisciplinary team meeting. A multidisciplinary team is comprised of a group of experts from different clinical disciplines. They will discuss your biopsy results and jointly devise a tailored treatment plan.

Treatments for prostate cancer

Depending on how far your prostate cancer has developed and your personal needs, the following treatments may be recommended to you.

Radical prostatectomy (including robotic-assisted prostatectomy)
Chemotherapy
Radiotherapy
Hormone therapy
High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
Cryotherapy

To find out more about these treatments, please visit our dedicated prostate cancer page.

Here you will find further information about prostate cancer, its symptoms, diagnosis and the treatments available at Cromwell Hospital.

Payment options

We offer a range of flexible payment options including self-pay. You don’t need medical insurance to access our services and you also don’t need a GP referral. Simply contact us to make an appointment.

Diagnostics pathway costs

Stage 1	Price
Initial consultation	£250
mpMRI	£870
Other diagnostics incl. bladder scan, flow rate – if required	£330
Follow up consultation	£180

At the end of stage 1, your consultant will be able to tell you if you need a biopsy or not.

Stage 2	Price
Transperineal biopsy – if required	£4,295

Why choose us?

Our prostate care diagnostic pathway offers:

seamless transition from a GP appointment (if abnormal PSA detected) to diagnosis and treatment
leading consultant urologists to guide you through each step of the process
speed and accuracy of diagnosis
expert multidisciplinary cancer care on-site in the event of a cancer diagnosis
different payments options – this service is available to everyone, whether using health insurance or paying for yourself

Our specialist consultants

Professor Hashim Ahmed

/ Consultant Urological Surgeon

Urology

Clinical interests: Professor Ahmed has received the BMJ Award for Innovation 2015 for his group's work in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. Diagnosis of prostate cancer Advice on PSA screening. Advice on prostate cancer risk for men with a family history or other risk factors. Multi-parametric MRI. MRI-guided biopsies, transperineal template biopsies, image-fusion prostate biopsies). Biopsies under local anaesthetic, sedation or general anaesthetic Treatment of Prostate Cancer Focal therapy, HIFU, cryotherapy, active surveillance. Second opinion on treatment options. Member of Multi-disciplinary team meetings for case discussions of all prostate cancer cases. Diagnosis and management and treatment of men with urinary symptoms Benign prostate hyperplasia, lower urinary tract symptoms. Treatment using bipolar TURP, laser, Uro-lift, medical management, self management Diagnosis and management of patients with blood in the urine (haematuria).

Languages spoken: Bengali/English

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Mr Hama Attar

/ Consultant Urological Surgeon

Urology

Clinical interests: Management of kidney stones, Prostate and Bladder Cancer Diagnosis, blood in urine, bladder infections, urinary symptoms, incontinence, erectile dysfunction

Languages spoken: English

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Mr Mathias Winkler

/ Consultant Urologist

Urology, General

Clinical interests: General Urology, urinary symptoms, prostate problems, scrotal lumps, blood in the urine, suspected cancer in kidney, prostate, bladder or testes, kidney stones, abnormal PSA, second opinon on cancer diagnosis and management and laraparaoscopic pelvic cancer surgery

Languages spoken: English/German

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Book an appointment today

Our telephone lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 2pm Saturdays.

+44 (0)20 7460 5700 Email us >

Please note - regrettably we are unable to answer specific medical questions or offer medical advice via email or telephone