Theo,
The biopsy was not that bad at all, getting the biopsy will help tell you and your physician if and how much PCa may be present. I had two biopsies done within 6 weeks, the first was a 10 core biopsy under local anesthesia in the doctors office procedure room. The preparation and paperwork took longer than the procedure, the actual procedure took 7 minutes. The side affects that may be experienced, blood in urine and stool for a few days and blood in semen for a few weeks and soreness in perineum. The only one I experience was blood in the semen for a few weks, but emptying your prostate several times during that period will help clear out the blood. 
Unfortunately my first biopsy showed atypical cells which are a sign PCa may be present. The second biopsy I had was 6 weeks later, it was a template/saturation biopsy which involved taking 22 cores under general anesthesia. The prcedure took a little over an hour and recovery was the same as the first biopsy but a little more soreness in the perineum and showed 1 core with PCa. After each biopsy I took antibiotics for a few days with no other side affects.