new to this

Bobdaily,

Just read your thread.

Welcome, and hoping the best for your biopsy results. So glad to hear you have a new urologist.

Keep us updated.

Hi Bob…   Really glad to see your posting!!!!   W e are so thankful you didn’t wait…and you searched out a new urologist…     We will  "all"   be right here whenever you need us…. Thanks for reaching out…      In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy

Bob,

The biopsy is not a huge deal at all. A little blushing, some numbing, some pinches and it's over. For a week to 3 weeks there will be a small amount of blood in your urine and semen. It'll be a red to brown color and that's it. The hard part is waiting for results. Good luck be your's today.

Stay well, Swim

Bob,

I guess fortunately we coped well with the one week wait because we were given false hope by the urologist. After taking the twelve samples I was placed in an exam room and my wife was brought back to join me. The urologist came in and told us that based upon the ultrasound that he did not see anything suspicious and felt certain that the results would come back negative. As you can imagine when I went back alone for the results because we expected them to be negative and received the diagnosis I was totally shocked and for a good five minutes I did not hear anything that he said. After a quick 10 minutes on treatment options I told him I was going to a university based medical center for a second opinion on treatment options. I never went back to him. All I can tell you is to go about your normal life as much as possible. There is no reason to discuss it or speculate. The week will go by faster without doing that.

Tamu

Bob,

That is a very profound statement..wishing the wife would sleep until next Wed. I guess it would indeed be less stressful for the biopsee and the wife too. I'm thinking a lot of guys have similar thoughts.

Swim

Well I received the results of my biopsy today.

None of the 6 cores taken were positive for cancer.

Prostate is not enlarged, only a very subtle rough spot.

Dr does not know why i have all these symptoms but he is not going to treat any of them until I have another PSA in 6 months.

now of course my wife and i are ecstatic, we both thought for sure that i had cancer. have any of you had symptoms that were just being watched (even with a psa of 13.8?). I trust this dr and feel confident that he is making a good decision for me. but curious as to any experiences similar to this on this board.

we thank you for being here for us, you are a great group

bob

Great news Bob! I don't have any advise regarding your questions, but am very happy for you and your wife. One less member here is always great news. Courtney

So Glad Things Are Better

A message of hope by Emily Matthews



Sometimes the road

seems dark and long,

but suddenly, there’s light

To warm our hearts and let us know

that things will be all right,

And in those golden, warming rays,

we find the strength to cope

And emerge from times of trouble

with a brand-new sense of hope



So glad that things are better

and this stressful time

is through ~

Here’s hoping

this is just the start

of better days for you.





Dear Bobbaily & Loved Ones….



We are so excited for you!! Continue to take One-Day-At-A-Time…..

Grab mama Bob and give her a huge big hug… and when she hugs you back….

That big ‘ole hug is from all of us!!! yeah



Stay on top of this and know that we will always be here… if you want to pop in and let us know how you’re doing… Come by any time…Don’t just drop off the map…. Thank you for allowing us to follow you and be “Helping Hands” during a time when we all feel so alone… If you post in the future… please come back to this thread…. so we have a history to look at… okay!!!!



HealingWell is a wonderful place to share ~ and learn ~ and to know ~ that there are others out there looking for answers.



The verse above by Emily Matthews is so appropriate. I have just found this young lady’s writings and can’t believe her words mirror so many of my own (thoughts and beliefs). Not in this particular writing but some of her others. It’s kinda spooky.



We wish for you health, happiness, and love… each and every~day of your lives….

Take care and know we will continue to keep you in our thoughts and prayers….



In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy

Hi Deb & Bob
I also feel a second opinion is in order! 6 cores is a pretty low number and asking a second doctor his opinion would at least put your mind at ease.

Did Bob mention the painful ejaculations to the first dr.?? When you check with a second doctor, you might want to demand a course of treatment at least for the pain. Something isn't right if there's pain and if it's an infection it can eventually be cleared up.

Good luck and please keep us "in the loop" as to your next step.

;o) Linda

Hi Ms. Bobbaily, Congratulations on coming out with negative biopsies.   This is scary stuff and it takes your mind over.   There is another website called yananow.net (comes from the acronym You Are Not Alone Now) and they have a lot of good information and some levity to break the tension.   One of the observations by one of the contributors was, to the effect, that, “ A man diagnosed with prostate cancer does not have to concern himself with having a hobby.”   Prostate cancer becomes your hobby.   In other words, the quest of running down all the information that you can find out about prostate cancer takes over a lot of your spare time and your mind.   At least it did mine.   You should not blame yourself for being nervous and worried, but if it gets in the way of your functioning, I think you should ask family doctor to give you something help you.   There is no shame in doing this.   I about went nuts when I got the diagnosis, partly because of hearing the mention of the Big C, and what we went through when my mother had ovarian cancer (it came flashing back to me that I might go through what she did; nobody in my family ever had PCa), so I had some of this to calm me down.     Another thing that I cannot recommend strongly enough is that you get (buy or check out of the library) two books and read them carefully. One is Dr. Peter Scardino’s Prostate Book .   He is at New York ’s Sloan Kettering Cancer Center , but was in Houston at Baylor where my doctor is.   His book is one of the most reassuring, hopeful resources you can get.   The other is the book by Dr. Patrick Walsh of Johns Hopkins called Surviving Prostate Cancer .   It is also hopeful, and full of a lot of important information. Now I sure don’t want to scare you, because you all sound worked up a lot, but I want your husband to be free of cancer.   You are going to have to stay on top of this and do a lot of your own research.   There is one thing I asked about in a previous post to bobbaily, and that was what is the free PSA percent.   With a high PSA (above 10, in my opinion), I think you should know it.   For cancer, it is usually low , lower than like 12-15 percent.   Mine was 8, even with a PSA of 5.7, so I was just sure I was toast.   My cancer turned out to still be confined to the prostate gland.   I think it would be very instructive for you to know the free PSA percent. Another thing that bobbaily didn’t mention was any previous PSAs.   There is a doctor named Carter at Johns Hopkins that made a big deal about , not how high the PSA is, but how fast it went up.   If you have previous PSA values, you could graph them by year.   I did this after the fact, because I hadn’t heard about Carter’s study, only to find out that mine was going up at an exponential rate.   This rate is associated more with cancer.   There are a few things that can cause the burning and painful ejaculation.   One is an infection and I think Linda lawink’s and <DAVE>’s advice about getting that looked into and treated is sage.   Another thing is that the prostate can form stones, just like kidneys and the bladder.   If the gland is hurting during ejaculation, it could be pumping against a stone in there.   The doctor might be able to tell you that that could be ruled out if he didn’t see a stony object on the ultrasound.   To you four points (and I’m not a medical doctor, but I’ve learned a lot from going through this): 1.   Biopsy sampling can miss cancerous areas.   I had 12 cores taken – six taken on each side, sort of equally spread around.   Nothing was found on the left side of the prostate , and the four that were positive were all in the upper part of the right side (the base), and nothing in the apex (the bottom of the basically upside-down triangular shaped prostate that is where the tube leaves to go to the penis).   When I got the results of the post-op pathology report, there were cancerous areas (very small-less than an sixteenth of an inch, but still there) in the left side, too. 2.   My doctor is doing PSAs on me post op at 4 month-intervals.   My brother’s doctor told him that now since there is PCa in the family, he should have his done every six months.   I was looking into an experimental chemotherapy that is done for a month or so pre-op, but I had to wait for some reason to get on it.   My doctor said that if I waited for 6 months after the first biopsy, he would have to do another biopsy.   So, six months is not really out of line, but I think there should be some kind of intervention to measure change from. 3.   The PSA that you mentioned is high, but the only way I can think of to tell if it means that you will get cancer in the future is to plot the PSAs over time to see if there is a steady trend up.   4.   The reason for the pain is something that needs to be found and can have causes that I mentioned above, and there could be more.   Please read those books I mentioned. I hope this information will help, but in the meantime, please get something to calm you.   You can research this better and come up with a better strategy, if you have fewer distractions that are bothering you. All the best, dj

I don't know if this significant but bob didn't have a tradional biopsy, it is a three month wait here for a biopsy...the dr guided his finger with the needle thing and felt the spots to take samples of. should bob have a TRUS with the needles? what is the difference?

thanks to all of you

deb

Dear Deb (and Bob too!)

somehow i didn't find this thread until tonight. it is an invaluable thread and a great learning tool for both potential and current pc patients. i am not hear to alarm anyone, only to give my honest opinions based on research or personal experience. i don't want to repeat the excellent advice you have received here already, but some things are worth repeating maybe with new insight. here are my responses below to your questions which are excellent. every husband who has pc should have a wife as special and concerned as you are about your husband.

Posted 2/23/2007 3:51 PM (GMT -5)
I am Bob's wife
we have had a hard time with the possibility that he had prostate cancer
i am having a tough time emotionally even now after the good news

i hope someone can answer my questions

1/ is it possible that the biopsy could have missed some cancer ?

Comment: i was most fortunate that my biopsy was taken by a top urologist at one of the top hospitals in the U.S. he took 29 core samples! while 29 samples seems a little excessive, it has given me greater confidence in the diagnosis of my stage of PC. both the medical oncologist that i consulted before electing my treatment and my present radiation oncologist agreed that it lends greater creditability to the designated stage of PC. 6 samples is totally inadequate and yes, some cancer can be missed in such a limited sample. i have read that the ideal number of samples would be a minimum of 12, but that 20 or close thereto is considered ideal. i have read cases where too few samples were taken and the results were negative. when more samples were taken, the results were positive. i don't know where you live, but perhaps you should find a 3rd urologist from a leading prostate cancer treatment hospital nearest to you who has an expert reputation (see my suggestion for MD sources below). i would not wait very long to get a more extensive biopsy.

P.S. Recently you posted this update: I don't know if this significant, but bob didn't have a tradional biopsy, it is a three month wait here for a biopsy...the dr guided his finger with the needle thing and felt the spots to take samples of.

Comment: this is significant! i guess this explains why the doctor only took 6 samples. i don't understand why it takes 3 months in your area to get a prostate biopsy--this is ridiculous! it took me a month to get to one of the top urologists in my area and i thought that was long enough. the only thing your husband's doctor has done is give you a false sense of security until he can get a complete biopsy, especially because the reason for the high PSA has not yet been accounted for. i think the doctor would have done you a better favor to have waited until a full biopsy could be performed. however, there is no reason to delay testing the PSA again and getting that free PSA test.

2/ is 6months a reasonable time to wait for another psa?

Comment: absolutely not. my regular doctor tested mine again within a month when the first test was too high. if an infection has been ruled out, then your husband should have another PSA test sooner rather than later. also, make sure that he doesn't have any ejaculations preferably within 72 hours of the test and he should not have a DRE before the test, because they can elevate the PSA, but i certainly wouldn't conclude that any of these factors would elevate your husband's PSA to its present high level.

3/ can a high psa (13.8) signify that Bob will get cancer in the future?

Comment: a PSA of 13.8 tells me that something is not right somewhere. retest the PSA and expand the biopsy greatly. while some urologists may debate whether or not a free PSA test should be taken, i think it is a mistake not to take one. when my regular doctor thought my PSA was elevated or out of line during an annual physical, he always ordered a free PSA test to see how they compared. at the time your husband's next PSA is taken, also have a free PSA test taken. with a PSA of 13.8 i think that any responsible doctor would also order a free PSA test to see how it compares to the PSA test from a trend standpoint. when diagnosed with PC, my PSA was 7.1 and my free PSA was 27 (which would indicate that i had an 18% chance of prostate cancer). notwithstanding my favorable free PSA, i was found to have PC. a free PSA of under 25 is often a possible indication of PC. a very low free PSA is more than likely an indication of PC.

4/ the urologist did not want to treat bob's symptoms right now, but the burning/painful ejaculations are getting worse and are threatening to destroy our love life? does anyone have a clue what might cause this other than prostate cancer or any ideas that might help?

Comment: this is a tough one because i am not a doctor! because your husband had such a limited number of core biopsy samples (6), it's hard to believe that the painful ejaculations relate to that. i don't seem to recall any painful ejaculations after my 29 core biopsy, but i think i did feel a different sensation for awhile. i don't know why your husband's doctor is refusing to treat him for this condition or to at least comfort him by giving him some indication as to what may be causing the problem and telling him that it should clear up on its own. I have never read anything that indicates that PC should result in painful ejaculations. It is usually the treatment of PC that can result in negative side effects like this (e.g., seed implants in the prostate might be one example of this).

The following is a link to a list of top doctors in the U.S. treating prostate cancer by specialty. It is part of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute website which I consider to be a fantastic resource for prostate cancer patients. Refer to it and see if there is any urologist on this list that is reasonably close to the area where you live. Your husband has already consulted with two urologists in your area and I don't think he is getting the prompt professional medical attention and advice that he needs and deserves. He must seek an answer to why his PSA is so high and do it quickly.

http://www.prostate-cancer.org/resource/name.html

i hope and pray that you can get the answers you need through competent doctors and that they will be happy answers. May God bless you both.

Dave

hello all

this is deb, bob's wife

sorry i have not posted a reply sooner but I have been unwell. have had a history of depression and one has just hit me up the side of my head. bob is worried about me and i am very jittery. oh well started on new meds and hope they kick in sometime soon.

thanks so much for all the replies to my post. I certainly feel a little vindicated that what i want for bob is relevant and normal, I was really starting to believe that i was an obnoxious wife!! the doctors just didn't like to be questioned or to inform. i am not sure why.

since reading most of the replies i have been trolling for a new doctor. we are in Vancouver BC Canada. Hey DAve I looked at that list and a place i have been inquiring about was mentioned. And if you can believe it I got a reply from them today. It is the VGH (Vancouver general hospital) Prostate centre. Well i phoned them a few hours ago based upon their reply and Bob and I have an appointment with a new urologist on Mar 9th at 9am. we are both very excited about this as we have found out that this center has a huge research staff as well as medical doctors. we both just want bob to have good treatment: a free psa, a psa in one month, possible a trus with needle biopsy with at least 12 cores taken and some tests to see what is causing bob's symptoms.

thank you all so much for being here for us

we will keep you posted

deb and bob