So your biopsy was clean....read this!

Thats comforting.

Hi all,

My recollection was the doctor (Radiologist, not a Uro as I was told) worked with the ultrasound tech during my TRUS biopsy. The doctor operated the probe and fired the core needles. I overheard them both talk about the shadows they were seeing on the display as they did my biopsies. The last couple were painful as the doctor was trying to get to get to a specific area, while both observing the display (the worst pain was mostly from the probe manipulation, not the core shots).

This was done at my local hospital in the nuclear/ultrasound med lab.

Maybe it was because of the size of the discrepancies in the ultrasound echoes they were seeing, that they were able to target well. Maybe it was the facility, equipment and medical personnel. My signature includes the results. 5 of 8 positive with 30%-65% cancer.

However, it's there and while I'm unhappy about the diagnosis...I'm happy it was found. Now it can be dealt with.

With all the advances in medical technology, things are still very much hit and miss...hence, false negatives. I'm sure in a few years, these tools will be much improved.

Even with some of the latest technology that wasn't as refined 5-10 years ago, I go to find out the results of my bone scan tomorrow morning. If negative, I may have the surgery only to find out later it had already spread. Some of what I've found states that the bone scan is sensitive to maybe 10% uptake of the markers that were injected. Less than that may not be detected...

I've had a couple of close meltdowns. I've had a chance to do a lot of looking and reading, since.

Next step tomorrow.

Mikey 

  

Last nights NBC Evening news had a story on Colonoscopies and how a large number are done poorly and miss stuff. Looks like we can't win for loosing...The key to the above was to Not let your GP do the test and to go to a Specialist.

I wish I had known this 6 or 7 years ago. I could have saved myself a lot of grief. All the docs I saw kept telling me to keep getting a biopsy at least once per year. My 13th biopsy finally picked up a cancer that turned out to be insignificant, but it led me to a doctor that wasn't satisfied with the results and put me through a few more tests. Using a color doppler ultrasound and targeted biopsies the real source of my PSA was finally discovered, a large tumor in the transition zone that has a high probability of lymph node involvement.
For all the guys with rising PSA and negative biopsies a saturation biopsy or color doppler ultrasound administred by an experienced radiologist is the next step. Don't stop until you have positively identified the reason for the PSA rise.
Tony, thanks for the info and keep it coming. I've learned a lot on this site and have much more to learn.
JohnT