Transrectal Ultrasonography picks up small mass in the prostate

Hi there, very pleased to find such a well educated group of people.

I have been reading for a few days before deciding to post.

Well today my father came back from the urologist after performing an ultrasound that has shown a mass in one lobe. Theres not much info accompanying the report, father was just told to undergo biopsy next week.

His PSA kept rising suddenly since last month from 5.1 to 5.7 in one month and within one week to 6.1

Percent Free PSA was 12% when PSA was 5.7.

His age is 59. He has not had any health problems apart from irritable bowel syndrome and doesnt smoke,drink or do anything apart from work really. His job is very stressful. My grandfather also had some problem with prostate not sure however what but he had radical prostatectomy. That was 35 some years ago. He eventually died of something else some 6-7 years later (amyloidosis was the disease that hit him)

Question: Is it typical to find a mass in the prostate gland under ultrasound?? What is the possibility that this mass could be malignant or something else?? I am asking because from the info i have been reading here there is not much about ultrasound of prostate and findings. Most people seem to go from PSA/free PSA and DRE to biopsy.

DRE was also negative, doctor said prostate was very smooth and soft
Size of mass if not mistaken (i see some D1 and D2 readings on the ultrasound film that are saying 10.9 mm and 13.5 mm)

Post Edited (Solon) : 9/18/2009 5:15:25 PM (GMT-6)

Offcourse i understand that biopsy is needed.
Just wondering whether other type of masses (of benign form) exist commonly in the prostate gland apart from the malignant ones.

Have many people in this forum undergone ultrasound with detectable masses in their prostate ?? Because i havent stumbled on such a post all this time im reading

Hello and welcome to HW, Solon.

It was a couple of suspicious shadows on a CT during my 2nd prostate biopsy, that made my uro/surgeon have me come back a third one six weeks later. He targeted just 7 needles into the suspicious area, and all 7 came back positive for cancer. I am glad that he was experienced enough to have me come back, I didn't want to at the time, I wanted to wait a whole year for the next biopsy. If I had listened to myself, I still would have had cancer a year later, but it would have been much worse situation.

Hoping for the best for your father. I agree with JohnT, without a biopsy at this point, still a lot to speculate and worry about.

Please keep us posted.

David in SC

Solon,
My annual physical exam showed an elevated PSA (3.9) but the DRE was normal. My GP sent me to a Urologist who repeated the PSA test a month later. My PSA had dropped to 3.5 but my free PSA was 11%. At that point I was told that because of my low free PSA I had a 30% chance of having prostate cancer and a biopsy confirmed that. I hope that your father doesn't have PCa but only a biopsy will confirm that. Good luck.