HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Color Dopler on 1st Biopsy

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 11/16/2009 1:34 AM (GMT 0)
Another question. I am still awaiting results of my PCA-3 test and that will determine if I need a biopsy at this time. It would be my first. I keep reading about the color dopler. It seems to have worked for at least one (maybe more) poster who had a bunch of negative biopsies with a rising PSA.

Is it preferable to START with a color dopler? My biopsy is planned for Univ. of Mich and I don't know if that's what they do. I will ask, if you folks think that is advisable.

Mel

Posted 11/16/2009 2:10 AM (GMT 0)
Some of the people here seem to have benefited greatly from the use of color doppler. On the other hand, I have not seen any definitive literature on the cost/benefit for a first biopsy.

Trust your team at the UofM they most certainly know of the technique and you should rely on their guidance at this stage. We can advise about what to ask, but your doctors must advise about what to do.
Posted 11/16/2009 3:02 AM (GMT 0)
Knowing what I know now after 10 years of biopsies I would never get a biopsy unless it was done with a color doppler. The normal biopsy is 12 cores; a normal color doppler would be 4 to 6 cores as only suspicious areas are biopsied. If now suspicious areas are seen no biopsy is done, but a base line picture is obtained so any changes can be easily seen.
It's more expensive and only a very few doctors do them. Equipment cost is $250,000 and you need a lot of training and experience to be good at it. A normal urologist just doesn't do enough biopsies to justify the equipment cost and the time it takes to be good at it.
JT
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply