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Posted 4/3/2013 7:24 PM (GMT 0)

Hello Everyone,

So my husband went in on Wednesday for the biopsy and like Bill had suggested we asked them not to call till Monday since it was the holiday weekend and good or bad we wanted to wait. They also said they could have the results as early as Friday(again, very fast results). Well I get a call from my husband on Friday afternoon asking me where I am and at the time I was at a friends house. He said he got a call from the doctor. Of course my first responce was WTH(heck) they where supposed to wait and of course I got real nervous. It was a voicemail from the doctor telling him it was negative and wanted to leave good news for the weekend. OK, I forgave him for calling :-)

What a relief, with the big jump in PSA and the enlarged and asymetrical prostate, I was so worried he not only had it, but it was the agreesive and now all over his body kind. For those who would like to see the backround of how the biopsy came about it is on this link

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&p=1&m=2683824#m2684449

This is great news, but I know have a few different questions.  I am not sure the right course of action that needes to take place from here? I realize these are not PC questions but I am sure some of you out there can help. I believe his Urologist filled a prescription for him to pick up that will help shrink his prostate and bring the PSA down. My guess is something like Avodart? I have not read great things abouth this drug including bad side efffects along with causing PC?

I did not look at the pathology report but he mentioned it showinng inflamation. Is he thinking BPH or prostatitis at this point? Do these both come hand in hand? He is already on Rapaflo(new Flomax) for symptoms and I am afraid when you go on Avodart that it can mask PC because it messes with the numbers, hence causing PC? I belive it would be hard to treat inflamation with a constant antibiotic? He did respond to an antibiotic before, but not huge. Any information on both treatment of BPH and or prostatitis will be helpful.

I have read on this post how some of you have had several negative biopsies? when and why is it necesarry to have more then one? I assume when your PSA progressively keeps going up? Should I now be nervous this was a false negative? I want nothing more then to dance with joy around the house(which I did). Should I be worried ( I am such a worry wart)that what is being treated now could cause more problems in the future? I am not sure what questions if any I need to ask at this point? Thanks for any and all insight on this.  For now I am basking in some good news.

Nosywife

Posted 4/3/2013 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
Nosywife,

Don't worry until you have (maybe) in the future something to worry about.

My bro-in-law has had the same problem your husband is having and he was on Avodat. He did have some ED but used viagra and works for him.

Yes it can cause some SE, but I have read not usually the bad ones one gets from HT.

My husband is currently on Avodat as a maintence after taking a braek from the HT, so can't comment yet on the SE from Avodart as he is still having the SE from the HT he had been on this past year.

Go out and celebrate, be happy.

By the way what is his G-score

BOOGEE

Posted 4/3/2013 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
Great news nosywife!
As I said on my previous post, if the biopsy was negative, I would have liked the doctor to call me right away. Glad you had a Happy Easter.

As far as the negative biopsies, I had two before they final Bad One. I would suggest your husband have his tested yearly. I got away from the testing for several years and when I found out I had PCa, it was pretty well involved. My surgeon said I probably had PCa for 10 years because the tumor was so large.
Keep testing yearly to see if there is a change.

Bill from Florida
Posted 4/3/2013 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
Boogee, A gleason score requires cancer to determine. No cancer found , no gleason score. Did you mean psa score. That would be found on the link she provided.

Nosywife There is always something to worry about in life. Try not to,it saps the spirit. Best line I heard about worrying was from a poster here. Can't remember who, but it has really stuck with me. " worrying is like praying for something bad to happen"
Posted 4/3/2013 8:44 PM (GMT 0)
Yep, Meant PSA and found it on her link!
Posted 4/3/2013 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
My oncologist thinks that Avodart got a bad rap on their study to see if it prevented prostate cancer. Avodart shrinks normal prostate tissue more than it shrinks high-grade tumors. That means that when you do a biopsy there is the same amount of cancer in a smaller prostate and your odds of hitting a tumor are better even though there isn't necessarily more cancer there. In short, he thinks Avodart doesn't make more high-risk tumors, it just makes them easier to detect.

I was on Avodart for years. The side effects aren't that bad. I did kind of hate it at the time (because it lowered my libido a bit) but it was just an annoyance, not a major impediment. I am on it again, along with my other two hormone therapy drugs and Avodart is currently the least of my problems.

When your husband starts taking the Avodart his doctor will make a notation in his file and will start mentally doubling his PSA readings. If his PSA were to be, say, 2.0, then his doctor would read that as 4-ish. The exact fudge factor varies from guy to guy but it is somewhere around 2. The Avodart fudge factor is fairly constant. This means that as long as your husband stays of the Avodart his doctor can track PSA trends just the same way as before, only at different (lower) levels. It is his PSA history that will tell his doctors when (and if) he needs another biopsy.
Posted 4/3/2013 9:01 PM (GMT 0)
Its somewhere in the text of that first post. 5 I think
Posted 4/4/2013 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the responses. Picked up his prescription and there is a half a page on cautions. Male breast cancer, Really! Birth defects, ED, etc. when will there be drugs that treat you without killing you? Like these commercials that have longer side effects including cancer and death, oh but it's rare If I new more about a more natural route he could go, I would consider it.
Since his psa jumped around, 5 down to 2.9 ( antibiotic) then up to 6 before the biopsy I have no idea how or what numbers his doctor will go by. I agree with Bill that maybe a yearly biopsy (seems extreme)is the best way to go until hopefully there is some better testing out there. I don't want something bad to happen so I better stop worrying. Thanks again

Nosywife
Posted 4/4/2013 2:14 AM (GMT 0)
Usually there are reasons for multiple biopsies. In my case, it was a fast rising PSA number each year, with no evidence of an enlarged prostate or any sign of infections. Had the first one, then a year later a second one, then the 3rd one less than 2 months later. The first 2 were 12 cores, and the 3rd was only 7, as my uro found shadows in the 2nd one, which he went for on the 3rd.

The trouble with any 7-14 core biopsy, it simply can miss the cancer, its that hit and miss. It doesn't mean there isn't cancer (but it could also mean that), simply means the random cores missed any tumor. This seems to happen more frequently than some think.

For now, there's only reason to be happy. If his PSa starts climbing again, I wouldn't be surprised at some point in the future that another biopsy will be ordered. For now, enjoy the peace of mind, you really don't want to be a full fledged member of this club, lol.

david
Posted 4/4/2013 2:28 AM (GMT 0)
My other thought is if there is inflammation why wouldn't they culture the slides for bacteria? Is this Finasteride used for inflammation? I guess I will have more questions for his doctor. I am sure that will go over well. I will keep asking anyway. I still didn't feel a saturation biopsy was warranted, but if you have that done first and it is negative, probably better chance you are truly negative? Makes you wonder. David, I want nothing more then not to be a full fledged member, even as nice as you all are:)

Nosywife

Post Edited (nosywife) : 4/3/2013 8:33:15 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/4/2013 2:44 AM (GMT 0)
Nosy,

Hate calling you that, lol. In hind sight, I wished my first biopsy had been a saturation type, even my uro admits that, because my cancer could have been caught over a year earlier, and with my rapid PSA rises, it was pretty certain there was cancer all along. It may have not changed my outcome, but perhaps it could have. Don't worry, we still love our temporary members, its makes us feel good when someone dodges the bullet.

And keep asking the doctor all those questions, he works for you, not the other way around.

Good luck

david
Posted 4/4/2013 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
The urologist will follow up with PSA and DRE. If either become suspicious he will want to do another TRUS biopsy. Possible alternatives to another biopsy are a PCA3 urine test or MRI.
Posted 4/4/2013 1:50 PM (GMT 0)
So happy for you both and great you got the news before the holiday weekend too.

Now Nosey wife, package up all that worrying, treble it then turn it around to positive thinking ALL WILL BE FINE. None of us know what is around the corner, do not let this PCa worry drown you unnecessarily!

Re the prescription, I know nothing of Avodart but take a look at any drug including ‘over the counter’ headache pills. Because these side effects are a possibility (perhaps a very remote possibility at that) doesn’t mean they will happen.

Embrace the joy of hubbie’s ‘non diagnosis’, enjoy life and each other.

Wishing you both well.
Susan
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