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Confirmatory biopsy / Active surveillance (AS)

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 9/15/2017 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
Couldn't find specific info on this, so I thought I'd tap the knowledgeable folks here:

When a patient is diagnosed with PCa that meets the specifics for an active surveillance (AS) program after a specific biopsy, how soon afterward should a confirmatory biopsy be performed? Is there a specific "sweet spot," as it were, balancing safety with effectiveness?

I ask because I had a biopsy in the beginning of August 2017 (this followed a MRI in June) and was diagnosed in mid-August. This last biopsy was a bit rougher than the previous for some reason (if you told me the Dr. forgot to administer the local anesthesia, I would believe it! It felt a bit like Mike Tyson was using my prostate for a sparring partner! wink ). Is there a minimum standard "healing" time required before another biopsy?

Thanks very much for responses.
Posted 9/15/2017 2:46 PM (GMT 0)
Balancing safety with effectiveness...it's typically about a year.
Posted 9/15/2017 4:18 PM (GMT 0)
yup, a year is normal. Then monitor PSA.
Posted 9/15/2017 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
They do a confirmatory biopsy within a year of the first one. You have to wait at least a couple of months before another biopsy and before an MRI. "Local" is not good enough. I found the best kind of anesthesia is a "pelvic plexus nerve block" or a "periprostatic nerve block." You have to have a urologist who knows how to locate the right nerves. And you, as the patient, should be asking for it - by name - don't expect the urologist will just do it.
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