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Posted 10/22/2018 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
If the URO wants you to have a biopsy in the future, do not agree to a random biopsy. Large cancer centers and teaching hospitals use a MRI guided biopsy. It is fairly new, but the MRI identifies where to take the sample and is much more accurate. I had a high PSA and random found nothing. 2 years later mri guided found 8 out of 12 samples positive.
Posted 10/26/2018 12:50 AM (GMT 0)
I received a call from my urologist tonight. The first PSA was 12 (12.44 to be exact) and this test? 12.4 No change. So, he suggested that we do a biopsy. MRI technology is not used in this area, so he plans to do an ultrasound guided biopsy. I'm on the fence. No symptoms, no indication of anything irregular from the DRE. 12.4 PSA I'm wondering if it would be harmful to do an ultrasound biopsy first, and keep the MRI option available for later. The Doc said that if any of the samples were suspect, then they would use some new genetic testing on the samples, and then move to the MRI if needed. Again, I'm undecided.
Oddly, at a fall festival tonight I was telling a fellow church member about my situation, and a gentleman who I know who just happened to be standing there calmly said, "I'm a survivor. Six years now. Give me a call and we can talk" He had had his prostate removed completely. For some reason, his calm attitude settled me down quite a bit.....for now. BUT, I can't give into fear of the unknown. I have to do what I have to do....I just want it to be the right long-term decision. I'll talk to the Big Man about it, and listen to what you have to say as well. So here we go....
Posted 10/26/2018 1:29 AM (GMT 0)
Many of us were diagnosed via TRUS biopsy, it's basically a dozen random shots in the dark..and since PC is generally multifocal (multiple spots), there is a reasonable chance of hitting something. It's unpleasant, but manageable.
Posted 10/26/2018 2:40 AM (GMT 0)
DaMayor
My DRE showed nothing and I had the biopsy and the URO said my Prostate looked good.
I wound up a G9 6/16 cores cancerous....
Yo have to remember PCA dose not always play by the rules....
Posted 10/26/2018 4:17 AM (GMT 0)
Many of us had the ultrasound guided biopsy for the first one and it's not uncommon for followup biopsies to be MRI guided. It doesn't really matter. There might be a cost difference and often the MRI needs to be done at a big hospital or cancer center.

The TRUS is annoying, uncomfortable and undignified, but most tolerate it.

and there's a bunch of us out there, peacefully living our lives and not saying much about PC. Do have a long conversation with your fellow member - it will be good for you.

Andrew
Posted 10/30/2018 8:17 PM (GMT 0)
Well gentlemen, I was able to change my appointment from 11/28 to tomorrow. So I will be having the TRUS procedure at 8:45 sharp....pardon the pun, lol. The hardest part of this will be having to wait until 11/27 for my results. Other than that, I'm oddly calm about things. Oddly.
But it's all good. Everything will be fine. Perhaps not according to MY plans....but fine.
Posted 10/30/2018 8:38 PM (GMT 0)
That's good. It's the waiting that's a killer.

Calm is good. You'll do fine.

Keep us updated on your progress.

Andrew
Posted 10/30/2018 11:46 PM (GMT 0)
Not sure how I'm so late coming to this thread, but after reading it from the beginning I found myself saying "I hope you get a biopsy." So I was glad to see you have it scheduled. Now there's a good chance it's negative and I'm really hoping it is. But it's good to have this checked. All the best!
Posted 10/31/2018 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
Well, that wasn't bad at all. (Although I now know how the new guy in cell block C might feel, lol.) Good team in place, and the most painful thing was removing the tape from my I.V. site. My Doc said that he didn't see anything suspect, although this is an ultrasound, so I'll remain cautiously optimistic at this point. So now it is all about keeping my thoughts in check until my follow-up appointment on the 27th of November. Because I am a realist, and like to be prepared, my wife and I discussed the different possible scenarios while I waited to be taken back. I'm not a fan of doom and gloom, but there is no harm in having a game plan in place...just in case. So now I wait, continue eating truckloads of organic cruciferous vegetables, drown myself with copious amounts of H2O, (and coffee) and keep those thoughts positive.

Thanks to you all for your encouragement. It means a lot!
Posted 10/31/2018 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
So you had the actual biopsy? For what it's worth, it's normal to get biopsy results within a few days. Mine were available the next day. I'm not sure why you'd need to wait a month to hear the result.

Just curious...
Posted 10/31/2018 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
Whats with a ultrasound guided now and then a MRI guided later if needed...you said it wasn't done "in this area"...great...tell your greedy uro to transfer your records to that area...your uro wants the money from the ultra sound and a referall fee to the MRI..."when needed"...'If you build a better mousetrap...folks will beat a path to your "garage" '....fear not the Uro...and certainly do not feed them...good insurance can be a curse...oops too late...oh well...no worry...be happy
Posted 10/31/2018 3:50 PM (GMT 0)

Redwing57 said...
So you had the actual biopsy? For what it's worth, it's normal to get biopsy results within a few days. Mine were available the next day. I'm not sure why you'd need to wait a month to hear the result.

Just curious...

My thoughts exactly! My results were available within a couple of days and anything more than a week is crazy. I suspect the results are ready but it's the doctor's appointment that is the delay (that's another issue, i.e. why your doctor would think that waiting a month is anywhere near acceptable!). I personally think there is an advantage to getting the results ahead of the doctor's appointment so you have time to take a breath, do some research and be fully prepared to ask the appropriate questions of your doc. Not sure why you would put up with waiting for a month...

Jim
Posted 10/31/2018 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Plan for the worst.
Hope for the best.
and understand that the unexpected is what will happen.

Let us know the results when you get them.

Andrew
Posted 10/31/2018 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
. . . and no matter what the report, do not allow yourself to be pushed into an immediate commitment for anything, period. No matter what the results, you can take a couple of weeks (often even months, depending upon any findings) to calm down, do your research and decide what you want to do. It is YOUR choice, not some doctor's.

It is good that you are involving your wife, but try to stay way up at the 30,000 foot level now, until you know if you even need to get any closer to things. After my biopsy, I just read a lot (here, and other places, books, etc.), and generally decided that I preferred some form of radiation therapy over surgery (for reasons of my own prior medical history, not for any differences in efficacy of treatment).

Also, try calling your urologist. After my biopsy, my next uro appointment was several weeks out due to travel schedules, so my uro called me on the phone to give me the brief summary of results. Then when we met at my next appointment, I was well-prepared to have an in-depth conversation about my options.
Posted 10/31/2018 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
My husband had no symptoms. 5.0 PSA. Negative DRE. Biopsy had 2 out of 12 samples positive. But the 2 were 4+4. We were pretty stunned. Knowledge is power. When the urologist told us the news and sent us for an MRI the next available appt was in a month. That was not acceptable to us. We went out and met with 2 other surgeons and a radiologist. We never went back to the first guy. We didn't really like his temperament anyway. Good luck. Get lots of information and don't feel pressured towards one treatment or another. You do you. The radiologist told Richard he would be a good candidate for surgery as well if he chose that which was comforting. We didn't know until the surgery that there was some ECE. The MRI showed that it was all contained so that was a bit of a sick as well.
Do lots of research and have your questions ready. My husband did none but I dove right in. Several drs asked if I had a medical background which I don't. I just play a dr as a mother and wife. This site was a godsend. God bless
Posted 11/1/2018 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
Hi
Sorry you you need to be here, but you will find that this is a good place lots of sound and diverse advice along with plenty of sympathy

Regarding the wait for the biopsy. Chances are they will have a report within 3 to 5 days. the wait is really for the Uro appointment for explanation. Try and see if you can get a copy of the report in advance of appointment. For me that works best since I can read it and have intelligent questions for the Uro. In my case my Uro Appt was a month after biopsy and could not get a copy ahead of time. I later found out they had the info 3 days after biopsy which pissed me off. For that and other reason not with them any more.
Also regarding MRI if they find something aggressive then MRI might be moot. If they find nothing or something low grade then IMHO it becomes very important. The MRI will help to identify if something more aggressive is going on that was not picked up by the biopsy. The biopsy takes only a small sample and can easily miss. MRI is not perfect but does allow you to see a bigger picture. If MRI finds something the biopsy does not pick up another biopsy may be required. Also MRI is not likely to see low grade tumors but is good at identifying tumors that require treatment.
the MRI procedure used is relatively new and not all Uros do it, but is likely to be the standard in the future. My first Uro did not want to do it even after the fact. In my case it is a low grade/ low risk situation with active surveillance being the recommendation. I swichted to someone who would do it. In my case the MRI showed nothing did not detect tumor from biopsy which is not unexpected and this gave me the confidence to go with active surveillance.

so much for my amateurish opinion I am sure other will elaborate and correct anything I have to say cause I am new at this, but it helps being an analytical chemist cause I understand sampling, measurement, data and variability.

Most important be your own advocate, study and learn(this board is a great place to be to get help). Lots of options available, lots of info and YOU are the only that knows whats right for you

Any way best of luck and keep us posted
Posted 11/27/2018 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
Well, after a long wait, this afternoon I will find out what my biopsy results are. Naturally, after a long period of calm and rational thought, the wheels are again turning and I am again attempting to keep anxiety at bay. I've gone through this thing a hundred times in my head. The DRE was "good" with no palpable abnormalities, the ultrasound looked "good", which I assume means there was nothing obviously visible....now on to the big game.

After all of the well intentioned "you're fine", "you're healthy as a horse", and "you shouldn't worry" sentiments from family, friends, and complete strangers, while I attempt to remain positive I somehow miss the "suck it up" speach from my high school coaches, lol. "Your PSA was 12.44! You have no symptoms! Something is obviously not right. Gear up! Dig deep! No fear! Let's do this!" I suppose seeking the hard core truth is normal too. So I guess it is time to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. It's game time. I'll ramble on more after I get the results. I have a lot of questions that I hopefully won't need to ask.
Posted 11/27/2018 3:58 PM (GMT 0)
Something's causing the PSA to be that high. I hope you get some answers from the biopsy.
Posted 11/27/2018 4:09 PM (GMT 0)
Let us know what you hear...but I'm shaking my head at the fact that you had to wait a month to find out your biopsy results!
Posted 11/27/2018 6:02 PM (GMT 0)
Keep us updated.

Waiting is a killer.

Andrew
Posted 11/27/2018 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
Me. Mayor,
Suck it up. Something is Fubar. 12.44 PSA! It may not be cancer but it is darn good thing you went to the doctor. How am I doing. I know I suck! So I am going to tell you about a guy who was pretty much the worst case scenario. PSA of over 3200. Metastasis in bones lungs lymph nodes and possibly brain. Dude was given a year. He was 42. He will be 55 on December 2nd and he is undetectable. You don’t have PC until you do but if that day should come don’t be a wuss about it. Get your mind right and kick @$$
Posted 11/27/2018 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck. Hope you get good news today.
Let us know

Mel
Posted Yesterday 12:14 AM (GMT 0)
Well gentlemen, as unfortunate as it may be, I am officially a member of the PC club. I am not as well versed in presenting my stats, and still a little shocked, so bear with me. My biopsy results showed 10 out of 12 cores positive. All 6 on the right side, and 4 on the left. Most were graded as either a 6 or 7, but no higher. So, given this new information, we are going to do a CT scan asap, and a bone scan to see if anything has spread. After which it looks like I will be having a radical prostatectomy....maybe follow-up radiation if I'm good.

Oddly, I'm still pretty calm. I knew something was going on. Now I have verification. My Uro said we could schedule the procedure before the end of the year. I know you all recommend weighing out the options, but with this many positive cores it just seems logical to go after this as aggressively as possible. I guess I need to process all of this and re-group tomorrow. Wow, I never thought this would be me. But, we do what we have to do, right?
Posted Yesterday 12:55 AM (GMT 0)
3+4 or 4+3 ? Those are different risk groups.

Either surgery or RT will work.

I'd be surprised to hear that the scans find anything. It's possible, but not likely.

Do keep us updated on your progress.
Andrew
Posted Yesterday 1:28 AM (GMT 0)
Sorry about the confirmation. There is a difference between being aggressive and being hasty. You still have plenty of time to explore your options. This is NOT a red alert, got to get it done now situation. Doing the RP can get the job done, but various RTs can do the job just as well.

I encourage you give yourself time to process this unwelcome news before you make any final decisions.
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