husband anxious abn.PSA

 Hi could someone reply whose been through similar? My husband had a yrly. PSA this month.

It was .4 last yr and 4.4 this yr and they want to do a biopsy. He is very nervous and I wonder what else can be done.I read about a free psa and a color doppler ultrasound. Should we get a 2nd opinion?  How dangerous is the biopsy itself?

I've heard it could spread anything that may be

there.... please respond, thanks

Jwife.

Jwife,

My husband, Curtis, had the biopsy August 10th and on the 21st we found he had prostate cancer.  He said it didn't hurt at all since they deadened the prostate before taking the samples.  I've never heard of that causing spreading of the cancer.  Since it's standard procedure I doubt that would be the case.

As Kat said he needs to follow up on it and get the biopsy.

Good luck!!!

Hello jwife,

I have never heard that a biopsy could posed a treat of spreading PCa. The SOP for most urologists seems to be if a PSA test shows a marked increase over a short period of time say: 3.8 from a 2.2 in a year, or a PSA of 4 and above they will want to do a biopsy. This was the case for me, and the biopsy did find PCa. To be safe take the urologist advice.

Glen

The risk of seeding during a biopsy is less than .002% last I heard.

Yes, to the second opinion but get a first opinion first. Time to calmly panic.
Based on prior experience.........take a few deep breaths and

Have his slides sent to John's Hopkins (Johnathan Epstein) or another expert for a second opinion. I didn't like the evasivness of Epstein's report, so I called him and asked him to personally review his findings in full sentances this time! Yes, I reallly did say that! If ya know how to slide the words in just right, it's a cheap way to get another opinion on treatment options too :>)

Epstein was very professional and very warm really. He agreed his report was not worded as reader friendly should have been. Even the surgeon couldnt quite make out his intended findings on "atypical cells." Here's this man who is considered one of the worlds foremost prostate pathology experts and I'm letting him in no uncertain terms know that I felt his report was not what I paid for. I suggested he follow his own teachings on pathology reporting in the future! Politely yet mincing no words!

Lesson? Always get the whole story and always insist on the expert, not a cronie, do the slide reviews. While haviong a fellow do slides is fine usually, prostate tissue is considerd one of the most difficult evaluations to do. Get what you pay for.

If ins. won't pay for it the cost of a second opinion, it's about 300 dollars. Request the slides be sent at the same time as the biopsy or immediately after the first results. It takes several weeks to get the second opinion back.
Start calling the lab in 2-3.

Note to those thinking about it....Call the lab personally and "nicely" insist on copies of the biopsy be faxed to you...not necessarily your Doc. It took forever for the Doc to get the results. I love my fax. The <$100 tool is a real time/stress saver. It saves loads of time waiting on snail mail, gets labs, scripts and orders to us faster.

Lyn,

The DiVinci robotic surgery...most of the men in here have had that surgery I think...They say it's the "gold starndard" procedure for prostate cancer.

Could you please share more information : age , dre results - was it negative , firm , nodular ? If he is on any medication.

His psa has definitely risen exponentially over the last year - biopsy is the only definitive way to diagnose PC. If your insurance covers, you may want to ask the URO about getting a mp contrast mri that can also come close to diagnosing Prostrate cancer , but if they find MRI suspicious you still have to go through a biopsy - it's no fun experience and takes a month to heal. The procedure itself is less than 15 minutes long so it gets over quick. Make sure you follow the instructions of the biopsy prep and do ask for antibiotics ( typically cipro) -o they start them on the day before biopsy. There is no risk that I know other than the risk of infection. There is tons of info on this site on what to expect after biopsy.
All the best.

thanks
Not sure how it on my screen as the latest thread

How are you doing ! I think it's my PSa anxiety getting the better of me