Here's a link that includes contact information for someone who apparently starting 3D printing these clamps after the death of the inventor who had been making them available:...
I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, and my doc seems to have settled into a pattern (after the second biopsy came up negative) of PSA tests every few months and an annual MRI. It's been over two...
I've had two biopsies with nerve blocks, and gone about my normal business right afterwards both times (errands one day, and back to work on the other). Both times I had a strong, dull, deep pain in...
As I understand it you should still be eligible for AS, even with cancer detected on both sides of the prostate. (And good for you in getting a second opinion on the slides, which might change that...
FWIW, while 39% in the survey strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement, "Cancer can be cured solely through alternative therapies, without standard cancer treatment(s)," 75% in the same survey...
I've had two 14-core biopsies after MRIs, with the MRIs showing a PI-RADS 3 result each time. From what I've read the MRI isn't accurate enough to make either a positive or negative diagnosis, so you...
The phrase has no single fixed definition. An example definition would be a combination of a low number of positive cores (three or fewer positive cores, or 25% or fewer cores positive), no positive...
In that case, l'shanah tovah, and I hope you decide to stick around....
"MRI guided biopsy" can (as I understand it) mean three different things: 1. An MRI followed by a biopsy, with the MRI image reviewed by the doctor conducting the biopsy as a guide for areas on which...
I've had two biopsies, and the block worked for me both times. I don't have a basis for comparing the pain from the shot for the block with the pain from a biopsy needle puncturing an unblocked...
Welcome. In my view you're on a good path now, active surveillance with periodic PSA tests and a follow-up biopsy scheduled in a few months. With your numbers you're in the favorable intermediate...
I was advised to wait at least three months after a biopsy before having blood drawn for a PSA test, presumably because the damage to the prostate from the biopsy would skew the results....
See also Fig. 1 of this study , where the red line is "aggressiveness," which is defined as Gleason>7....
Well, since you asked for "any thoughts": 1. The second opinion from Epstein is an excellent idea. 2. If it was me I'd strongly lean toward AS. (Fifteen months ago it was me, and my urologist's...
PAPUN, here is a source for some information on small cell carcinoma of the prostate, www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/prostate-cancer/types-grades/small-cell-prostate-cancer , although (as Tall...
Keith, Welcome, and sorry you have to be here. The earlier advice to send your slides to Dr. Epstein is good. I wouldn't get too alarmed over the finding of perineural invasion. From a Q&A by Dr....
There's certainly no objective right or wrong about doing a biopsy in your situation, though some people make decisions without all of the relevant facts and some others make irrational decisions...
Your situation screams AS to me as well. (If it was me I'd be pushing for AS even with the 3+4.)...
I can't add much to the good advice you've been given (by people more knowledgeable than me), except to point out: 1) that the bicycle riding probably has nothing to do with your PSA (or anything...
I found the lidocaine nerve block plenty good enough for a biopsy -- it stung worse than the biopsy needles. The last biopsy I had my fists clenched after the nerve block, ready to count through the...
Milken was diagnosed at age 46, psa 24, Gleason 9, with lymph node involvement but no bone metastases. Besides the diet change he had hormone therapy and radiation through cedars-sinai in LA....
Actually in most states (in the US) it's not illegal to record without consent a conversation to which you are a party. But even if it's legal to record the conversation surreptitiously it's a...
The MRI does not show if any cancer has spread outside of the prostate, nor will a biopsy show that. If warranted, further scans can be taken for that later. But right now, as difficult as it may be,...
A quick Google shows the guy posting on at least four other sites besides this one and the one you mentioned. Whether he's in need of help from a mental health professional or is just trolling for...
Steve, For me the decision to do AS was an easy one, but then I'm not that much of a worrier. I just had my confirmation biopsy in November and I'll admit that I had concerns that the new biopsy...
Gemson, It looks like you're on a good path so far. The first biopsy found only a little cancer in only one core, which as others have suggested makes you an excellent candidate for AS. The MRI and...
Doing a little checking I see that "increased need to urinate" is a less common but known side effect of mirtazapine. Given the timing that seems the most likely cause....
An ejaculation 36 hours before a blood draw for a PSA test is unlikely to have a big impact on the reading. If your PSA has been moving up and down over the years the effect of the ejaculation is...
I could see getting a biopsy in your situation, or putting it off and just testing your PSA again in six months or so. (What does your doctor have to say on this? His opinion is better informed than...
Congratulations on the great news....
Charles, That's an interesting little piece. I think more important than changing certain words is the need to move doctors off of the streamlined thinking that inevitably pushes its way into medical...
There are actually several studies on this. A small study from 1999 found that flexible "colonoscopy does not adversely affect serum PSA levels." A slightly larger study from 2004 drew this...
Well, the response so far has been underwhelming, but I'll take a stab at trying to start a discussion, and see if anyone responds. One theme of the book is how inexperienced medical students, with...
The topline information is whether any of the biopsy cores came up positive for cancer. If they did, how many were positive, what was the percentage of cancer in each, and what was the Gleason score...
More information is always better, as long as that information is not misused. The main problem with PSA testing is the overtreatment, which should be tackled aggressively, but how to do that? This...
Brico, I'll second (or third, rather) what ASAdvocate and Paxton wrote about possibly continuing on AS, given that you have only one positive core. In addition (and relatedly) you should absolutely...
This is a good article and a good discussion. Important to keep in mind (and TA's article suggests this) is the difference between a GS6 biopsy result and a GS6 pathology from examining the entire...
Just a reminder that this book is on the agenda for discussion next month. Hopefully we can get a few more to join in. As encouragement, I'll blurb from a review : "Dr. Pearson relates a number of...
The people with benign results tend not to stick around here for the long haul, but certainly there are people who have PI-RADS 4 MRIs that turn out not be cancer. To quote from another on-line...
What Pratoman said. Take things one step as a time. At this point you're not diagnosed with cancer (you may well never be), so worrying about that now is getting ahead of yourself....
Wotan, As your link notes, HGPIN is not cancer. Especially at your age, anything that is not cancer counts as "not so bad." Difficult as it is I'd urge you to take things one step at a time,...
Welcome, readers. For November and December, the book for reading and discussion will be Rachel Pearson's "No Apparent Distress: A Doctor's Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine,"...
I see that we still don't have a book for November/December. I'd be willing to lead a discussion on Rachel Peason's "No Apparent Distress: A Doctor's Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American...
MinTroWag, Welcome. You'd do well to check out this earlier thread (from 2016), Can a man be too young for active surveillance? Answer=NO! ...
I thought parts of Walsh's book were good for general background reading, although I didn't touch the parts on treatment because 1) it was out of date, 2) I understood that he had a bias toward...
The confirmatory biopsy for all is the standard approach. (I'm due for an MRI this week, with the confirmatory biopsy to follow next month.) From the Cancer Care Ontario Guideline : The AS protocol...
Often empowerment doesn't just happen; you have to do what you can to make it happen. The medical care system is just another system that one can either just cede one's autonomy to, or that one can...
If the PSA blood draw was soon after the DRE that alone could account for the higher reading on the most recent test. The readings don't seem to be anything to be too concerned about at this point,...
As I see it we only have a voice on how our tissues are used until they are separated from our bodies. If we signed away our rights at that point, and no more cooperation from us is needed, then I...
Generally I'd say the motives of those involved were good, and their actions were acceptable given the norms of the time. Gey and his team I don't fault at all. The level of treatment from the...