The recently, and bitterly, divorced woman lucked into a genie that gave her three wishes, but the genie warned that whatever he granted he'd have to grant her ex double. For her first wish she asked...
Thanks for posting as this paper is quite comforting. I started on AS with a doctor who did annual biopsies. I consulted a renowned expert who said that annual biopsies were not needed assuming the...
While, as others have noted, it is right to keep a close eye on things given the PSA, I've been on AS for several years and my PSA are risen to around 12. My docs are not worried because my prostate...
There are, I believe, 2 types of MRI guided biopsies. In what is called, I believe, a fusion biopsy the MRI image is overlayed unto the real time ultrasound image to allow taking samples from areas...
I've had 6 or 7 biopsies, including a saturation biopsy which takes over 30 samples. Blood in urine: a week or two at the most. Blood in semen, 3-4 months. I'd go to another doctor and get a second...
My urologist, who's an MD/PhD, relies more heavily on a blood test called PHI, which includes PSA, but also several other factors....
I had a urologist (but not a cancer specialist) who required an annual biopsy for AS. I went for a second opinion to Dr. Eggener at University of Chicago (a known national specialist) and he was very...
I'm on AS and did some research on how often to have biopsies because I had a Uro that had a flat policy of doing them every year, regardless of anything else. I got several opinions from good,...
mufjen: I'm on AS. My situation is a bit different in that my Gleason scores and MRIs are all very low risk. However, I have a continually rising PSA, so I do have one risk factor to keep an eye on....
ASAdvocate: I fully agree with you and that's why I've chosen AS. And I'm not saying doctors are right to steer low-risk people away from AS. I was commenting more on why I think some docs may not...
I think there is a reason even some honest, conscientious docs are reluctant to recommend AS: it puts a heavy burden on them. They will have to make the call for when to recommend treatment, and they...
Good to hear others reacting negatively to being called a survivor. I've always had that view but never knew others were of the same mind....
Doug: Even if the biopsy is positive, you may qualify for Active Surveillance, because many prostate cancers are slow growing and not in any way life threatening. If you qualify for that, while you...
Hope4: You should know it's possible that your "confirmatory" biopsy will come up negative. After my initial diagnosis (through a saturation biopsy) my next biopsy was negative. Like you, my MRIs...
AS: I appreciate your viewpoint. I have never had a targeted fusion biopsy because my MRIs never show any trouble spots (which is a good think in the big picture!). As for how often to have biopsies,...
At the opposite end of the spectrum, my doc for AS wants an annual biopsy. I went to another doc for a second opinion, and he thinks I'm being over tested; a biopsy every two to three years is the...