prostate biopsy
 

Just had my first. Man that probe looks like the top of a long neck but feels like the bottom. And then he says, the needle might hurt a bit, my A**. Ten times. Boy does this not feel good even tonight.

And then the post procedure notes say no heavy lifting for two weeks and no sex.

I get results when I come back from Ireland at the end of the month.

I wonder if that is no sex or no sex for two weeks. ;)

Flight surgeon told me to get a PST test at 45 to have a baseline. Now am just over 50 and watching it every year. Do not want to have problems in that area.

Did a flight exam in Denmark a few years back and they manually check the UPPER part of the prostrate. Felt like the whole frigging hand was in there up to the elbow! Jeez that was less than fun but bet getting poked with a needle was worse.

Hope it gets better, worth keeping an eye on this. Have a friend who almost died of this a year ago and he impresses us at every meeting to get tested.

JoeA

44 yrs young and getting nervous about this test. Ouch!

Hope your results are favorable.

I'm 56 and this is the first time my PSA went up. It's at 9, so this should be only a precaution.

thanks for the best wishes.

Now that I have sympathy for.

Hope everything is okay there, for ya.

A 9 is really high....I have a PSA every year to 1.5 years the last one was at 0.4.....The PSA is a good first line of health maintence...

Prostrate Cancer is a slow growing Cancer in older men....it is also a diease that gets more prevalent the older we get....of all 70 year old men 70% have Prostrate cancer, at 80 years 80% etc.....the younger you are when diagnosed the more agressive the diease is. It is a function of Testerone turning against us...and the treatment is to limit the hormone...shots, pills, surgery etc....There is debate if any treatment is warranted for the diease in old men...

Generally a line of treatment works for a number of years, and then the diease usually will show up someplace else...and then it is downhill...

I think the overall best course of action if your 60ish, is to have the prostrate removed entirely...and be done with it... I have a friend that has had that done...

I would also say do not dilly dally....as some MD's are want to do....

If I was told I had Prostrate cancer I would skip the Urologist and go to the Oncolgist right away to hear my options......like I said it is generally slow growing so there is a bit of time to make a decision as to what is the best line of treatment for you...but once you make your decision go for it...

It's prostate, not "prostrate". Kind of like espresso, not expresso.

My father (65) was diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. He'd been having PSA checked yearly, and had had prior biopsies over the years. The prior biopsies were negative but not accurate. By his prostate cancer was confirmed, it wasn't as early as you'd have thought given all the precautions he took. He choose aggressive treatment, i.e. immediate surgery. The surgery was long and the tumour was on the larger side. However, it appears to have been successful, no indication the cancer spread. The lesson to me (and you) was, stay on top of this one and even if this biopsy is negative, consider in a few months having another PSA and another biopsy by a different lab. My dad told me there appear to be significant differencies in the quality of different doctors/labs. He goes to UCSF which is apparently very good.

Expat,

Get a test now, that way when you hit the big 50 and they start testing every year you will have a base line to start from. If they do not test it now you will have no idea what is "normal" for your body.

With Steve, if his body has been at 7 for years then a change to 9 is not as large a reason for concern as if it was at 4-5 for many years.

My friend did not get checked and was out sailing when it happened. All was well then he bent over with pain and it was so bad that he curled up on deck. After 2 hours of this and his wife heading back into port they called 911 and got him medivac'ed into the hospital. It was touch and go for a long time and he was under the knife the next day, so he waited far too long.

Get tested and keep an eye on this because its a silent killer.

JoeA

YIKES... Now I have 10 years to sit and think about this.

Hope you feel better soon Steve.

- Skip

I just had my PSA and it was .04 as well. Not too shabby.

However, My 78 yo dad has prostate cancer....actually for a few years now.
He's been tracked for quite some time because his PSA was, get this, in the mid FORTIES. Biopsy after biopsy came back negative until one year they detected it in it's very early stages. He then went onto a hormone that supposedly slowed the disease down. BTW, it was manufactured by one German pharma and very expensive....thanks Canada!
He's off that medication now and in some type of experimental program. I was hoping he'd take a different route but he's a big boy and doing very well.
He's reluctant to have his prostate removed as a few of his buds are incontinent and have suffered the sexual side effects. The younger you are the more likely to recover 100% from removal. Provided you have a good surgeon and it's not too far advanced.

BTW, from what I understand most men die with prostate cancer, not from it. That said a larger percentage of men have this than women have breast cancer.

Is there anything one can do to encourage prostate health?

Keep the "pipes" clean....but don't over do it. ;)

Geez, I'm 30 years old and have had some prostatitis symptoms (needing to pee way more than usual). So has my cousin (age 32).

So I went to my doctor, who found a nodule on my prostate. Went to a urologist who put me on Uroxatral, seems to be helping. Doesn't explain the nodule though. He wants a re-exam in a few weeks to follow up.

I'm 30 freaking years old!!! :mad:

Some insight.
I have (had) P-cancer, had prostate removed 6 months ago. Am in my mid 50's. Brother had it in his 40's, had it removed.

Only real way to tell if it is slow, medium or fast growing is to have a biopsy.

Once the cancer leaves the prostate, gets into the bones, etc., it's much, much harder to treat, and can be untreatable.

I can be fast growing, it's not always slow. Mine was moderate, working it's way to fast.

A PSA of 9 is HIGH, you need to talk to someone now. Should be under 4. Mine was under 6.7 and I had moderately fast growing cancer.

You can do surgery, seeds, radiation... I chose surgery because I wanted it OUT of there.

If you choose surgery, more and more places are doing it laparoscopically with a robot. Very small scars, (5 of them 1/4" long instead of one big one) no bleeding, can do sit ups the next day. Because of the lack of bleeding, they have a much better chance of saving the nerves that control erections. You can do exercises to deal with incontinence (leaking, usually just a few drips) and it usually goes away.

Anyway, 6 months later, everything's back to normal, PSA is zero.

Stevepaa, pls keep us posted.

WAIT A SECOND! PSA? what does that stand for? and what are these numbers your are tossing out? .4? 9? so they only do the biopsey if they find a nugget? ciminy! and please elaborate on "keeping the pipes clean". lots of fiber? veggies? vegetarianism?

stevepaa, best luck, i hope you get a little number. and have fun in ireland, not having sex.

Prostate Specific Antigen
The higher the amount in the blood stream the more likely something is going on down there. Cancer seems to increase its production.
A biopsy is typically done if something is detected during a digital exam, Xray or a you post a high PSA.

PSA is a chemical made by prostate cells. They draw some blood and send it to a lab. Ideally it should be under 2. Used to be uder 4, but they lowered it.

Try this: http://psa-rising.com/med/info/psa.htm

Keeping the 'pipes clean' doesn't have anything to do with it.

They usually do a biopsy if the PSA is high or it is rising over several tests.

That was an answer to the prostate health question not PSA level.