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Biopsy.......up to me

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User
Posted 06 Feb 2019 at 14:50

I've recently had a second MRI 12 months on from first.  The result is the same with a PIRADS 3 lesion being identified.  My PSA is consistantly low at @1.5.  The options given are for me to deside if I want a biopsy.  Of not they will just monitor my PSA.  I'm not sure if I need a biopsy as they obviously arent sure if needed.  anyone else been in this position?

User
Posted 06 Feb 2019 at 22:31

We read that sometimes cancer can "escape" during biopsy. If your PSA is consistent and the lesion is the same I personally would not have a biopsy. why did you have a biopsy in the first place?

User
Posted 06 Feb 2019 at 23:38

Hi, I've no experience on this and had to look up what PIRADS is,  and 3 is indeterminate.  Your psa is low.  Having read your profile I'm not sure why you had the MRI and are being monitored. 

At first thinking it appears a case of you got so far and now feel pressure to carry on even if it isn't needed.  That's quite common. It's also common to look for changes if things are indeterminate.

Psa can be inconclusive, so can a biopsy.  Some people have no psa reaction and that's a risk.  Also some can't take the stress of not knowing. 

I thought about this and decided that if I kept waking at night worrying, I'd have a biopsy. To be honest having got on this treadmill I'm sure I'd need the biopsy even while thinking it won't be me. That's just me hopefully others will give their opinion.  All the best Peter

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 02:42
Hi Geordie,

If I were you I would monitor my PSA over, let’s say, the next year, and if there is any obvious increase, then elect for a template biopsy under general anaesthetic. It is not proven that biopsy needles can cause cancer to spread.

If your clinicians are quite laid back about your lesion, leaving the choice of whether or not to biopsy up to you, I would be as well. Keep calm and carry on as normal and revisit the subject next year.

Best of luck.

Cheers, John.

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 08:27

Amend: there is no proof of needle tracking in TRUS biopsies. There are a tiny number of known cases in template biopsy.

You take a bigger risk with your health every time you eat a burnt sausage off the barbecue. 

 

Edited by member 07 Feb 2019 at 08:28  | Reason: Not specified

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 09:30

As others have suggested, this isn't just about Prostate cancer, it's also about peace of mind. Sure, a biopsy - 10 minutes of discomfort with minimal risk or side effects - can miss a cancer, but that's pretty rare. If this was hanging over my head, I'd have a biopsy. I'd feel I was treading water waiting otherwise. There's no 'right' answer - it's something you have to decide.

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User
Posted 06 Feb 2019 at 22:31

We read that sometimes cancer can "escape" during biopsy. If your PSA is consistent and the lesion is the same I personally would not have a biopsy. why did you have a biopsy in the first place?

User
Posted 06 Feb 2019 at 23:38

Hi, I've no experience on this and had to look up what PIRADS is,  and 3 is indeterminate.  Your psa is low.  Having read your profile I'm not sure why you had the MRI and are being monitored. 

At first thinking it appears a case of you got so far and now feel pressure to carry on even if it isn't needed.  That's quite common. It's also common to look for changes if things are indeterminate.

Psa can be inconclusive, so can a biopsy.  Some people have no psa reaction and that's a risk.  Also some can't take the stress of not knowing. 

I thought about this and decided that if I kept waking at night worrying, I'd have a biopsy. To be honest having got on this treadmill I'm sure I'd need the biopsy even while thinking it won't be me. That's just me hopefully others will give their opinion.  All the best Peter

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 02:42
Hi Geordie,

If I were you I would monitor my PSA over, let’s say, the next year, and if there is any obvious increase, then elect for a template biopsy under general anaesthetic. It is not proven that biopsy needles can cause cancer to spread.

If your clinicians are quite laid back about your lesion, leaving the choice of whether or not to biopsy up to you, I would be as well. Keep calm and carry on as normal and revisit the subject next year.

Best of luck.

Cheers, John.

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 08:27

Amend: there is no proof of needle tracking in TRUS biopsies. There are a tiny number of known cases in template biopsy.

You take a bigger risk with your health every time you eat a burnt sausage off the barbecue. 

 

Edited by member 07 Feb 2019 at 08:28  | Reason: Not specified

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 09:30

As others have suggested, this isn't just about Prostate cancer, it's also about peace of mind. Sure, a biopsy - 10 minutes of discomfort with minimal risk or side effects - can miss a cancer, but that's pretty rare. If this was hanging over my head, I'd have a biopsy. I'd feel I was treading water waiting otherwise. There's no 'right' answer - it's something you have to decide.

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 12:35

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

We read that sometimes cancer can "escape" during biopsy. If your PSA is consistent and the lesion is the same I personally would not have a biopsy. why did you have a biopsy in the first place?

"Needle tracking" is a vanishingly rare phenomenon and certainly shouldn't put anyone off having a biopsy. My advice would be entirely the opposite: have the biopsy and remove the uncertainty.

Chris

 

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 13:32

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

 

You take a bigger risk with your health every time you eat a burnt sausage off the barbecue. 

 

 

Now i know why i’m in the state i am Lyn. Boy have i eaten some burnt sausages over the years :-) x

User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 13:51
I call them ‘caremelised’. Her Loveliness calls them ‘cremated’.
User
Posted 07 Feb 2019 at 18:10
I call them carcinogenic
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

 
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