Thread: Prostate Exam
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Old 11-25-18 | 03:05 AM
  #22  
OldTryGuy
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Originally Posted by Artmo
No, not a tough guy, Giacomo dear. Please don't tell me about aging:-). I'm 78 and was diagnosed with prostate cancer, low-intermediate stage with a trace of Gleason 5, three years ago and had all the bells and whistles of 25 doses of radiation (IMRT) followed by radioactive seeds( brachytherapy). I had had PSA and DRE annually for many years and saw my PSA gradually increase from around 1.2 to 4.8, plus a nodule detected by the DRE, but no other symptoms. Now it is 0.1. It's people like the OP who make men nervous about having the DRE or nothing at all, too often resulting in unnecessary deaths from the metastasized cancer. I lost two colleagues because of their resistance to the tests. As someone mentioned, a single PSA number might not be indicative of cancer, but an upward trend over time can be.
Originally Posted by CliffordK
Both the General Practitioner Finger exam and the PSA are screening exams, with both false positives and false negatives.

If, however, you're actually feeling changes (urine flow, frequency, etc), then perhaps ask for a urology consult and ultrasound, and a biopsy if indicated.
Burying one's head in the sand is not a good medical choice. The DRE isn't that big of a deal but can be totally avoided if one wants. My suggestion would be to have a 3TmpMRI performed and if something (possible cancer) becomes apparent then following up with the MRI Guided biopsy is MUCH MORE accurate than a TRUS biopsy.

https://grandroundsinurology.com/poi...-mapping-part/

A more complete biopsy than a MRI Guided would be ---

https://grandroundsinurology.com/lepor-stone-part-2/
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