Did anyone go through a lot of tests before getting a clear diagnosis?
My uncle had an MRI on his prostate that showed two areas his doctor was slightly concerned about. On a scale of 1-5 (1 low probability of cancer and 5 high), he gave him a 3 and suggested a targeted biopsy.
In one year I had 5 PSA test, two MRI's, two biopsies, one was 12 cores and the other was 18 cores. I had a Confirm MDx test of the cores of the first biopsy that showed the presence of cancer. Of the thirty biopsies, I had only one core in the second biopsy that had cancer a 3+3 Gleason score, about 6 other cores had HGpin cells or ASAP cells. Those cells often turn to cancer. The doctor wanted to do another set of biopsies and I said no and had my prostate removed with the DaVinci robot. The pathology after the removal showed a Gleason of 4+3. I did the right thing removing it.
I had two PSA tests prior to my biopsy. Both times my PSA was around a 7. My biopsy included 12 core samples. Cancer was found in 10 of them. My Gleason was a 3+3. I chose active surveillance but after three additional PSA tests, I chose surgery when my PSA went up to 8.3. I went 13 months between diagnosis and surgery. I'm eight weeks into my recovery. My PSA is now 0.014 as of my last test.
Thank you
and for sharing your answers. The more perspectives the better in situations like this! Glad you're here to support. - Nina, ProstateCancer.net Team I had 4 biopies before they found the cancer
Wow, that is good to know,
. I hope they weren't too unpleasant. If you want to provide your insight on them, I'd recommend our Q&A on biopsy pain: https://prostatecancer.net/q-and-a/biopsy-pain/. I hope you're doing well now? All the best, Nina (ProstateCancer.net Team)
