DRE

Okay guys, my Uro still does the DRE every three months along with a PSA even though the old walnut is removed. A year and a half later with zero PSAs the is getting old.

Anyone else get the DRE after surgery?

I got the DRE up to one year. Now will see the nurse who runs the "survivors group at 24 months.

I too was hoping the DREs would stop, but as one of my docs said that I did not read the fine print .

I get it evry time I see a doc - Uro, Onc, Radiation. I think by now I had as many post surgery DREs as pre-surgery .

I am so used to it by now that it is hardly any more upsetting than listening to your lungs .

As my dance instructor says - it's all good.

 

As medical tests go a DRE is cheap, fast, and has very little chance of causing harm (your dignity doesn't count) so it makes sense even if finding something would be a low probability event.

Great lesson, Prof. Billy, I didn't know that math relationship, I learned something

That's a very funny use of !!

My uro, after prostatectomy, agreed with Patrick Walsh that there wasn't much use of doing a DRE as long as PSA remained undetectable. Of course, my PSA climbed, and I got the exam.

Then I got an DRE from the radiation oncologist in my initial interview. And, even though my PSA has done fine after radiation, the R.O. does a DRE every time. He always says "I'm a doctor, and I examine my patients." It's not a huge deal for me any more. With no prostate, it's not as uncomfortable as before, and if it makes my R.O. feel like he's doing his due diligence, that's fine with me. Better to err on the side of caution.

But I was happy when recently he put me on 6 month checkups rather than 3 months.

Have not had a DRE since before surgery, and I'm not complaining.  I was just happy that the Uro. had skinny, short fingers.  I didn't want the trauma of prison life returning.  Just kidding.

Bob