Dr. found a "Prostate lump" and scheduled me to see Urologist.

Hello,

I am new here, and I saw my doctor for my annual check up yesterday.  He found a "prostate lump" and the last time I saw him there was none.  Previous to this I had a blood test done because I was also there to get my cholesterol checked.

He saw the report and looked at the blood test and he said it showed results as normal and that in itself is "reassuring".  He thinks it is nothing but I should get it checked out.

So, I made the appointment and I imagine I will be getting a "Transrectal Prostate Biopsy" done.  I have read the threads about this and whether or not it is painful or not, and it seems to be a toss-up, depending upon particular situations.

 

I hate hospitals, I never have had anything done to me besides seeing my doctor for annual check-ups. 

 

I am 59 years old, my wife has survived breast cancer, and recently had a benign brain tumor.  I have seen first hand the effects of chemotherapy, and radiation and it scares me.  I would not be the trooper she has been.

 

I guess I am lucky because the blood test was normal, but I am still afraid.

 

any suggestions or thoughts,

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

Hello D S G,

Welcome to the forum.

I think you are borrowing trouble at this point worrying about the biopsy. That won't be the first thing the urologist does and if your PSA blood test is normal he may not decide to do anything but another DRE and tell you to come back in six months or a year.

If you could find out your PSA from your doctor we could tell you more about what to worry about ... or not.

As others have said, you're getting a bit ahead of yourself, though with what you and your wife have been through, that's very understandable. IF the urologist recommends a biopsy, ask about the procedure: what anesthetic techniques does he/she use? As my urologist said, in the year 2013 there is absolutely no reason the procedure should be painful. He said that since 2006 urologists have been applying anesthetic in such a way that there should be no pain, and for me there was NO pain. None.

Hopefully this will turn out to be nothing. Urologists do DRE's all day long and are generally much better at interpreting the results. Try to relax and see what the uro has to say. Here's hoping that all is well with you.

UPDATE!

I saw the Urologist today and he did a digital exam.  He said the lump that my doctor was concerned about did not feel like the type of lump he usually feels.  Because the lump was soft, he believed it was not cancerous, but because it was not what he was expecting he wants to do an ultra sound.

He then said if the lump is outside the prostate, then he would just monitor the lump over time like a year.  If it was inside the prostate, then at time of ultra sound he would do a biopsy.  He said to not worry because he thinks the lump is outside the prostate, but he wants to make sure it is.

So I have that appointment in two weeks.  He said to not worry he does not believe the lump is cancer.

Guess that Is good news....right?

Dave

Dave -

Congratulations, brother - any time a doc says "it probably isn't cancer," you can consider that to be very good news - at very least, it gives you good reason to be optimistic! That said, it is always a good idea to get as complete a picture as possible - the sooner you know the details, the better off you'll be in the long run. So the ultrasound (and the possible follow-up biopsy) sound like very reasonable next steps.

The guys are right tho - it is VERY important that you know your PSA at this point. Did your regular doc order a PSA test when he drew your blood for the cholesterol test? You mentioned that your doc said your results were "normal," which probably means your PSA was in what they consider to be a normal range. HOWEVER - and this is a big however: if your PSA has risen significantly from earlier values (even if it is still within the "normal" range), that is IMPORTANT info to know. I say this from personal experience - I was told every year that my PSA was normal - but I never knew to check whether or not it was rising - and indeed it had been, a little bit every year. That is a potential warning sign - and a very useful one to have.

As far as prostate cancer is concerned, in most cases the earlier you catch it, the better off you'll be. Even if they do find something, it is very likely they're catching it early - and if caught early, prostate cancer can be a curable disease.

I'm somewhat new here myself - so I'm sure the guys will jump in if I've said anything misleading or incorrect!

Best of luck to you -

Doug

Dave,

Great news and I hope you never ever have to come back to HW.

Dave

My bet it is outside, btw,don't get your mind working to hard and think ' well even if it is on the outside it could be cancer anyway , right? Wrong and will not get into why. I agree with the poster above, don't get a biopsy if it aint outside, just cause the uro is in the area. Tell your uro you would rather wait for another psa in 3-4 mos and if it rises appreciably you will do biopsy at that time. Jeez these Uro's, Im tellen ya. Some times I think, they think we are just there little playtings to check out all there toys. Relax folks , just venting here.

Funny, I'm cooking ribs today!

You have gotten good news so far, Dave, and ribs are a great way to celebrate that news. Actually, ribs are a great way to celebrate just about anything.
God bless.

HI, I'm fact gathering and looking for some information re news we had yesterday on my Dad ..

The story so far ... Dad had a blood test last week (thursday), his GP called on Friday as they had an abnormal PSA reading of 5.7, referred to Urologist at hospital yesterday (Monday).... Urologist did a DRE and found a lump on the prostate ... so he is scheduled to have a biopsy next week.

Would you please advise your experiences/findings etc as obviously the whole family is fearing the worst at the moment and I'm trying to gather all the facts and keep positive.

Thank you