Connect
← Return to What to expect PSA number 4.7? 72 yr old
Discussion
What to expect PSA number 4.7? 72 yr old
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Nov 6 9:43am | Replies (35)Comment receiving replies
Beware...........a digital rectal exam can only assess the posterior side of the prostate, that side facing the rectum. It is of no value in assessing the anterior side of the prostate, that side that faces to the front. While a good share of cancers show up in the posterior region, a good number of them also show up in the anterior region. Mine happened to be anterior. I went for years having a DRE showing nothing and feeling good about it. All the while I had cancer growing in the anterior portion of my transition zone. A 3TMRI is the best assessment technique available today.
Replies to "Beware...........a digital rectal exam can only assess the posterior side of the prostate, that side facing..."
My point is that a digital exam is, IMHO, one of the most basic yet needed exams for your prostate. Many tests have shortcomings, including PSA levels, but when combined, they prove pretty effective in the discovery/treatment of PC.
My prostate was "lumpy" for 2.5 years before I insisted on an MRI. My PSA levels hovered around 2. It was the MRI and biopsy that proved the cancer and it was large, aggressive and outside the prostate but not metastasized.
All of the diagnostic tests, put together, paint a much more accurate picture.
Connect
Agreed .
Mine could not be felt on my regular DRE . Additionally my GP concluded my rising PSA was due to my BPH condition .. ALSO WRONG . Furthermore I have been on Dutasteride for 4 years -- when I discovered ( not via my GP ) that taking Dutasteride for a number of years you DOUBLE YOUR PSA , or , even multiply it by TWO & ONE HALF TIMES . I saw a Urologist . had a 3T MRI RADS 5
Yes I had cancer and was pissedd at my GP .