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← Return to PSA/MRI not too bad, Biopsy not too good. What?? [updated]
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PSA/MRI not too bad, Biopsy not too good. What?? [updated]
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Jan 21 2:39pm | Replies (48)Comment receiving replies
@jercalif This forum is for everyone, both Mayo patients and others. So you are very welcome, definitely not an interloper. I'd guess most people here are non-Mayo.
Yes, I got the MRI images and software, but I never even tried to look at them, I only passed along to doctors. I'll have to go back and take a look, as a non-medical person had no idea that it would even make sense to me. It's all moot now, my prostate was gone on 12/16/25, 3 month PSA is in March, undetectable is the hope from this point forward.
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@jeff1963
Firstly, prepare to be horrified if you look at the MRI images, but if you do, the T2W is the easiest to understand for patients. Basically as you move forward and backward through the T2W images, at one point there will be two perfect circles directly to the left and right of the prostate...those are your hip sockets. And below the prostate will be your rectum and above the prostate will be your bladder.
Most cancers are in the peripheral zone, which is (very roughly) the bottom 1/3 of your prostate.
And then if you look at the DWI images, suspected cancer areas will be lit up white by the injected contrast agent.
I was able to find my single 4mm nodule by the MRI report's description of it's location and by it's size relative to the width of the prostate (57mm), but I can almost guarantee that a patient first seeing the MRI images trying to make sense of them is going to say "you have f****** got to be kidding me!".
Which was similar my reaction when I first learned how a prostate biopsy was performed..."You have got to be out of your f****** mind!". 🙂