Connect
Possible Prostate Cancer: Are there side effects of MRI fusion biopsy?
This past November my primary care Dr discover a lump in my prostate during a digital exam. He referred me to a urologist who scheduled an MRI of my prostate which showed a Pi-Rads 3 lesion. In March I am scheduled for an MRI fusion biopsy. I am 69 years old, my PSA is 4 which jumped from 3 within a year. I am not experiencing any real symptoms except having to get up occasionely in the middle of the night to urinate & occasionely feel as though my bladder is not totally empty. I am not in any pain or discomfert. I am in good health otherwise & active. The urologist also diagnosed me with BPH. Are there any side effects of this fusion biopsy that I should be aware of as the urologist was not very forthcoming in explaining this procedure. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Prostate Cancer Support Group.
Connect
@thmssllvn The biopsy that I'm scheduled for is an MRI Fusion so I'm assuming that there won't be any "random pokes".
@kpg7121 No matter what type of prostate biopsy you’re getting, they will be biopsying the specific locations identified in the MRI, plus some “random pokes” around each of them to make sure microscopic cancers the MRI couldn’t see aren’t overlooked.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 ReactionsThank you
@thmssllvn
Thank you
@thmssllvn
.com not .org
The results of my swab are in. "Fluoroquinolone Resistant Organism" found. I think what means is an organism resistant to certain antibiotics has been found? What that means going forward, if anything, I have no idea.
I'm 73 years old and was diagnosed with PC last fall although my health is otherwise excellent. There was a 7-year gap in my PSA testing, apparently because when my previous PCP left my clinic, the new one was of the mindset that there were too many false positives with the test. Last spring, I'd developed random problems starting a urine stream during the night so I asked for more testing. PSA was 16. Urologist ordered an MRI and results led to the biopsy. Mine was a transperitoneal MRI-fusion biopsy. My understanding is that this is preferable to the transrectal biopsy, because as you can imagine, the possibility of an infection from the latter process is much greater than inserting needles through the perineum. I opted for local anesthesia because I didn't want to deal with the after-effects of general anesthesia. I retrospect, I wish I'd done general anesthesia. Between the ultrasound probe inserted into the rectum to help guide the biopsy needles and the needles themselves, it was brutal. My tendency was to tense up, and the doc kept telling me to relax because as I was tensing up, it was making his job more difficult. In addition, some of the biopsy needles weren't working right so he had to do maybe 10 extra "hits" with the needles to get all the samples he wanted. Urologist said he'd not had that problem before. Lucky me! My wife came with me to drive me home. No problems afterward; some blood in the urine for a couple of days but I almost had to look for it.
I was diagnosed with oligometastatic prostate cancer, with 2 spots on my pelvis. I've been on ADT therapy since November. No spread to other tissues. I will be starting radiation soon.
Even if you've not yet been diagnosed, the Prostate Cancer Research Institute has a wealth of information including a vast array of YouTube videos that are highly informative.
Best wishes.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 ReactionsMy biopsy is scheduled for 3/9, three & a half months after my PC Dr. referred me to a Urologist. My next appt with him is about 30 days after that but I'm hoping to see the results on MyChart before then. Now, I'm waiting to find out which antibiotic they're going to order for me to take before the procedure. This Wednesday I have a TeleMed visit with someone in his office & I don't know why because I pretty much know what to expect.
@kpg7121 Good to have the biopsy. Your BPH may be responsible for the slight increase in your PSA. A guided biopsy will give your urologist and you lots of useful information. There's also several good on-line explanations of the fusion biopsy process. From this forum, you'll read that some of us have the biopsy with local anesthetic (usually lidocaine) and some have a general anesthetic. Good discussion to have with your urologist. I've had local anesthesia for both of my biopsies and definitely prefer that to general anesthesia. At age 79, the fewer times I have anesthesia, the better. Drove myself home both times. Minimal discomfort afterwards. Waiting for the results causes anxiety--it takes them about 2 weeks here. Good luck on March 9.
@tdgillett Thank you. I believe that I'm getting local anesthesia which makes me wonder why I won't be allowed to drive home unless they're thinking I'll be too uncomfortable to do it. Tomorrow I have that telemed visit with aomeone from the office & I'll be asking what the plan is. This stuff is all new to me, I'm 69 & never been sick a day in my life other then the usual flu/ cold along with a mild csse of Covid. Only been hospitalized twice for a brief stay due to a MVA & a busted up ankle that required surgery.