← Return to Recommendation for second opinion on prostate MRI scan?

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@rockin2047

The reason I'm getting second opinions from radiation oncologists (RO) is to narrow down my treatment options such as Viewray MRdian versus CyberKnife which each use Photon beams (xrays). The last RO advised against using Proton radiation because he said the machines had a history of frequently breaking down (not good if your treatments are interupted). Also, the patient can receive external burn/s like a bad sunburn. At this point I've had a MicroUltrasound Transperineal Biopsy which indicated 2 (3+3=6) tumors and one (3+4=7) tumor. Am not sure if this was fused with my 3T MRI though. The Gleason 7 tissue was sent for a Decipher test where it came back as 0.37 LOW RISK. My urologist said "good news" you are LOW RISK and then when asked if I should begin Active Surveilance (AS) he replied "well, you do have a fair amount of cancer in there". While the Decipher results at first were comforting they rely on a huge database of historical genetic info which is compared to your tumor's DNA so it can predict probable future outcomes. This brings to mind Dirty Harry's famous line "...you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, punk?" We all know how that ended. https://youtu.be/abmULTYJJEg The second RO made some good points: 1. a biopsy is really a "blind biopsy" where the doctor may miss a tumor 2. waiting too long on (AS) could allow my (3+4=7) tumor to evolve into a (4+3=7) tumor. Then came the surprise info: I had thought that the radiation would be "targeted" to each tumor, but was told the entire prostate would be radiated!! Who knew? Please provide the link for the series on seeking opinions from radiologists who are experienced in reading prostate MRIs before making a decision on treatment and the link for your other online support group.

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Replies to "The reason I'm getting second opinions from radiation oncologists (RO) is to narrow down my treatment..."

I saw that Viewray Mrdian filed for bankruptcy last month. Disappointing to see that. Looked like very promising technology. If you find out anything different please let me know, I'm interested in that, as well.
My doctor used the Oncotype DX decipher. Came back low/intermediate.
I had a guided Transperineal biopsy also, using the Precision Point system. It is certainly possible that the doctor may have missed a tumor but since the biopsy was guided by the MRI (assuming the MRI scan and read were correct) then, hopefully, the results were accurate.
The link to the youtube series is:


The online support group is the Prostate Cancer Non-Surgical Treatments and Support group. You can request membership here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PCNonSurgicalSupport