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The urologist should have offered a local anesthetic. When I was biopsied in 1997 this was uncommon, but it is very common now.
Your urologist was correct as far as PCa cancer. Dr. Oppenheimer, a leading pathologist who specializes in PCa describes the cancer as often being "diffuse" and spread throuhgout the tissues rather than in a nodule or tumor.
Although a positive biopsy means you have cancer, a negative biopsy does not rule it out. Biopsies often miss cancer since very small samples are taken. Arnold Palmer had (I believe) 15 biopsies before his was found.
Due to the importance of the Gleason score in the decision process AND the fact that prostate cancer is frequently understaged by “general purpose” pathologists who look at a lot of different tissue, If your biopsy shows cancer, I suggest that you obtain a second opinion on your biopsy slides from a pathologist that specializes in PCa. Here is my list of some of the better pathologists:
David Bostwick
Bostwick Laboratories
9351 W. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23294
Website: http://www.bostwicklaboratories.com/
Electronic mail: bostwick@bostwicklaboratories.com
Telephone 800-214-6628
fax 804-288-6568
John McNeal
Stanford University Medical Center, Dept. of Urology
Room S-287, Stanford CA 94305
(415)725-5534
Jonathan Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer Urologic Reference Lab (OURLAB)
1854 Air Lane Drive; Suite 17A; Nashville TN 37210
Telephone: 615-847-0410 or 1-888-8OURLAB
FAX: 615-232-8009
Website: http://www.ourlab.net/
Electronic mail: Dr Oppenheimer: dro@ourlab.net
General Information: info@prostatelab.com
If cancer is not found from this biopsy, continue to monitor your PSA, and if it keeps increasing, have another. Some doctors are better at finding cancer than others, Dr. Fred Lee being among the best.
How do we approach a second opinion from the paths? I need to know the routine. How to go about this. Also, why could we not ask the uro for a xanax or valuim for the night before and perhaps before the biopsy? Why not ask for pain medication afterwards?Thanks!
Christina
