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Had a biopsy Dec 08 and the results showed prostate cancer (50 yrs old, Gleason score 6, PSA 3.5). I'm now considering treatment options.
The problem that I'm having is the fact that since the biopsy, sex has been a challenge. Erections are hard to come by and the ejaculation is small compared to prior biopsy times and it’s getting worse.
Has anyone experienced the same problems/symptoms???
Sorry to hear about your problem. I had something similar after my biopsy in Nov 2007, aged 58. I'd never had any worries regarding erections, but after the biopsy, although I could still get an erection, it would go away without any warning. Things did not improve before my RP surgery in Feb 2008. I talked to my urologist (not the one that did the biopsy), but he had little to say about it. I do believe that the nerve bundles were probably disturbed or damaged by the biopsy, as they are so close to the prostate. I have found no research or papers discussing anything about this, so this is purely my gut feeling.
My own biopsy came back all 12 cores positive, PSA 7.9, gleason 7(3/4), T1c, and was advised by two different doctors to not waste too much time before seeking treatment. My gleason was 7(4/3) PSA undetectable post-op.
I shall say this - don't rush headlong into treatment. Although my initial diagnosis appeared to label me as high risk, I took time to obtain a second opinion and had my biopsy slides read by another lab. I also read as much as I could find, including this great website from cover to cover, about my options and the consequences of any decision, and after picking robotic RP as my choice of treatment, I hunted around until I found an experienced surgeon I could trust.
Sorry I cannot shed any more light on the problem. Good luck.
Andy get a copy of your actual pathology report and post the data herein, should show volume of cancer found per biopsy, gleason grade, type of PCa (18 variants exist), perinerual invasion? and other parameters. You might be defined as having 'indolent PCa-defined by John Hopkins-Brady Urology' if so watchful waiting/monitoring is actually a real choice. My brother has these stats like yours, but fits the indolent parameters and he has done monitoring for 4+ yrs. without any psa rises at all and should be fine still for perhaps a number of years before making a possible decision. What is significant is psa velocity and doubling times. There are some rare exceptions in Pca too (with the variants and all), so talk to an oncologist perhaps about your staging of disease level, are you a reasonable candidate for w.w.? If so consider it perhaps, your call of course.
Side effects of biopsy have been discussed fairly often in Forums like this because although the published studies show very low levels of side effects, bearing in mind the very large number of biopsies done, even a small percentage of damage results in quite a number of men with problems.
There is no doubt in my mind, from these anecdotal posts, that it is possible to have severe side effects from a biopsy and I think you should talk to your urologist (or possibly another one!) to get a professional opinion.
