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Pastimes : Heart Attacks, Cancer and strokes. Preventative approaches
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To: FJB who wrote (31624)5/3/2016 8:50:42 PM
From: w0z3 Recommendations

Recommended By
FJB
George Statham
ig

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There can be no symptoms from early stage prostate cancer. I speak from personal experience. My PSA had been gradually rising over the 20 years after first having it checked at age 50. I got concerned when mine hit 2.89 even though 2 different GPs said nothing because it was below the 4.0 upper limit for "normal" on lab reports. I was put on what is called active surveillance quarterly and my PSA read as follows: 2.9, 3.0, 3.0, 4.0. When it hit 4.0 my urologist wanted to do a blind 12-needle biopsy which I rejected in favor of a 3T multiparametric MRI. The MRI showed a tiny suspicious area so the radiologist used realtime MRI to place 4 biopsy needles. He hit the tiny 6 X 7 X 13 mm tumor with 3 of the 4 needles (i.e. 75% hit rate) even though the tumor was <1% of my total prostate volume. A blind biopsy would likely have completely missed it.

I would strongly encourage your father to have an MRI and, if anything is detected, a MRI-guided biopsy. Here's a brochure about the advantages of MRI for detecting prostate cancer:

drive.google.com

Since my tumor was tiny, I had a procedure called Focal Laser Ablation which uses laser energy transmitted via fiber optic tubes to burn the cancerous area. The key to prostate cancer (or any cancer for that matter) is early detection which opens many options without the side effects of radical prostatectomy (RP), which is what most urologists will recommend. Today there are something like 29 different options for PCa and RP should be the last rather than first option. Read the book "Invasion of the Prostate Snatchers" by Blum and Scholz.

There are also other possible causes of a rapid increase in PSA:

1. Prostatitis caused by infection. My PSA once jumped from ~2 to >5 and it then went right back down after 10 days of a sulfa drug.

2. Ejaculation 2-3 days before the blood sample is drawn.

3. Heavy exercise, especially bicycling or weight lifting that might affect the prostate area before the sample is drawn.

4. A digital rectal exam (DRE) prior to the blood sample being drawn.

These should be ruled out before getting too concerned, but he is right to want some good diagnosis if these can be ruled out.

I'm not a doctor but I've learned a lot about PCa over the past 6 months. If it were my father, I would recommend a 3T mp MRI by a reputable radiologist. Do not let a urologist do a blind 12-needle biopsy without investigating other less invasive and more comprehensive alternatives like MRI. BTW the US TOO PROSTATE CANCER community on Inspire.com is an incredible resource for both education and support.
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