Does The Thought Of A Prostate Biopsy Scare You?
If you are a man then you will almost certainly suffer from prostate problems of one sort or another at some stage in your life. As long as you are under 50 {this|then this} is likely to be a case of prostatitis (inflammation or infection) and, if you are over 50 years of age then it is also fairly likely to be a case of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH). In addition, a significant number of older men will also develop prostate cancer.
The difficulty with all of these prostate conditions is that they often have very similar symptoms and you can, for example, be experiencing problems with urination because of both infection of the prostate and an enlarged prostate gland. In many cases these problems will not show any symptoms in their early stages and the danger danger here is that you might have a developing prostate cancer without even being aware of it.
So, if you are suffering from symptoms of any sort of prostate problem, you would be wise to talk to your doctor. Similarly, if you are over 50 years of age you ought to request your doctor to check you at regular intervals for prostate problems, even if you are not currently suffering from any symptoms of a problem.
The two most commonly performed tests for prostate problems are the digital rectal examination, which is a physical exam of the prostate looking for indications of any abnormalities, and the prostate specific antigen, or PSA, blood test which looks for a protein in the blood the level of which is an indicator of prostate cancer. At the end of the day however the only certain test for prostate cancer is to have a prostate biopsy exam.
The commonest form of prostate biopsy makes use of a transrectal ultrasound probe that guides the urologist to the prostate gland and then makes use of a hollow needle to take several samples of tissue from different parts of the prostate gland for microscopic examination. A less common, but still frequently used type of biopsy, is the insertion of a biopsy needle between the scrotum and anus and into the prostate gland to once again collect the samples needed. In either case the tissue samples will indicate the presence and degree of spread of any cancer, as well as just how aggressive the cancer is.
A prostate biopsy is not a particularly pleasant procedure producing a short and uncomfortable sensation as each sample is taken, but it is luckily fairly short (lasting about 15 minutes) and is frequently performed in the doctor’s office using a local anesthetic. Following your biopsy you are likely to be sore and will also see a little blood in your urine and perhaps some mild bleeding from the rectum. It is also not uncommon to experience small amounts of blood in your semen and this can be experienced for some weeks.