Are You Frightened By The Thought Of A Prostate Biopsy Examination?
October 20th, 2008 | by Clare |
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. If you are under 50 years of age {this|then this} is likely to be a case of prostatitis (inflammation or infection) and, if you are over 50 then it is also quite likely to be a case of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH). Furthermore, a fairly large number of older men will also experience prostate cancer.
The difficulty with these problems of the prostate gland is that they frequently show very similar symptoms and you can, for example, be experiencing problems passing water because of both infection of the prostate and an enlarged prostate gland. In a lot of instances these problems will not be accompanied by any symptoms at all at first and the real danger here is that you might have a developing prostate cancer without even being aware of it.
So, if you are suffering from any sort of prostate symptoms, you would be wise to speak to your doctor. Similarly, if you are older than 50 you ought to ask your doctor to check you at regular intervals for prostate problems, even if you are not presently suffering from any prostate symptoms.
The two most commonly seen tests for prostate problems are the digital rectal examination, which is a physical exam of the prostate gland looking for signs of abnormalities, and the PSA, or prostate specific antigen, blood test which checks for a protein in the blood that is a marker for prostate cancer. At the end of the day however the only sure test for prostate cancer is to have a prostate biopsy exam.
The commonest prostate biopsy makes use of a transrectal ultrasound probe which guides the urologist to the prostate gland and then uses a hollow needle to collect several samples of tissue from different areas of the prostate gland for microscopic examination. Another 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 necessary samples. In either case the samples will show the presence and degree of spread of any cancer, as well as just how aggressive the cancer is.
A prostate biopsy examination is not the most pleasant of procedures leading to a short and uncomfortable sensation as each sample is collected, but it is luckily reasonably short (lasting about 15 minutes) and is often done in the doctor’s office using a local anesthetic. In the days following your biopsy you are likely to be sore and will also be conscious of a small amount of blood in your urine and possibly some light bleeding from the rectum. Finally, it is common to see small quantities of blood in your semen and this could be noticeable for several weeks.