My Prostate Biopsy Pathology Report is In. Good News!

Great news!  My biopsy was negative for cancer.  I’m also very glad it only took a little over a week, as I was told it could take 2-3 weeks.  The waiting is not fun; it’s on your mind very frequently.  Now, I get to put it out of my head for at least 6 months until my next checkup!

I temper my relief a little bit, because I know that there are a lot of false negatives with prostate biopsies.  This was one of my main concerns about having a biopsy in the first place.  While a biopsy can confirm the presence of cancer, it cannot rule it out completely.  In fact, a single, standard biopsy may not be all that much better than a PCA3 test or a 3T MRI for ruling out small, less aggressive tumors of the prostate.  Also tempering my great relief was a finding of an “atypical gland” in 2 of the 16 core samples.  This is basically a warning to keep close check on my PSA and have a regular DRE.  I’ve had a handful of suspicious moles removed in the past.  While none have turned out to be cancer, a couple did come back as “atypical”.  So, I also have a dermatologist check my skin at least once a year, too.

I am still very relieved.  Combined with my PCA 3 test and my 3T MRI results, the negative biopsy hopefully means I do not have prostate cancer at all and almost certainly means I don’t have any large or aggressive tumors.  Amen.

13 thoughts on “My Prostate Biopsy Pathology Report is In. Good News!”

  1. j wrenn, you should read the rest of the blog. A biopsy is a diagnostic to confirm cancer when an abnormal growth is found. In the prostate, they also use it to find cancer in a random sampling method, because they had no other reliable diagnostics. A negative result is essentially meaningless. They only sample a very small percentage of the volume, so it’s quite possible they would miss a cancer. That’s why many men have multiple biopsies before cancer is found. Also, if you have a fusion 3T MRI biopsy done at the NIH, it doesn’t cost you a dime and you are helping to develop a non-invasive diagnostic for other men in the future. Of course there would be turmoil in a treatment decision. It’s cancer. You pick the wrong one and you may die or have life long complications. Of all things to fret about, prostate and other cancers are, to me, topics that deserve a substantial amount of research. Some people just assume their primary doc has all the right answers and go blindly with that, without any concern. To each their own, as they say.

  2. Glad you got a negative biopsy. I wouldn’t want to see the turmoil you would put yourself through to make an actual treatment decision. Just think of the money you would have saved and the angst you would have avoided if you had just manned up and gotten your biopsy before you had gone through several thousand dollars of other unnecessary testing. Those guys with the power doppler and fusion MRI biopsies love it when a guy like you shows up and gives them a case study in the law of diminishing returns to boost their bottom line. A couple of valium and 15 minutes in the ultrasound suite and you would have been able to sleep better much sooner, but then you wouldn’t have had as much to blog about. Negative biopsy, boring, end of story. Move on with your life. I hope you didn’t fret as much about a colonoscopy when you turned 50.

  3. Wonderful news, such a relief. Thanks again for putting your story and info. out there for the benefit of others.

  4. I am glad to hear you had good news. Waiting even a week can be hard. Hope the check-ups continue to be good.

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