From BPH to probable cancer
Posted , 4 users are following.
well, i guess i have graduated from the prostate problems to the prostate cancer forum. Following some high PSA readings (8.x), i went for a 3T mri (i insisted although uro wanted to do biopsy first).
Had the MRI late last week.
results came back as PI-RAD category 4 which says clinically significant cancer is likely to be present.
suspicious finding mid gland transition zone just to the right of center. something about a rounded area measuring up to 1.1 cm across.
next step is fusion biopsy. i guess its good i pushed for MRI first as i am told the transition zone is not normally targeted in standard biopsy.
i guess i will then need to consider treatment options. as discussed earlier, do not want to spend next 20-30 years in Depends with Total ED. does anyone know if transition zone is candidate for focal therapy?
Thanks.
0 likes, 2 replies
TKM MikeinPA
Posted
Mike,
I don't know for sure but I think any part of the prostate can be treated by Focal Laser Ablation. There are some threads in this forum about Focal Laser Ablation, used to treat BPH. Many people on this forum like Dr Karamanian in Houston Texas. He is usually willing to look at your MRI by uploading it to his website. I have discussed my prostate problems with him by phone. Another doctor in Texas is Eric Walser in Galvaston. He also looked at my MRI when I uploaded it to his website. These two doctors have been using FLA to treat BPH. There are other clinics in the USA that treat cancer by FLA, like Sperling Prostate Center in Delray Beach Florida, and the University of Chicago, among others. Dr Walser said in Feb 2020 that some parts of focal laser ablation were covered by some insurances,
Thomas
Jay4546 TKM
Posted
Our situations are similar and mine as slightly less positive. I thought I had BPH for awhile and PSA rose to 5.2/12 free PSA. They did a 4K score and apparently a 19% chance of agressive cancer is serious....I figured the flip side was 81% chance of it not being present! Anyway, urologist wanted to do biopsy, but I fought for 3T MP MRI. They found a 2cm mass in the Transition zone which graded a PIRADS-5. Was told the same that a blind biopsy would likely have missed it since many don't even go to that area. I guess good news is no other zones with findings, contained in middle of prostate and not near edges, no lymph nodes, no pelvis, no bones. My Urologist also said TZ findings are rare, but good news is they tend to be bigger and throw off more PSA, BUT are usually less aggressive. It COULD also be a false positive because a lot of BPH is in TZ and its just a noisy area, but they told me with a PIRADS 5 score to not get my hopes up either. They will likely suggest a guided transperineal biopsy for me since a normal biopsy is harder to reach the TZ. One plus to that is much less risk of infection.