Reply #12: I know how they check the prostate, you should know, too.

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The prostate checking is two stage. The first is the PSA blood test. If the PSA is out of line (high or increasing), then they do a biopsy. The recent guidance for PSA checking has been modified in much the same ways as the guidance for breast cancer; it isn't cost-effective to be checking so much. They are now pushing "watchful waiting".

The PSA blood test is a lousy diagnostic, but it is the only non-invasive one available. It produces high levels of false positives and false negatives -- it indicates a problem when none can be found, but also misses many cancers until it is too late for effective treatment.

Unlike the PSA test, a prostate biopsy is quite invasive. The doctor uses an ultrasound probe to image the prostate, then uses the attached instruments to take core samples of the prostate by cutting through the bowel wall for each sample, usually gathering 12 samples each about one inch long. As they say, "You may feel some pressure, and it might sting a bit."

YMMV! I was not given any pain killer or sedation for my first biopsy twelve years ago. The pain was intense. Remember that the prostate is among a man's most sensitive organs. Lots of nerves. I changed to another doctor after that. After the procedure, there is blood in urine and ejaculate for 4-8 weeks. Even possible to cause ED problems, depending upon how the nerve bundles are positioned around the outside membrane.

Last year a biopsy finally found cancer in my prostate and I had surgery last winter. We caught it just barely in time (we think and hope), it was starting to grow outside the prostate.