So, your PSA is high and now you need a prostate biopsy. The thought of having a prod up your rectum with needles going through it makes you cringe. 

Yep, no man ever wakes up in the morning excited about this procedure.

Here I share with you 10 things I learned to determine if you really need a prostate biopsy.

10 Things To Know Before Getting A Prostate Biopsy

1. You’re not crazy for not wanting a prostate biopsy. Prostate biopsies are painful and uncomfortable weeks after the procedure. Despite that, you may still need one.
2. A prostate biopsy can cause erectile dysfunction (ED) in some cases. While I understand no man wants ED, a biopsy is the ONLY way to confirm if you have prostate cancer or not.
3. The idea that prostate biopsies cause spreading (known as tracking or needle seeding) of cancer is theoretically probable but hard to prove.
4. There is only one gold-standard way of knowing if you have prostate cancer and that is through a prostate biopsy.
5. Beware of charlatans wanting to treat your “prostate cancer” without a biopsy. That is not possible.
6. There is blood in your pee and semen after a biopsy for up to two weeks.
7. Up to 25% of men can develop lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) after a prostate biopsy.
8. Despite taking antibiotics before and after a prostate biopsy, infections still can occur. If a fever occurs after a prostate biopsy, don’t bother taking anything for the fever. Go to the emergency room immediately.
9. A prostate MRI may help determine if a biopsy is needed.
10. Other lab tests like the 4K Score, Select MDx, PSA density, PSA kinetics are all useful tools to determine if a prostate biopsy is necessary at all.

As always, if you think you need personalized help with figuring your high PSA /  prostate biopsy situation, contact Precious Sherman to schedule you for an appointment via email: Precious@Drgeo.com.