Are You Scared By The Thought Of A Prostate Biopsy Exam?

As a man you are extremely likely to suffer from one prostate problem or another at some point in your life. As long as you are under 50 years of age {this|then this} is most likely to be a case of prostatitis (infection or inflammation) and, if you are over the age of 50 then it is also relatively likely to be a case of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH). Also, a large number of men over the age of 50 will also experience prostate cancer.

A significant difficulty with these prostate problems is that they often show the same symptoms and you can, for instance, be having difficulties urinating as a result of both infection of the prostate gland and an enlarged prostate. In many cases these difficulties will not be accompanied by any symptoms at all at first and the real danger here is that you might be developing prostate cancer without even knowing it.

So, if you are suffering from symptoms of any sort of prostate problem, you ought to speak to your doctor. Similarly, if you are over 50 years of age you ought to ask your doctor to check you at regular intervals for prostate problems, even if you are not presently experiencing any symptoms of a prostate problem.

Two of the most commonly used tests for prostate problems are the digital rectal examination, which is a physical examination of the prostate carried out by your doctor to look for indications of abnormalities, and the prostate specific antigen, or PSA, blood test which checks for a protein in the blood the level of which is a marker for prostate cancer. At the end of the day however the only certain way to test for the presence of prostate cancer is to have a prostate biopsy exam.

Perhaps the commonest form of 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 tissue samples from different areas of the prostate gland for microscopic examination. A less common, but still often used type of biopsy, is the insertion of a biopsy needle between the scrotum and anus and into the prostate to once again take the samples needed. In either case the tissue samples will show the presence and degree of spread of any cancer, as well as just how aggressive the cancer is.

A prostate biopsy is not a particularly pleasant procedure leading to a short and uncomfortable sensation as each sample is taken, but it is thankfully reasonably short (lasting approximately 15 minutes) and is often carried out in the doctor's office using a local anesthetic. Following your biopsy you are likely to be sore and will also see a little blood in your urine and perhaps some light bleeding from the rectum. Finally, it is common to experience small quantities of blood in your semen and this could be experienced for several weeks.