Having just been through a prostate scare with fortunately good results, I wanted to add a few thoughts to this thread.
As the starter of this thread testified, some prostate cancers are VERY deadly, so it's important to keep an eye on PSA numbers and act quickly to investigate changes. It could save your life.
However, the PSA test actually has low correlation to dangerous prostate cancer, and so there are many "false positives" where an increased PSA number does not lead to the discovery of dangerous cancer.
Unlike almost all other cancers, many types of prostate cancer are not dangerous, and the "cure" may lead to a worse life (for example, loss of bladder control and/or sexual ability) than living with the cancer.
Old-school urologists are essentially surgeons, and as such the traditional cure to any possible cancer danger was removal of the prostate. This is necessary in some cases, but not in most.
The traditional "transrectal" biopsy is performed through the rectum, a bacteria-filled part of the body. The biopsy samples are taken on a grid pattern, which can miss cancer spots. And even though strong antibiotics are taken before this procedure, many lives are lost every year due to infections from the diagnostic biopsy procedure! (In one video I watched, the doctor said this method should more accurately be called a trans-fecal biopsy.) Seems like dark-ages technology to me.
A more modern and safer way (and what I had done) is a trans-perineal biopsy (where the needle is inserted through the perineum, what we call the "taint" lol).
I had to change doctors to find one using this newer procedure, which is still pretty rare in the United States. First a prostate MRI is done to identify any possible suspicious spots. Then during the biopsy, they use ultrasound to make sure they sample those areas, as well as a random sampling through the prostate.
Here's one article about the new method.
https://today.uconn.edu/2020/09/safe...ostate-biopsy/
If cancer is discovered from the biopsy, each sample with cancer is tested to see what type of cancer it is. Most are harmless, and for most men, the best path forward is to continue to monitor PSA etc. for changes. (Of course, some are not harmless, and in that case, it's important to act quickly.)
I was very lucky, no cancer of any type was found in the dozens of samples taken in my biopsy.
The whole subject is VERY complicated. Fortunately, there are free books that will help you understand the topic so you can have intelligent discussions with your providers. These are not pamphlets, they are detailed books. I found them very helpful.
https://www.pcf.org/guide/
I hope this info may be helpful to some, and I hope your results are as good as mine luckily were.
PS You can scroll down here for a contact form to locate a doctor using the new biopsy method.
https://perineologic.com/prostate/#biopsyinfo
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