it’s time to bring the debate to a broader audience.

okay. here’s the whole deal: my father in law’s PSA (prostate specific antigen) level is elevated. not alarmingly elevated (intermediate), but elevated nonetheless. his doctor suggested a biopsy, just to be on the safe side. the possible risks after the procedure were explained to him, and he was told that it is highly recommended that he gets the biopsy done as soon as he can, even if his prostate, upon examination is not enlarged.

the possibility of bleeding and informations from the internet scared the living daylights out of him. he is more likely going to say no to the biopsy. his wife’s and children’s opinions, and the stories from their fellow seniors (he is in his mid 70s) have a lot of weight in his decision making. they said the risk is so small, that it will be worse for him to create an imbalance in his system by having the procedure done, and it is better just to leave the mighty prostate alone. don’t even touch the thing, you know. leave it alone in peace.

the other strong contender in the list of suggestions is to take herbal based medicines proven to lower PSA levels because “most of the times, doctors just suggest invasive procedures without trying natural ways to solve the elevated levels first. they never think outside the box, before subjecting the human body to foreign invasion”, as pointed out by those who didn’t have any biopsy and are still alive today. and also by my husband, who happened to lean towards natural way of handling anything, who also happened to be his son.

anyway, although my opinion doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, i was still asked to chime in. i told them i have taken care of a lot of patients post biopsy, and so far, i have not seen somebody bleed. for the most part, when the biospy turned out to be negative, it gave the patient that much needed relief. if it turned out to be positive and treatable, it is a better thing. if it turns out to be beyond treatment, at least, the patient is psyched to prepare. my point is: the earlier, the better.

i believe in mind body connection and totally agree that he should not do it if he is scared. thing is, i think, the only reason why he is afraid is that he lacks knowledge about the whole thing. i suggested he gather more information. from his doctor, from other doctors, from reading materials, from people who already went through the same thing, those who did the biopsy, and those who didn’t, listen to both sides. then, if he has all the informations he needs and he still does not want to do it, he has every right to make that decision, and it should be respected.

let’s hear it from you guys. what do you think about this whole elevated-PSA-level-to-biopsy-or-not-to-biopsy-issue?