biopsy/surgery

What is the average time between the biopsy and surgery

thank you

thank you for the info

Hi~ mgl,   We had the exact same question before our consultation.   And on the way to the office we stop by the book store because I wanted the answer before going into see the urologist.   He had recommended this book.   And we are very grateful that he did.   No matter what treatment you choose…. This book has a lot of information.   And felt exactly as Dr. Walsh states below.   “We want it out immediately”.   Knowing why ~ we had to wait…. really made the waiting easier… Knowing that the longer we waited the more healing that was taking place.     Hope this helps!! Lee & Buddy   Excerpt from:   Dr. Patrick Walsh’s Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer Patrick C. Walsh, M.D. , Professor of Urology, The Johns Hopkins medical Institutions and Janet Farrar Worthington                 Questions You May Have before Surgery   Why do I have to wait several weeks for the operation?     There should always be a delay of about 6 to 8 weeks between the time a man’s prostate cancer is diagnosed and the time he can undergo surgery.   Many men are frustrated by this.   They think, “I’ve got cancer, it’s curable, I want it out of there right now!”   They see the delay as an operating room equivalent of an overbooked airport, with planes stacked up waiting to land, and interminable layovers.   But this is not the case.   The main reason for the six- to eight week lag time between diagnosis and surgery is not to accommodate a busy hospital’s schedule: it’s so you can have a better cancer operation.   Immediately after the needle biopsy, which often involves a dozen punctures of the rectum, your body reacts—as it does to any injury—with inflammation and bleeding.   Now is not the ideal time for surgery.   A biopsy is what doctors call an “insult” to the body, in this case, to the wall of the rectum, which is riddled with tiny holes, and weakened (think of how much easier it is to tear perforated paper than regular, intact paper).   The body needs time to recover from this relatively minor insult, so it will be ready for the really big one—major surgery.   Even after two weeks, the punctures may have healed, but the prostate is now adherent to the rectum; it remains stuck to the rectum until the inflammation resolves.   If surgery were attempted at this point, it would not be easy to release the rectum from the prostate—and the last thing the surgeon wants to do is make a hole in the rectum. In an attempt to protect the rectum, the surgeon may cut too close to the prostate, possibly leaving cancer cells behind.   But give it a few more weeks, the inflammation heals, and the prostate is no longer “sticky.”   The normal anatomy is restored, and it’s easier for the surgeon to see the terrain.   Excerpts from Our Journey ~ Sharing is Caring   Dr. Walsh’s Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer…(Give Yourself a Second Opinion), is truly a book of knowledge… teaching you about this disease… that affects the whole family!   It is not a book to make you scared ~ but to make you think, to make you understand, and to make you knowledgeable about this terrible cancer….. It doesn’t hold back….   But remember…being scared is part of this whole picture at the beginning anyway… so take in the information that is offered from its contents.     We are not promoting this treatment.... that is definitely a personal choice.  This book has information that "all of us" can use no matter what treatment you decide on.    Read only areas that you are comfortable reading at first.   Gradually you will likely read it all…   I did not read Chapter 12 until after our surgery and after we had a few weeks under our belt.   Then I skimmed through the pages… and it made me really appreciate what we have just gone through….. and give thanks each day for having found this cancer early.   There are excellent postings in reference to this book below… read them all!!!   Remember ~ we all react differently and the forum is a wonderful place to express your own feelings about certain things.   Knowledge is Power… and we gain Knowledge by reading, reading, and more reading.   There’s a Thread started by another member…titled “Dr. Patrick Walsh’s Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer” … it has some excellent postings also…   There are other books that have been recommended and I will add them to the Helpful Hints page soon.