I have a friend age 59 who was 100% sure he did not have a problem
.......PSA was 8.5 ......biopsy showed stage 4 cancer in all sections
.........radical prostatectomy revealed spread outside the capsule and
aggresive tumour

Dont be a fool early diagnosis and treatment saves lives

OK, OK... I guess you guys know that's not what I wanted to hear... But
I'm sure it's what I needed to hear. I'm getting the biopsy Monday
morning. One thing I didn't point out in my first post is the fact that
I am terrified of needles. The biopsy needles don't concern me nearly
as much as the IV. The doctor planned to put  me to sleep for the
procedure, so I'm having it done as an outpatient at the local
hospital. I always try to explain that I'm probably the most
needle-phobic person they've ever encountered. The reaction is always
the same: "Oh, you'll be fine!" Well, I won't be fine, but I can't
convince them of that until they try to hold me down and get a needle
in my arm while I'm shaking, squirming, and generally acting like a
2-year-old.

Then there's the matter of general anesthesia. I'm probably more afraid
of that than I am cancer, since I've had a couple of bad experiences
waking up from that stuff. So I called the doctor and talked to him
about it yesterday. He said I can work that out with the
anesthesiologist and that I won't have to be put under if I don't want
to. He went so far as to say that if I'm not happy with the way things
are going after I get there, that I'm more than welcome to pass on the
procedure entirely. For some reason, that was more helpful than
anything else he said. I needed to hear something like that so I know
that I won't get up Monday morning and decide to "cut class" and not
even show up. And once I get there, I know I won't leave.

I apologize for being such a whiner - especially in the company of so
many of you guys who have undergone far worse. I've had lots of
experiences with hospitals, doctors, surgeries, and other medical
procedures, but my private parts are my private parts, if you know what
I mean... I'm sure part of my fear is due to watching my grandfather
die of prostate cancer, but that was 30 years ago and I'm sure there
have been mind-boggling advances in treatment since then.

All in all, I'm about 90% sure that I don't have cancer, but that other
10% is playing hell with my head right now, so I'm definitely going to
go ahead and find out for sure. Thanks again to all four of you guys
who took the time to respond to my questions and my fears. I'll check
back in as soon as I get the results.