mri before prostatectomy

mudock

i am sceduled to have pros.removed 10-1 have read some have mri before surgery mine at hopkins with robot have not heard about any mri

fcatroneo

I am glad you came to us. Our prayers are with you. You will be surprised how easy it is going to be. Johns Hopkins is the best hospital in the country for PC. Robotic's is also the best choice. You will be fine.
I was not asked to take an MRI. I think what you may be thinking is a bone scan (similar to an MRI). This is only required if your doctor thinks the cancer may have spread. If caught early, the bone scan is not required.
Again, good luck...our prayers and thoughts are with you. Keep us posted on your progress.
Take care.

rogermoore

mudock,

Welcome to the club no man wants to belong to. We are so sorry to hear of your diagnosis, however hopefully you will find some support here in this room.

Like fcatroneo, I have never hear of an MRI prior to Prostate surgery. Although, what he said about the bone scan makes a lot of sense.

You have made a very good decision on where to have your surgery. I have heard nothing but good things about Johns Hopkins, and robotic is the way to have it done.

Good luck on your surgery ( I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the level of pain associated with it) and keep us posted on your progress.

Roger

mudock

thank you,the only bad thing i found out about john hopkins is do not scedule anything when the yankees are playing balt.no hotels to be found in the balt. area. hope the dr.s team wins, but really the hosp and dr.s have been great

Peter51

Good luck with your surgery. From the previous posts, it sounds like you can expect excellent care and results at John Hopkins. I had an MRI before surgery and it is a confirmatory test to assure all that the cancer has not spread outside the prostate. It differs from the bone scan as it is extremely more thorough. It is usually an expensive test, about $1800 versus a few hundrend for a bone scan. Bone scans and CAT scans were state of the art in the 70's. MRI became state of the art in the 90's. There is an even newer and more accurate diagnostic tool now being used and it is called a PET scan, Positron emission tomography. It is yet more telling than MRI but only slightly and of course, costs more than an MRI, about $1900.

When I had my MRI at Mass General Hospital in September 2004, I was put on the table and rolled into the large machine. I cannot comunicate here how loud each short test was. You may be asked to be still for varying periods of time from several minutes per test to 6 or even 8 minutes per test. I was in the machine for an hour and a half! Before the test, I was asked if I had any metal inside me. I mentioned that at some time in the last few years, I may have had a small piece of metal in my eye. Before they could start the test, I was sent for an X-ray of my eye. The machine uses huge magnets and thus gets it's name 'magnetic resonance imaging'. In my case, it was ordered by a radiation oncologist who said it would clear up some of the confusion regarding the specific data of my case. My results assured the doctor of my status and he recommended staying on board with the surgeon and getting my prostate surgically removed.

I think it is a good idea for your doctors to use every possible diagnostic tool. It will give you some additional peace of mind to know you are making the right decision of having the surgery over other treatments.

Joining this club of ours may have a lot to be desired for some of the possible and likely outcomes but you will most likely live longer as a result of the treatment path you are on. Life is worth living. You may have some sacrifices ahead but always remember that your choice of life will help you to accept them.