Watchful Waiting - Watchful Waiting is the term coined by the medical community to describe an approach for managing cancer that has not yet moved beyond the prostate gland. This approach is also known as “observation” or “surveillance.” Because cancer in this stage advances very slowly there is the possibility that it will not cause any lifetime problems. This is especially true of older men. Men who opt for this approach do not participate in any active treatment without cause. They visit their physicians for monitoring but unless a problem arises they have no other treatment..

Depending on the reasons for the biopsy, the doctor may take samples randomly. For instance, if the biopsy is conducted due to elevated PSA instead of a suspected abnormality in the prostate gland, as many as a half dozen or more samples may be taken. This is considered a “pattern biopsy” and is done to help determine the size and invasiveness of any cancer. Even though you may have multiple samples, a biopsy can still miss some cancers..

If the pathologist determines the presence of prostate cancer he will “grade” each of the tissue samples. This will determine how advanced beyond normal the cancerous tissue has developed. This grading system gives the physician a good idea as to how the tumor is behaving. Tumors with a low grade are most likely to be slow-growing. Tumors with a high grade are more apt to spread aggressively or may have already spread outside of the prostate. If the latter is true, it is said to be “metastasized.”.