Don’t Biopsy Your Prostate Until You Hear This: Why Slowing Down Protects Your Freedom

For many men, prostate cancer decisions feel like standing in front of a moving train.

1. PSA rises.
2. The referral is made.
3. The biopsy is scheduled.

And suddenly, it feels irresponsible to slow down.

According to Dr. Stephen Petteruti, that momentum is not medicine. It is inertia. And inertia is one of the most dangerous forces in prostate cancer care.

This podcast episode continues the conversation about PSA, prostate biopsy, and how men can maintain autonomy in a system that rewards action over thought.

PSA Is a Risk Marker, Not a Diagnosis

PSA testing has been oversold and misunderstood.

PSA does not diagnose prostate cancer. It reflects risk. Like cholesterol, it tilts the field, it does not declare the outcome.

Dr. Petteruti breaks down why PSA thresholds are arbitrary, why rising numbers are not emergencies, and why relative risk statistics are often used to frighten men into unnecessary procedures.

A 45 percent increase in relative risk sounds terrifying.
An absolute risk increase of less than one percent tells a very different story.

Knowing the difference matters.

When Headlines Drive Medicine

This episode dissects how medical headlines are crafted and how fear-based messaging pushes men toward intervention.

Large European screening trials are often cited to justify aggressive testing. Yet when the data is examined carefully, the difference in prostate cancer death rates between screened and unscreened men is minimal.

Dr. Petteruti explains why “statistically significant” does not always mean “clinically meaningful” and how misunderstanding this distinction fuels overtreatment.

The Biopsy Question Most Men Never Ask

Before any medical procedure, one question should be answered clearly:

What will this change?

Dr. Petteruti explains why prostate biopsy results rarely change long-term outcomes and often accelerate men into irreversible decisions.

Biopsies are not fine needles. They are large core needles, driven into a vascular organ designed to contain abnormal cells. Pain, bleeding, infection, and sexual side effects are common.

What is less discussed is the biological risk.

Needle-track dissemination has been documented in multiple cancers. Yet prostate biopsy has largely escaped scrutiny despite hundreds of thousands performed each year.

The absence of definitive safety studies is not reassuring. It is telling.

Surgery and Radiation Do Not Deliver What Men Are Promised

Two landmark trials followed men with early-stage prostate cancer for nearly two decades.

One group had surgery.
One had radiation.
One did nothing.

The result was sobering.

There was no difference in prostate cancer death rates.

What differed dramatically was quality of life.

Dr. Petteruti explains why guaranteed harm with uncertain benefit violates the principle of good medicine and why “standard of care” persists despite long-term evidence.

A Different Way to Think About Risk

This episode introduces a clinical diagnosis model that does not require biopsy.

• PSA trends.
• Prostate MRI with PI-RADS scoring.
• Careful monitoring over time.

When these markers suggest risk, action can be taken without violating tissue. The goal is not denial. It is containment.

Cancer confined to the prostate cannot kill you.
Metastasis is the real threat.

Creating a biological environment that discourages progression changes the equation.

The Role of Philosophy and Regret

Dr. Petteruti is clear. There is no perfect decision.

Some men need certainty. Others need preservation of vitality. What matters is making a decision you can live with years later.

Regret does not come from outcomes alone.
It comes from choices made under fear.

This episode emphasizes slowing the process, asking better questions, and finding clinicians willing to think rather than pressure.

Watch the Full Podcast

The full discussion covers:
• Why PSA-driven urgency is misleading
• How relative risk statistics distort decision-making
• The real risks of prostate biopsy
• Why surgery and radiation persist despite weak survival data
• How to maintain autonomy in medical conversations
• A parallel path that prioritizes vitality and longevity

If you’ve been told a prostate biopsy is urgent, mandatory, or unavoidable, this conversation matters.

Watch the full podcast with Dr. Stephen Petteruti before making a decision that cannot be undone.

Sometimes the most powerful move in medicine is knowing when to slow down.