Rise in PSA

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Had radical prostate surgery October 12.
Had not spread to bones and lymph nodes yet which was good news. PSA checked late November was .04. Retested yesterday and now is .05. Little concerned with the rise in PSA. Any thought or opinions from anyone ?

 

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I went through this as well. I met with a very good oncologist who said that we should wait till it was about to reach.2 which is reacurance level. Did 37 doses or salvage radiation and have been clear for 2 plus years now. Talk with your urologist and then ask for a referral to a good oncologist and talk with them.

 

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I had psa <.1 for 3 tests 3 months apart, then it went to .4. The 6 weeks later up to .6.now I'm scheduled for a special pet scan designed to see cancer on April 7th. Concerned. I'm 16 months post surgery.

 

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This forum is more about dealing with incontinence which is a major side-effect of prostate cancer treatment.

I suggest creating a login with Health Unlocked and searching for Prostate Cancer Treatment forums. You sign up for the different communities to get emails about newsfeeds/communities.

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Terry

 

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Terry's comments are helpful (THudson1965, above). But since you did ask on this forum, my understanding is that most PSA measurements are only accurate above 0.05 and that anything below that is considered to be essentially zero. So don't get worried, but ask your urologist!

 

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I went down that road myself

 

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I went down that road myself. After surgery, I had a .04 that later went to .18. After a scan or two, radiation treatments were recommended. I had 39 treatments spaced over 8 weeks. My first post-radiation PSA was <.01.

I know the prospect of more treatment after surgery is kind of a downer. I can tell you, though, that radiation treatments are a walk in the park compared to surgery. The side effects were pretty much non-existent, for me anyway. It had no effect at all on incontinence.

I’m now 4 months into hormone treatments that were also recommended. There are some side effects to the hormone, but those are very manageable as well.

The bottom line is that it’s a drag to see the PSA go up, but take heart. IF you need further treatment, it’ll be a much easier process than what you’ve already endured. You got this!

 

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It may be below the doctor's concern, but keep an eye on it very carefully.
Mine has been essentially zero for 19 years, and I only remember one and it was about .01 - and that was fairly soon after surgery and chemotherapy.

 

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@Denardis Good question to ask. I can understand perfectly well that you are concerned, but as Slawrence said those numbers are still below what many labs even look at. I get my psa checked locally (southern Kentucky) and at Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee. Bothe places consider <0.1 as undetectable.

Just keep an eye on it and take your Doctors’s advice.

 

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I think as long as you are under .1 you are good. I just did my 6-week post op PSA test and it's at .24. Too high, but we're testing in another month to see if it comes down. Otherwise PET scan. Have others been at an elevated level at the first reading after RP and then come down to almost nothing?

 

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Rec’d not so good news today. Had radical prostate surgery Oct 2021. PSA has since risen .04 to .05 to .07 today at .14 Would like opinions on what I can expect? I understand as long as it is under .2, but appears at this rate I will be at .2 very soon. Assume I will be candidate for radiation soon. Thanks for anyones thoughts.

 

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One thing I know they look at and take into consideration as far as treatment plans go is the amount of time it takes for the PSA score to double. So how long the time was between the .07 and the .14 will probably be important. Also known as “doubling time”.

Check out the memorial Sloan Kettering cancer center website and look for doubling time.