I'm very new to this and finding my way.

Welcome aboard Thomas ,
you have come to the right place for support and knowledge....i wish i knew about this board before my surgery.
I experienced also an elevated PSA for 2 years before they could detect my Cancer by Biopsy...i went from 3 to 5.4 and then 8.2 for about a year....my own opinion is that prostate cancer is so slow developing that at the early stages it is not even detectable by biopsy until it gets to G5 or G6 level...however i dont know of any other means but PSA biopsy and can to detect it...i would agree to go and get a second opinion maybe with a more accurate lab results?

Hope all is well in your advanture as many od us OVER 50 years old men went through.

Keep us posted and good LUCK!!!
GB

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April 2007 PSA 8.4 for last 6 months biopsy shows PC 3+3=6

June 13 2007 Went for open RP with Dr. Christopher Johnson at St. Francis Hospital NY. with nerve sparing o both sides.

4 days later home for Fathers Day, and Catheter.
Removal of catheter 10 days later , incontinence next to nothing, no pads used from the get go.

1 month PSA next to not detected


ED is a longer battle:1month out start using occasionally Cialis and 50MG Viagra to promote blood flow with no response for 6 months.

3 months and 6 months PSA not detected

at 6 months mark starting with VED therapy and being more aggressive with meds , in addition taking Folgard supplement daily.

April 2008 10 month out and start seeing some serious improvements with ED while using Meds and VED , can achieve erections, Mid nights erections almost on a regular basis , and uncontrolled 90 % erections spontaneously.

1 year visit on June 13 2008 woohoooo!!!

I would definitely stay on top of it, which is sounds like you are doing. You might have Prostatitis, but if you have already been on antibiotics and ruled that out, then I would definitely inquire about another biopsy with more samples. We have a friend that was in a similar situation that had two biopsies come back negative and finally on his third the cancer showed up. Biopsies are just samplings, therefore, if the cancer is very small, they might miss it. On the flip side..it could be an infection. It sounds like you are already doing the best thing and following up with a specialist! Good luck and keep us posted!

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Father's Information

Thomas,
I worked in research (not medical) for over 30 years and I can tell you that you could have 4 different technicians run the same test on the same sample and get 4 different analysis.
Definetly get another opinion, stay on top of it and do a lot of research on your own.

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Age- 59

This website has been a great help and thanks from everybody for giving me a better idea of what i'm in for. 

Thomas--Welcome to the Prostate Cancer forum. It used to be that the standard prostate biopsy was to take cores from six different areas of the prostate. That changed to twelve, and there are now biopsies done that take more than twelve.

If the biopsies were negative, it doesn't mean you don't have cancer because if it is present, it could be in just a small area (as mine was). That said, there are other reasons that PSA goes up, including BPH, prostatitis and age-related increases.

The main thing now is to keep close tabs on your PSA and do follow-up testing with a urologist. This is especially important with a rising PSA, as yours is.

It is a fallacy to believe, as the uninformed public does, that all prostate cancers are slow growing. Some are not and most will eventually spread outside the prostate if not treated, especially in younger men. It is important to discover it early for the best possible outcome

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Age 59  PSA quadrupled in 1 yr (0.6 to 2.5) 

Thomas-It took two years and many biopsies before my husband came up with a positive one. His PSA kept rising also and the doctors were actually at the point where they were going to do surgery anyway. He had the bladder scan done before his surgery. My husband had one last biopsy just to see if they could detect it and there it was. He had surgery a month later. It did turn out that he had a very agressive cancer. Good luck with everything..

My cancer involved only 1% of my prostate, I consider myself fortunate that my urologist directed one of 12 biopsy needles in the right direction or he would have missed it. Be sure to follow up and stay vigilant.
Randy

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46 you when diagnosed, now 47

    Hi ~ Thomas and Loved Ones,

 

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I know we can “all” make Your Journey smoother while you are waiting for answers ~ just by being here for you!   Thank you for reaching out!!! 

 

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April 3, 2006  53 on surgery day

RRP / Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy

PSA 4.6   Gleason  3+3=6    T2a   Confined to Prostate

4th PSA 2-13-2008 (23 months) Less than 0.1 Non-Detectable :)