PSA Level Concerns

Do what you have to do to get a handle on your feelings. My best talks were with a work friend who went through this at age 49 and still plays hockey. It is a personal issue that is hard to talk about except with others that have been there. There are support groups in most cities if you want to find others to chat with.

I still have trouble getting to sleep sometimes as my thoughts return to my PCa and the future. The situation never converges on a solution in my mind and the gears keep whirring. It sucks but gets better with time. It is a shame that the doctors cannot have have you come in and do everything possible in one day and then give you all the results. As it is, there are many steps in the process so it always seems like you are waiting on something thus some anxiety is always there.

Good luck

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66yo at DX, PSA 4.1->5.1, 7/18
MRI Guided TRUS Biopsy 8/18 - (4+3 and 3+4)
CAT and Bone Scan clear 9/18
RALP 11/6/18 @ St. Johns Hosp, MN
Post surgical G7 (4+3), pT3a pN0
Pos. Surg. Margin (SM+), EPE, L=0.1mm?
All other pathology negative

Sounds like you're in good hands and he's given you a smart plan.

Andrew

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I'll be in the shop.
Age 58, 52 at DX
PSA:
4.2 10/11, 1.9 6/12, 1.2 12/12, 1.0 5/13, .6 11/13,
.7 5/14, .5 10/14, .5 4/15, .3 10/15, .3 4/16, .4 10/16, .4 5/17, .3 10/17 .3 4/18, .4 11/18
G 3+4
Stage T1C
2 out of 14 cores positive
Treatment IGRT - 2/2012

Nice, I am sure your JH doctor has seen a lots of PSA’s and done lots of DRE’s so if he is feeling good about everything, you should also. Hopefully the fancy 3D MRI does not turn up anything significant and you can skip the biopsy for a year as he recommended. That would be really good news so hope for the best.

The problem with this journey is that there will always be a next test, next appointment, etc so many things to get anxious about. You have pretty good news so far so enjoy it and play a video game.

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66yo at DX, PSA 4.1->5.1, 7/18
MRI Guided TRUS Biopsy 8/18 - (4+3 and 3+4)
CAT and Bone Scan clear 9/18
RALP 11/6/18 @ St. Johns Hosp, MN
Post surgical G7 (4+3), pT3a pN0
Pos. Surg. Margin (SM+), EPE, L=0.1mm?
All other pathology negative

I think its a good treatment plan. My PSA rose from 0.7 to 4.3 over about 8 years before I had a biopsy. The Endocrinologist who ran the PSA test was monitoring me for other issues and never thought to raise the alarm. When I eventually saw the Urologist, he felt that a rise over 8 years from 0.7 to above 3 would have warranted some further investigation and he would not have let it go so far as the Endocrinologist. I had a MP MRI, which showed PIRADS 5 followed by a MRI fusion biopsy. I was fortunate that although the Gleason 3+4 cancer was already causing the prostate capsule to bulge, it had not broken through. I was lucky.

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Now 57 Dx Dec '16, PSA 4.313
Jan '17 MP MRI PR 5, Bn Scan -ve; Fusion BX 4 of 12 +ve G7 (3+4)
RALP Feb 2, 2017
Path: G7 (3+4), PT2c No ECE, margins, LN or SV all -ve
uPSA:
2017: 0.029-0.059(Siemens); <0.008(Abbott); <0.03(NCCS); < 0.01(Bck Coulter); <0.006(Labcorp)
2018: 0.019-0.029(Siemens);<0.008(Abbott); <0.03(NCCS); <0.006(Labcorp)

From the age of about 40 to 54, my PSA ranged from 0.9 to 1.9. Always under 2. Then at 55, boom 5.2.

You are doing the right things in a good place. Stay calm.

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PSA:
2/16-5.2
5/16-2.8,FPSA-13.2%
10/16-4.6,FPSA-11.5%
1/17-4.4
dx:3/17;age 55
bx:3/12+;GS6;5%,5%,20%,28g
neg DRE. bx confirmed byJH
OncoDX-19
mpMRI:7/17-(2) lesions (PI-RADS 3 and 2),
PSA:
7/17-1.9
10/17-2.1
1/18-2.8
4/18-4.3
4/18 bx:4/12+;GS6;5%,5%,20%,30%,32g
JH-20% & 30% to 10% & 20%
PSA:
11/18-5.1
1/19-3.5
mpMRI;1/19; no focal abnormalities consistent with PIRADS 3,4,5.
AS - Emory/Atlanta

Post Edited (ejc61) : 2/6/2019 9:40:39 AM (GMT-7)

Leah77 said...

k9guy said...
Well hello everyone, it’s been awhile since I posted about this. I have been watching my scores and now I’m a little worried and have a consult with a urologist next month. I’m 48 now and my PSA just came back at a 3.00, last year is was 2.4 and the year before that it was 2.2. My father had his prostate removed when he was 57 and is doing fine so I have the family history. I’m just very worried about the whole situation, any words of wisdom and/or encouragement would be much appreciated.

Hey K9 Guy, my hubby is going through diagnostics right now. He is 44 and his PSA levels are similar to yours. 2 different urologists told him he was fine ( he may be) But I pushed for an MRI- It came back with a suspicious mass... Biopsy is tomorrow. The mass is in an area of the prostate that is not typically reached by biopsy or felt by DRE. So having the MRI is crucial for proper diagnostics in my husbands case.

I wish you and your husband the very best. I will update when I have my results back.

I also think it is good news. PIRADS 2 is not bad. Your prostate is enlarged, this may justify your slightly elevated psa. As the final part of the report underlines, the enlarged nodes may mean something. I do not understand exactly what it tries to say, in special if whether "probably reactive" is good or not, but with this level of psa and no signals of extraprostatic breaks, PCa node involvement is not probable, in my non-expert opinion. But maybe it needs to be investigated. Enlarged nodes can be explained by many causes, some worrisome, some trivial. Your doctor will tell you about what it means, if something.

Post Edited (jmadrid) : 2/12/2019 3:28:43 AM (GMT-7)