psa bounce after r/t

califvader
califvader Member Posts: 108
edited June 2011 in Prostate Cancer #1
i just completed r/t last week. had a psa test done already and my psa has bounced up. was 4.3 starting therapy and is now 5.1. i just finished last friday, the 24th. the oncologist said it is common to have a bounce in psa right after r/t therapy. doc wants me to come back in 2 months for another psa test. i received a total dose of 6480 cGy. 18 MV engery x rays were used throughout. i received 36 treatments.

btw, i had a r/p in 2003.

Comments

  • Old-timer
    Old-timer Member Posts: 196
    #2
    Similar history
    They say no two prostate cancer stories are the same, and I believe that to be true. But thought I would respond to your report because it sounds a lot like mine. I had r/p in 1991. The cancer returned in 2003. I had 36 directed beam radiation treatments in 2004. PSA continued to rise (1.16 in 2004, 20.4 in 2008). I started h/t in 2008; PSA dropped to <0.1 (nondetectable) and continues at that level today. My Gleason score is 7 (3+4).

    Good luck to both of us.
  • Kongo
    Kongo Member Posts: 1,166 Member
    #3
    Bounce?
    Vader,

    I am surprised they did a PSA test so soon after R/T. Normally they wait 6 to 8 weeks as the radiation causes some degree of inflammation which causes PSA tongo up. I would not worry so much at this point. Wait and see what the PSA is at 8 weeks.

    K
  • Swingshiftworker
    Swingshiftworker Member Posts: 1,017 Member
    #4
    PSA Variation After Radiation Therapy
    My PSA scores have been all over the place since I had CK treatment in Sept 2010.

    Three months after treatment, my PSA actually spiked to over 12 from around 6 before treatment. Fortunately, the trend has been mostly down since then. The score was 3.3 in March 2011 but then spiked again to 5.2 in June 2011. I retook the test a week later and it was back down to 3.7.

    Needless to say, the variability in my scores is unsettling. If there's anything good to say about surgery (and, as most of you know, I'm not a big fan of that modality), once you do it, your scores plummet and stay around "zero" immediately after surgery, as long as it was successful. Not so, radiation therapy.

    My radiation oncologist tells me to relax and not to expect to reach an ave of 0.3 for at least 4 years. The wait is simply agonizing for me, especially since the scores are so variable. Oh well . . . time will tell if I'm done w/this sh*t or not. What a PITA!!!
  • califvader
    califvader Member Posts: 108
    #5
    Kongo said:

    Bounce?
    Vader,

    I am surprised they did a PSA test so soon after R/T. Normally they wait 6 to 8 weeks as the radiation causes some degree of inflammation which causes PSA tongo up. I would not worry so much at this point. Wait and see what the PSA is at 8 weeks.

    K

    yes. i will report back in two months. she said the same kongo. it's probably due to inflamation of the prostate bed. i'm going to las vegas pretty soon and looking forward to that. sometimes i get tired of dealing with this prostate crap.
  • VascodaGama
    VascodaGama Member Posts: 3,641 Member
    #6
    Swingshiftworker said:

    PSA Variation After Radiation Therapy
    My PSA scores have been all over the place since I had CK treatment in Sept 2010.

    Three months after treatment, my PSA actually spiked to over 12 from around 6 before treatment. Fortunately, the trend has been mostly down since then. The score was 3.3 in March 2011 but then spiked again to 5.2 in June 2011. I retook the test a week later and it was back down to 3.7.

    Needless to say, the variability in my scores is unsettling. If there's anything good to say about surgery (and, as most of you know, I'm not a big fan of that modality), once you do it, your scores plummet and stay around "zero" immediately after surgery, as long as it was successful. Not so, radiation therapy.

    My radiation oncologist tells me to relax and not to expect to reach an ave of 0.3 for at least 4 years. The wait is simply agonizing for me, especially since the scores are so variable. Oh well . . . time will tell if I'm done w/this sh*t or not. What a PITA!!!

    We all get tired
    Calif

    You are right. We all get at some point tired of the prostate CRAP. Too many years following the same problem with no definite conclusion.
    Just “hung-on”. Travel to some place with the family and think about PSA when time is right.

    Hope for a good recovery.
    VG

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