Prostrate issue

Timothy73

Hi..I am age 44 Michigan..I was diagnosed with bladder cancer at age 40..I have had three reoocurrences since.at age of 43 I needed baseline PSA test doctor said.it was .70 I just had other PSA at hospital lab and it was a 1.1....I am scheduled to see doctor on Aug 30 for exam.i went to hospital to view my record of test.is this number concerning or don't it mean much..it hasn't increased much,but thought,could bladder cancer cells have any impact on this even though I am currently clear of bladder cancer?..thanks so much..I can take honest opinions...it doesn't bother me..I have done rhis for 4 years on and off

Old Salt

Can't comment on bladder vs prostate cancer

Sorry to read about your bladder cancer. That must have been quite a challenge. I hope that the good news on that front will continue.

With respect to your concerns about prostate cancer, I suggest that you have regular PSA tests, perhaps at six or three months intervals. And please use the same lab so that you can make proper comparisons. Also, for a few days prior to the PSA test, refrain from activities that might activate your prostate to throw off 'extra' PSA (sex, bike riding and the like). 

Grinder

???

Old Salt is right. There are many causes of slight increase in PSA. During a recurring Staph infection my PSA scores would fluctuate wildly from 4 to 9 to 6 to 18. Sexual activity, exercise, infections, BPH symptoms,(unlikely at your age but possible). The presence of the antigen is only a marker of prostate activity or duress. It only says something is happening, but it doesn't tell you what is happening. So like he said, you need to establish a baseline to be able to judge fluctuations in PSA scores.

The likelihood of bladder cancer cells migrating to the prostate? Are you afraid that bladder cancer cells are causing the slight fluctuations in prostate antigen levels? Seems like you would have more severe fluctuations in levels than .7 to 1.1... But I don't know enough about it to say for sure, but other guys here can give you a better opinion whether that is typical fluctuations from sexual activity et al like Old Salt said, or indication of duress. But I doubt it is indication of severe symptoms.

Are you scheduled for a digital rectal exam? Welcome to male middle age and the joys of DREs. Unfortunately, they are a necessary part of a diagnostic profile along with PSA scores. There are other diagnostic procedures, but you won't have to worry about them unless the DREs and PSA scores are significant. 

While you wait for other guys to log on here, you can search this forum for any keyword and get quite an education on prostate cancer and PSA scores, some scores in the hundreds during advanced PC cases. 

But every male 40 to 50 and older should be monitoring his prostate activity... So good for you.

Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3

Ain't the same

Timothy,

Sorry you have gone through so much at your young age.

Bladder cancer and prostate cancer are different animals.  If bladder cancer did spread to the prostate gland, that would not be prostate cancer at all, but rather bladder cancer in the prostate.  Since only prostate cancer causes increases in PSA, I would not expect bladder cancer in a prostate to affect PSA at all.  WHat is more common is PCa (prostate cancer) moving into the bladder, but that is almost defineitly not the case, given your clinical history.

Your PSA numbers remain very low, even for your young age, so I doubt you have any prostate disease currently to worry about. But do continue to have PSA tests and all of the other required follow-ups,

max

VascodaGama

Continue testing

Timothy,

Welcome to the board. Best wishes for complete remission on the bladder cancer.

As commented by survivours above, the PSA is specific to prostatic cells so that any probability of it being influenced directly by a mixture of bladder cancer is remote. The only probability that bladder metastases in the prostate could give rise to an increase of PSA serum would be if a bladder tumour of a reasonable size were squeezing prostatic cells causing sort of inflammation.
In any case, from your comments above, I think that such has been ruled out so that you are now worried that the increase of the PSA relates to prostate cancer (PCa). Surely such could be the case, but the slight increase of 0.40 ng/ml in 4 years (0.70 to 1.10 ng/ml) cannot define such occurrence. You need to continue testing (every three months), adding other proper markers for PCa like the free PSA (fPSA), PCa3 (genetic analysis of cells in the urine), PAP (prostatic acid phosphatase) and CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen) that will also serve to verify any possibility of bladder cancer recurrence. If the rise continues or other markers make it justifiable, then you should get a biopsy.

Another aspect regards the type of bladder cancer you have been diagnosed with and the treatment administered. Some bladder cancers are more prune to metastasize than others and the treatment for recurrences could have been radiation which administration could have affected the prostate causing inflammation. Chemotherapy for the initial therapy would influence prostatic cells but that would be detected 4 years ago.

I recommend you to keep copies of all exams done for the bladder issue as those image studies will be used to compare results in any future diagnosis of PCa, if any.

Please note that I have no medical enrolment. I have a keen interest and enthusiasm in anything related to prostate cancer, which took me into researching and studying the matter since 2000 when I become a survivor and continuing patient.

 

 

Best,

VGama

Timothy73

Thanks so much for info guys.

Thanks so much for info guys... appreciate it alot.