Should I Be Concerned

Sw1218
Sw1218 Member Posts: 68 Member
edited January 2023 in Prostate Cancer #1

hello, good people. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

yesterday, i had my PSA blood draw and it went up quite a bit. my PSA yesterday was 1.31, up from .76 in late september 2022. i'm not feeling too good about those results. here's a list of my PSA


12.17.2019 | 11.45 = BEFORE HDR BRACHYTHERAPY

==============

01.21.2021 | 4.04 = 1ST. PSA AFTER HDR BRACHYTHERAPY

03.16.2021 | 1.51

06.22.2021 | 1.52

09.22.2021 | 0.55

==============

03.25.2022 | 0.72

06.28.2022 | 0.66

09.29.2022 | 0.76

01.12.2023 | 1.31


the morning of my PSA, i had a slight wet dream and the week before i had a hard bowel movement, which i know can put pressure on the prostate. maybe i'm in denial or maybe i'm worried over nothing. my nurse practitioner said she has seen results like this quite a lot and is not concrned, she told me i could can back in 6 weeks and do another PSA. i do understand that my lowest PSA + 2 is considered radiation failure. she told me it would be too early to order any type of scan.

what do you think...i'm concerned about a recurrence. should i be concerned or not?

=============================

02.25.2019 | MRI/Ultrasound Fusion Biopsy


02.28.2019 | IRPC (Gleason 4+3 by Emory, 3+3 by JH pathology, 3+4 by Bostwick Labs), cT1c, PSA 13


06.2019 | HDR brachytherapy monotherapy, total dose delivered 27 Gy,

completed 01/23/2020 + short-term bicalutamide

Comments

  • On_A_Journey
    On_A_Journey Member Posts: 132 Member
    #2

    Hello Sw1218,

    I'm relatively new here and had different treatment to you (RP & salvage RT), but I am currently in the early stages of a biochemical recurrence. It doesn't worry me greatly, but that's just me. My last PSA result came back at 0.48, much lower than yours, but for successful RP recipients it should be close to zero. I am not yet receiving any treatment.

    You are doing the right thing by maintaining 3-monthly follow-ups. It is your next test result hat will determine whether your last one was just an anomoly or not. Have you noticed that apart from your 0.66 reading last June, your reading has been increasing slowly since Sept 2021 anyway? I can understand that the sudden spike this time around has got you worried, but in my opinion it's not worth worrying about yet. At the end of the day your PSA is still below 2+ and not worth investigating yet.

    Hopefully your next test reveals some answers for you and that you can relax in the meantime. Good luck to you.

  • Clevelandguy
    Clevelandguy Member Posts: 1,180 Member
    edited January 2023 #3

    Hi,

    Sounds like you had radiation treatment which might not have killed all of the Prostate cells, thus you might still be producing some PSA from your remaining live cells. Also too as other survivors hear have commented, you can have fluctuations in your PSA over time, especially with radiation treatments. If I were you I would talk with your team of doctors and find out if what you are experiencing is normal for your particular treatment path. Hopefully nothing to worry about………..🙏

    PS: If your really concerned maybe a second opinion might be in order.

    Dave 3+4

  • Sw1218
    Sw1218 Member Posts: 68 Member
    #4
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1703181#Comment_1703181

    hi cleveland,

    my nurse practitioner said she's seen situatiions like this before, but gave me the option of coming bacin in 6 weeks rather than 3 mths. some have said it's possibly a bounce, maybe it is, but it just has me worried.

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