PSA 0.1 but detectable.... :(

PSA
A friend had his prostate removed and held a .1 psa for about a year. then it went to .2 (doubled) ...his uroligist suggested IMRT radiation. He did his 7 weeks of radiation & his psa is again .1

My psa was .3 after surgery, going to .7 in 4 months. I am now in IMRT therapy. No side effects.

I am not a doctor.......but if I were your friend....I would wait till my next psa result.(watchful waiting).

Sorry about your bf
Hi Hollynn. The twe cutoff points to remember are 0.2 ng/ml and 2.0 ng/ml. The best response to radiation occurs when the PSA number is at or below 0.2 ng/ml, according to numerous studies. At the fairly high number of 2.0 ng/ml, radiation is rarely useful except as palliative care for bone metastasis. And since your bf had positive margins, it does look like it has started to grow. According to Catalona, a very famous surgeon who does prostatectomies at Northwestern U., roughly 50% of men with positive margins will need to add other therapies, at some point in time, to control their cancer (usually radiation). If it were me, I would wait and see if it goes to 0.2ng/ml. The reason for this is as follows: the prognosis is really just as good at 0.2ng/nl as at 0.1ng/ml before additional treatment, plus it gives your boyfriend more time to heal from his surgery before he undergoes radiation, which might reduce complications from the radiation. Plus, the time it takes his PSA to double, called the PSADT (PSA double time) can yield a great deal of useful information about the nature of his cancer for the doctor and can, therefore, influence treatment choices. In any event, your bf should pose these questions to his doctor and as always it never hurts to seek another opinion from another doctor. I hope this helps and I wish you well and your bf a complete cure of his cancer.
Cheers
Bill

William Parkinson said:

Sorry about your bf
Hi Hollynn. The twe cutoff points to remember are 0.2 ng/ml and 2.0 ng/ml. The best response to radiation occurs when the PSA number is at or below 0.2 ng/ml, according to numerous studies. At the fairly high number of 2.0 ng/ml, radiation is rarely useful except as palliative care for bone metastasis. And since your bf had positive margins, it does look like it has started to grow. According to Catalona, a very famous surgeon who does prostatectomies at Northwestern U., roughly 50% of men with positive margins will need to add other therapies, at some point in time, to control their cancer (usually radiation). If it were me, I would wait and see if it goes to 0.2ng/ml. The reason for this is as follows: the prognosis is really just as good at 0.2ng/nl as at 0.1ng/ml before additional treatment, plus it gives your boyfriend more time to heal from his surgery before he undergoes radiation, which might reduce complications from the radiation. Plus, the time it takes his PSA to double, called the PSADT (PSA double time) can yield a great deal of useful information about the nature of his cancer for the doctor and can, therefore, influence treatment choices. In any event, your bf should pose these questions to his doctor and as always it never hurts to seek another opinion from another doctor. I hope this helps and I wish you well and your bf a complete cure of his cancer.
Cheers
Bill

catalona
He was my surgeon 5 1/2 years ago when I was diagnosed at 47 years old. Ive been 0 PSA since a month ago. Now at .1 Had no margins or seminal vesicle invasion but did break thru to outer edge of capsule. Already has radiation after surgery. Nervous but trying to be optimistic. Gleason was 7 4+3

STeven

Hollynn22 said:

PSA
Hi Jlk6874,

Since this cancer came to our life, it really eats me from inside out. I was vegetarian for a month during my praying for him and lost 10 pounds. I'm very upset since i don't know how to help him but praying...that's all i can do right now. Everything else i will put in God hands.
I wish you and your husband the best on the road to cure his cancer.

Hollynn

PSA
Hi Holly,
I also lost weight(about 12-15 pounds) when my husband was diagnosed-he actually gained a couple of pounds. I threw myself into a journey of knowing everything I possibly could about his cancer-I needed to know and he relied on me for info. We are both very glad he did not wait to have the radiation-as I said before, we were able to relax a bit more knowing he was being pro-active. He was 54 when diagnosed and it is a very tough time. We did call the ACS help line and they put my husband in touch with someone who had undergone the same procedures-very helpful.
It is very hard to know what to do--I found talking and writing to be very good therapy. I would write my feelings-good and bad-happy and sad, and just keep my own diary.
I wish you both serenity and great results.
Janet

Hollynn22 said:

Radiation
Janet,

When your husband had radiation treatment, did he stay in hospital or just a outpatient treatment? If he did inpatient so how long he stayed? Is that internal radiation or external radiation? as I know that they have two kinds. Did your husband make it 8 hours at work at all back then? I would like to know more about radiation treatment, how they have it done and how it impact your life.

Thanks for your advises and inputs.
Hollynn

Radiation following surgery
Hollynn,

I have been following your posts for a few days now and feel that I can add to the discussion.

My journey is well documented here. Most of my posts contain the name Sonny in the subject line.

I was diagnosed in July 2009. At the time my wife was just admitted to the hospital (she herself is fighting cancer) and wound up staying in ICU for 7 weeks. So my days were spent with her and my nights were reserved for research into the world of PCa and my options.

I decided that surgery was the best for me as it would provide for the minimum amount of recovery and downtime. I would then be able to spend more time as my wife's caregiver.

I had da Vinci surgery on September 17, 2009. My surgeon is one of the most recognized PCa da Vinci surgeons in the US. He preformed as was advertised and my recovery was almost a non-event. I was fully continent from the day the catheter was removed and back on the ball field as a college official 5 weeks after surgery.

Subsequent PSA tests indicated that there were still cancer cells present. So at 74 days following surgery I began IG/IMRT radiation treatment. Last Friday I completed #25, I have 10 more to go. The radiation therapy has been almost as non-eventful as my surgery. I have had almost no side effects other than a little increase in frequency for the need to urinate. My treatments are daily at the same time and are about 1 1/4 hours with the travel time added in. The treatment itself takes only about 15 minutes. If I were still working I would have no trouble in keeping my daily schedule. Being retired my day is still full of activities, physical exercise and exertion.

There have been many studies and research papers released in the last year indicating the improving success rate of having radiation therapy as a follow up to surgery. In fact there have been a few reported that show a higher degree of long term chemical free recurrence when using radiation even before PSA shows any increases.

I hope that this helps a little. If you have any questions just ask away. There are many here that have been on this same journey and will continue to chime in where there experiences can be of assistance.

Good luck to you and your husband in your journey,

Sonny

61 years old
PSA 11/07 3.0
PSA 5/09 6.4
Diagnosis confirmed July 9, 2009
12 Needle Biopsy = 9 clear , 3 postive
<5%, 90%, 40%
Gleason Score (3+4) 7 in all positive cores
CT Organ Scan - negative
Nuclear Bone Scan - Negative
da Vinci 9/17/09
Post Surgery Pathology:
Gleason: Changed to (4+3) = 7
Stage: T3a
Tumor Volume 12.5%
NERVES SPARED-positive margin, extra-prostatic extension
30 day PSA 0.4, 50 day psa 0.53, 64 day psa 0.6
IMRT began Nov 30,2009 (74 days post surgery)

WHW said:

Radiation following surgery
Hollynn,

I have been following your posts for a few days now and feel that I can add to the discussion.

My journey is well documented here. Most of my posts contain the name Sonny in the subject line.

I was diagnosed in July 2009. At the time my wife was just admitted to the hospital (she herself is fighting cancer) and wound up staying in ICU for 7 weeks. So my days were spent with her and my nights were reserved for research into the world of PCa and my options.

I decided that surgery was the best for me as it would provide for the minimum amount of recovery and downtime. I would then be able to spend more time as my wife's caregiver.

I had da Vinci surgery on September 17, 2009. My surgeon is one of the most recognized PCa da Vinci surgeons in the US. He preformed as was advertised and my recovery was almost a non-event. I was fully continent from the day the catheter was removed and back on the ball field as a college official 5 weeks after surgery.

Subsequent PSA tests indicated that there were still cancer cells present. So at 74 days following surgery I began IG/IMRT radiation treatment. Last Friday I completed #25, I have 10 more to go. The radiation therapy has been almost as non-eventful as my surgery. I have had almost no side effects other than a little increase in frequency for the need to urinate. My treatments are daily at the same time and are about 1 1/4 hours with the travel time added in. The treatment itself takes only about 15 minutes. If I were still working I would have no trouble in keeping my daily schedule. Being retired my day is still full of activities, physical exercise and exertion.

There have been many studies and research papers released in the last year indicating the improving success rate of having radiation therapy as a follow up to surgery. In fact there have been a few reported that show a higher degree of long term chemical free recurrence when using radiation even before PSA shows any increases.

I hope that this helps a little. If you have any questions just ask away. There are many here that have been on this same journey and will continue to chime in where there experiences can be of assistance.

Good luck to you and your husband in your journey,

Sonny

61 years old
PSA 11/07 3.0
PSA 5/09 6.4
Diagnosis confirmed July 9, 2009
12 Needle Biopsy = 9 clear , 3 postive
<5%, 90%, 40%
Gleason Score (3+4) 7 in all positive cores
CT Organ Scan - negative
Nuclear Bone Scan - Negative
da Vinci 9/17/09
Post Surgery Pathology:
Gleason: Changed to (4+3) = 7
Stage: T3a
Tumor Volume 12.5%
NERVES SPARED-positive margin, extra-prostatic extension
30 day PSA 0.4, 50 day psa 0.53, 64 day psa 0.6
IMRT began Nov 30,2009 (74 days post surgery)</p>

PSA less than .1
ALL,

FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS my PSA has been <.1. I had no positive margins---Isn't that where you want to be??? And go no higher??

Lion1