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PSA rise 1.5 yrs post Salvage radiation & 4 yrs post surgery: Why?

Posted by VancouverIslandHiker @vancouverislandhiker, Apr 12 10:36am

I have a question for my brothers . I am 4 years out from the Operation( at 4.5 PSA ) and 1.5 years out from EBRT of pelvic bed I got at 0.14 PSA( No ADT and 22 sessions of External beam radiation) . Steep family history ( dad died of Prostate Cancer 67 , Grand Father had it too) I am 61 now . Gleason was 3+4 , with a slight 2mm breach . The Breach looked like it just happened surgeon said . No sign of cancer in lymphs or various tissues he took for biopsy . Post surgery and radiation I feel great ( Hiking , swimming , Sauna, travel ) . No leaks and ED is 80% recovered, better with pills 🙂 . My last 5 PSA test have been done . However my last 3 have been interesting I was 0.036 ( 5th consecutive down PSA ) , then 0.059 ( two weeks ago ), then 0.046 just today . Why is it still moving around a lot . Is this considered unreadable ? I am from Vancouver Island and our machines go down to 0.008 , but I never have gotten there . Why does it move around so much . Dr ( GP) said it is likely still "radiation bounce " he see's it 4-6 years after treatment .... Anything alarming with this PSA profile ? Anything out of sorts ? I have a urologist 6 month Dr check in next week . I think he should be happy with results ? Thanks for your help , encouragement and opinions in advance . You guys make the difference for me ! God Bless .... James on Vancouver Island .

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jeff Marchi | @jeffmarc | Apr 12 11:53am

The time to worry is when you get three increases in a row. If the PSA is not above .1 it’s probably too early to do anything. You’re seeing pretty normal radiation bounce. If you had a less sensitive test, it would just show you as < .1 undetectable. Salvage radiation is usually given when you hit .2 in the USA.

You may have long term remission. With a 3+4 it’s not unusual.

My father died of prostate cancer at 88, I remember when he told me Lupron stopped working and there wasn’t anything else. At that time, I had no knowledge of Lupron, however I did see that my father was Rattled. I got it at 62 because my mother passed me BRCA2, my brother got it at 76, no BRCA2 but a father with it, adding to the odds.

Have you had genetic testing? Having it for three generations, could mean that you have a genetic anomaly. Do any female relatives of yours have breast cancer or any one with Pancreatic cancer. It is recommended that everybody with prostate cancer get hereditary genetic testing. Discuss it with your doctor, With certain genetic issues, there is another drug you can take to fight the cancer.

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2 replies
VancouverIslandHiker | @vancouverislandhiker | Apr 12 1:00pm
In reply to @jeffmarc "The time to worry is when you get three increases in a row. If the PSA..." + (show)
@jeffmarc

The time to worry is when you get three increases in a row. If the PSA is not above .1 it’s probably too early to do anything. You’re seeing pretty normal radiation bounce. If you had a less sensitive test, it would just show you as < .1 undetectable. Salvage radiation is usually given when you hit .2 in the USA.

You may have long term remission. With a 3+4 it’s not unusual.

My father died of prostate cancer at 88, I remember when he told me Lupron stopped working and there wasn’t anything else. At that time, I had no knowledge of Lupron, however I did see that my father was Rattled. I got it at 62 because my mother passed me BRCA2, my brother got it at 76, no BRCA2 but a father with it, adding to the odds.

Have you had genetic testing? Having it for three generations, could mean that you have a genetic anomaly. Do any female relatives of yours have breast cancer or any one with Pancreatic cancer. It is recommended that everybody with prostate cancer get hereditary genetic testing. Discuss it with your doctor, With certain genetic issues, there is another drug you can take to fight the cancer.

Jump to this post

Jeff I sure appreciate your time and words here . I thought I was on course , but not 100% sure . It seems like the Dr was correct and still radiation bounce after 1.5 years I gather (?) . At 3+4 , I gather this is an average case , but I sure didn't like the 2mm breach . The Dr did however say "it appeared as if the breach just happened and zero invasion into all surrounding materials and tissues ". But im thinking that was a educated guess of sorts. Yes I did take that Genetic testing , and they stated that to all known, genetic defects, there was no match. I don't know how many no one defects there are, but quite a few. The report did say that I could have a genetic defect, but the ones that they have on recording is no match. With regard to cancer in the family, it is really only the guy side and Prostate cancer that is prevalent. Thanks for your help and kindness ! James

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VancouverIslandHiker | @vancouverislandhiker | Apr 13 11:12am
In reply to @jeffmarc "The time to worry is when you get three increases in a row. If the PSA..." + (show)
@jeffmarc

The time to worry is when you get three increases in a row. If the PSA is not above .1 it’s probably too early to do anything. You’re seeing pretty normal radiation bounce. If you had a less sensitive test, it would just show you as < .1 undetectable. Salvage radiation is usually given when you hit .2 in the USA.

You may have long term remission. With a 3+4 it’s not unusual.

My father died of prostate cancer at 88, I remember when he told me Lupron stopped working and there wasn’t anything else. At that time, I had no knowledge of Lupron, however I did see that my father was Rattled. I got it at 62 because my mother passed me BRCA2, my brother got it at 76, no BRCA2 but a father with it, adding to the odds.

Have you had genetic testing? Having it for three generations, could mean that you have a genetic anomaly. Do any female relatives of yours have breast cancer or any one with Pancreatic cancer. It is recommended that everybody with prostate cancer get hereditary genetic testing. Discuss it with your doctor, With certain genetic issues, there is another drug you can take to fight the cancer.

Jump to this post

I forgot to mention , that the research for genetic testing is going on here in Canada . Many Labs are trying to look at feature of genetics for cures . I think it is important research ! Yes , and you're right , people with breast cancer in their family have high risk of prostate cancers . All Glandular in nature . Right now im still doing every 3 month PSA checks , Dr said I could back off to every 6 months or 10 months . I told him I feel uncomfortable with no data . So he said we will stick to every 3 months . He seemed Ok about it . Wise choice ? Thanks for your opinions . James

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