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1st PSA test seven weeks after surgery

Posted by johndavis60 @johndavis60, Jul 11 3:08pm

Hi All, this morning I did my first PSA test after prostatectomy. I had positive margins and will be doing ADT and radiation soon, but doctors wanted baseline psa first. Reading just came in at 1.1.
Isn’t that a bit high? They didn’t want to wait 3 months because I have pt3b and other high risk findings in biopsy/prostatectomy , although all 19 nodes they took out were negative. I already messaged my doctors but they may not answer right away. Don’t want to panic all weekend long.
Thanks:)

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northoftheborder | @northoftheborder | Jul 23 4:23pm
In reply to @johndavis60 "I’ll have to ask my MO again, but I recall her saying that Firmagon would lower..." + (show)
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I’ll have to ask my MO again, but I recall her saying that Firmagon would lower my PSA the fastest but that I could switch to orgovyx later on.

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Firmagon and Orgovyx are both GnRH antagonists, so they should work more-or-less the same way, but I'm not a researcher or medical professional. Perhaps there have been studies showing that one format works slightly faster than the other? Or perhaps it's just that you can get insurance approval for Firmagon more quickly.

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VancouverIslandHiker | @vancouverislandhiker | Jul 23 6:09pm
In reply to @johndavis60 "Hi James! They took out 19 nodes - 13 on the left and 6 on the..." + (show)
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Hi James! They took out 19 nodes - 13 on the left and 6 on the right. The tumor I had was all on the left side. I will have another PET PSMA scan on July 31 and then start Firmagon for 2 years on Aug 5. My next appointment with radiologist is Aug 20, which I believe is a simulation to get me ready for radiation. Also, results of a DEXA bone scan I did last Friday came back good (as far as I can tell). They also tested my current testosterone (baseline before meds) which came in at 394.
I hope you are doing well! 🙂

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Let me know how things go John . Interested . I think I am doing OK. My radiation oncologist has now discharged me from the Victoria Royal Jubilee Hospital. I guess that's a good thing? He told me just to report to my Urologist Dr. Brian Yang. So I get my PSA test every three months and see how it goes. My last PSA test was 0.061 roughly and the one before that was 0.047. One before that was 0.058. So I am kind of hovering in this area. My urologist thinks that I have healthy cells in my pelvic area that is producing a very small amount of PSA. He is not concerned about it at all. Very unusual circumstance I think. I thought the radiation would've got rid of it. I've had the radiation 2 1/2 years ago. Surgery about 5 1/2 years ago. PSA surgery time was 4.0.

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johndavis60 | @johndavis60 | Jul 23 7:40pm
In reply to @vancouverislandhiker "Let me know how things go John . Interested . I think I am doing OK...." + (show)
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Let me know how things go John . Interested . I think I am doing OK. My radiation oncologist has now discharged me from the Victoria Royal Jubilee Hospital. I guess that's a good thing? He told me just to report to my Urologist Dr. Brian Yang. So I get my PSA test every three months and see how it goes. My last PSA test was 0.061 roughly and the one before that was 0.047. One before that was 0.058. So I am kind of hovering in this area. My urologist thinks that I have healthy cells in my pelvic area that is producing a very small amount of PSA. He is not concerned about it at all. Very unusual circumstance I think. I thought the radiation would've got rid of it. I've had the radiation 2 1/2 years ago. Surgery about 5 1/2 years ago. PSA surgery time was 4.0.

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That’s interesting, my PSA at surgery was 4.09. Good luck with everything and when I have news, I will be sure to share 🙂

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johndavis60 | @johndavis60 | Jul 25 3:06pm

I had my PSA taken again today - 2 weeks after my last test. Went up to 1.52. Oncologist said not to panic and treatment plans remains the same. I’m almost looking forward to getting firmagon and radiation now. Hard not to panic.

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