@josephtj I asked the same about a subsequent PET scan if my PSA increases to >0.1 ng/ml. Right now, my first two post-op PSA's were < 0.1 ng/ml ("zero"). But being a pT3b category patient, my doctor wants me to talk with a RO about getting radiation therapy. I "know" the RO will say he wants me to do it, but I have read a fair number of articles that say there is no benefits and there could be some negative outcomes (urinary and rectal incontinence) to having radiation therapy at any time. I am just now at about 98% urinary continence..."finally" at six months post-op.
When I mentioned a second, post-op PET scan to my urologist if/when my PSA rises to 0.2 ng/ml or greater, he said that there are not usually enough detectable prostate cells for the PET Scan to be sensitive enough to show radiation hot spots. The test is very "specific" using the gallium-68 tracer, but it is not sensitive enough to detect the handful of prostate tissue producing the PSA. And...(back to incontinence)...
I NEVER want to go through all the post-op kind of incontinence again, and I never want to have bowel/fecal incontinence...just bury me if that happens. I went through five years with my 95 year old dad just being in diapers all of the time because he had limited mobility and could not make it to the bathroom in time. I was frequently the person who had to clean him up. I never wish that on anyone that I know to clean me up - family or otherwise, job or not. The humiliation my dad experienced was unbearable as well. So...
Good luck with a second PET scan, but don't be surprised if your physician advises against it due to suboptimal "sensitivity" in its ability to find the handful of prostate tissue producing the PSA.