Anyone get PSA Test Angst days before that post-treatment PSA test?

RLAP in 2018, PSA test every 3 months since. Undetectable until 2 years ago then started rising. Doubled in one year from .1 to .2 then doubled in 6 months to .4. Then PET scans, biopsies and mapping reoccurrence areas.
Now 6 weeks into ADT and 5 days a weeks on Radiation Treatment with number 7 yesterday and 30 to go.
All is well. Suffering with some issues but at 79 years old it could be much worse as I see everyday at treatment.
Honestly and sincerely I have never worried one second about my PC. Acknowledged I have it and will just deal with it the best I can on a day to day basis. Why worry about something I can do nothing about. Yes, I am concerned and do what I can to minimize the side effects and corporate with the doctors to treat my cancer in the most timely and appropriate way. But I just take it one day at a time and enjoy life along the way. After all it’s life and “life it not the way it is supposed to be, it is the way it is and it’s how you cope that makes the difference”.

Given my current state of affairs, I'm just grateful to still be around every 3 months for the test.

@robrite
It was 3 1/2 years after my surgery before my PSA hit .2 and they set me up for salvage radiation. I had eight weeks of it and had no side effects at the time. Six years later, I started having incontinence issues which have gotten worse in the six years since the problem started, But 12 years later, that’s the only problem I’ve had.

Good to hear you’re having 37 sessions. That means they’re using less radiation which causes fewer side effects. I’m 78 now and I’ve been on ADT for eight years, and undetectable for the last 25 months since I started using Nubeqa.

You were really early in the treatment cycle and should definitely live a long time without having to worry about prostate cancer taking you out.

I have yet to be in your shoes. I know worrying will not change the numbers.
Four months out from 2 year hormone/chemo therapy. I do expect to see
a rise in PSA and testosterone . Some how we get through things...:)

Every three months I get my PSA checked and about a week before the test I start getting worried. I try not to worry but, it is abnormal not to worry about this as it is our lives we are concerned about and time. I am still undetectable, but I will radiation to my prostate area on the 30th of January 2025. I have a PSMA scan and an pelivic MRI which showed one spot that the doctors could not definitively identify as cancer. They thought it might be post treatment changes. Regardless, they justified 4 weeks of radiation. My doctors say it will help improve future prostate issues and may extend castrate sensitivity producing long lasting durable remission. Still - I am nervous.

@xahnegrey40 Your PSA drop from 60 to < 0.02 after three months of ADT is excellent. What ADT are you on? I'm on Orgovyx, PSA 0.36 after 3 months and 0.22 with my third PSA test post-SBRT in two weeks from today. I will be 3.5 months off ADT by then, and my radiation oncologist prepped me to the possibility my PSA rising by then, later on to keep dropping. It can be two years or more before my PSA drops to undetectable.
Are you still on ADT or "on holiday" already?

@vircet thanks-
I am gonna be on Orgovyx and Nubeqa for 19 more months I think...just finished up 45 EBRT sessions on Dec 2...the side effects from the EBRT kinda snuck up AFTER I finished the sessions..but not debilitating...

I should get results of this 2nd PSA ( since starting ADT/EBRT) in July and then every 3 months til I finish the ADT in 20 mos or so..then we'll see how it is going.

As Red said in Shawshank, "HOPE is a good thing..maybe best of things !"

@wooldridgec I agree it would be abnormal to not have some worry, but I have kind of reframed the narrative. I get my PSA checked every 3 months and I look at it as an opportunity to stay ahead of any potential issues. As I have said on the forum before, every person is only one test away from having their lives changed. I simply have a known condition that needs to be monitored on a regular basis and I am thankful for my testing.

PSA Angst? I've been on the PSA roller coaster for 6 years. But, my oncologist just took me off it last week with a great analogy. "The only thing that matters now is how I'm feeling." I'm on the BiTE trial with weekly injections and labs. The injections are a precision mix of meds based my own immune system and my blood work (labs).

Almost all my lab/blood draw numbers are abnormal. Yes, one glance at them causes me to go into freakout mode, which I define as more than angst but less than a bipolar episode. When I brought this up with my trial oncologist he counseled me to focus on how I feel and not think about the labs because "You cancer is at war with the medications." For a multitude of reasons; friends, family, exercise, nutrition, reading, writing, talking with buddies, I feel wonderful. Like best ever. His analogy hit home with me.

I'm 72. This Emerson quote sums up my mindset, "Its not the length of life we live that matters, it's the depth that makes all the difference." Living deeply feels good my friends.

What a timely post to appear today mere minutes after I opened the email from Quest with my latest 6-month results. Thankfully, about two years from the start of my treatment regimen (25 EBRT & 3 Cyberknife sessions coupled with two 6-month Lupron shots) I am still showing as “undetectable”. I can totally relate to the PSA test angst that many of us feel. I can also relate to the relief that washes over me when I read the good news contained in the test results. I now await with hopeful anticipation the results of my Testosterone score.
I am a few months shy of 70 and after a painful divorce several years ago I have found myself with a woman who has added a great deal of “life” to my life. Her patience during my radiation and Lupron induced time on the sensual bench has made me eager to continue to make progress in that arena, and my steady improvement in T has continued to bolster my confidence in more positive gains.
Like the rest of you it’s been a journey and PC will hold its place in my life until I leave this world. But until that day arrives I am determined to live life to the fullest, enjoy all of the little (and sometimes bigger) victories that come my way, and appreciate the love that I share with so many people who are a part of my life. Stay strong brothers , there’s lots of life left for us….. and in us.