← Return to Are extreme PSA bounces after radiation due to cancer or inflammation?

Discussion
neilmartin avatar

Are extreme PSA bounces after radiation due to cancer or inflammation?

Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Jan 29 3:33pm | Replies (17)
Comment receiving replies
Profile picture for Jeff Marchi @jeffmarc

Since you didn’t have a prostatectomy, you really don’t know what your real Gleason score was. Many people with 3+4 end up with much higher after surgery. Mine was 4+3 but I know Quite a few people that were 4+5 after surgery.

Your PSA rise is not a bounce. It is a significant increase. You are right you need a PSMA PET scan to find out where there might be metastasis sprouting up.

If you had proton radiation to the prostate, then it is essentially melted. Your PSA should have been going down pretty steadily, Though some people have had it take up to three years before it hit the minimum Yours doesn’t seem to be going down to reasonable numbers, Instead, it has been too high To consider the treatment effective.

I need to discuss this with your doctor. What’s happening is not normal for somebody that’s had proton radiation..

Jump to this post

Replies to "Since you didn’t have a prostatectomy, you really don’t know what your real Gleason score was...."
neilmartin | @neilmartin | Jan 16 3:23pm

Thanks @jeffmarc .

Comments from my ONC after 9.6 spike, subsequent to 9.6 it dropped to 3.8. "I think your judgment is sound; it's reasonable to be worried. Your PSA is not where I expected it to be. The reason for waiting is not that I'm convinced you're in the clear, but that I think it's the best next step to gather more information/data to help us figure out what's going on.
PSA "bounces" are defined as a post-radiation increase, and yes those are usually of smaller magnitude. PSA "spikes" on the other hand are exactly this magnitude and usually related to prostatitis, UTI, sexual activity, or someone else similar. I'm hoping that is all this is". Now we are at 6.4 nearly doubling the 3.8 so I think the spike theory might be wrong. In my mind this will be quite aggressive cancer or the spike of the century. Urologist gave me similar feedback. If they are off base with their judgements its a real disappointment as I am at a center of excellence. With Dechiper, .30 Color Genetic, low Gleason score this should have been killing an ant with a hammer as they say and my team suggested. Sigh

VIEW AND REPLY