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Bahhhhhh, uPSA going up : / ...
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Mar 16 11:18am | Replies (44)Comment receiving replies
I agree about the anxiety risk of the ultrasensitive PSA test, but still, it has its benefits.
Last fall, scans showed a lucency in my spine at T3, the former cancer spot (obscured by screws and cement holding my spine together, which would also prevent a biopsy).
If my PSA had been undetectable just on the regular test (< 0.10), there would have been a very, very small chance of NEPC, so we might have ended up giving it a cautionary zap of radiation just to be safe But with my PSA undetectable on the ultrasensitive test (< 0.01), we were pretty confident it couldn't be even NEPC.
In the event, by adding the head camera for follow-up MRI in January and shooting downwards around the hardware (??not quite sure how that works), they were able to confirm that it's just benign bone remodeling. But if they hadn't, there's a chance I might eventually have ended up with an unnecessary session of radiation.
I'm a special case, but the uPSA test adds an extra layer of confidence when deciding whether a new lucency on a scan might matter.
Replies to "I agree about the anxiety risk of the ultrasensitive PSA test, but still, it has its..."
@northoftheborder Yes, I agree about the benefits. I’m sticking with the usPSA test from here forward, and will just deal with the psychological fallout. Just another thing to learn to roll with. It helps to recognize that the anxiety exists, rather just bury it or maintain some sort of stoical facade. I have to remind myself of that from time to time.
And once again, everyone’s experience with PCa has unique attributes. We share our stories and glean what we can from the sum of it all to help weigh risks and benefits in our individual situations. Your story may be a special case, but it is extremely instructive. You made very smart and discerning use of the usPSA test.
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@northoftheborder
Oh yes, by all means, dear NorthStar : ))). The more data we have the better ! For such aggressive cancer as is my husband's , uPSA is necessary. It could be false alarm but we can not have it both ways ; ), either we wish to know early or not ! My poor husband always got all of his tests and results very late, and nothing compares to that awful feeling - the feeling that "if we just caught this on time, all will be different now" : (((...