1. < Prostate Cancer

High PSA three years post op

Posted by bobpros @bobpros, Oct 16, 2020

Husband had total removal of prostrate three years ago. Since then PSA has been very low. Recent bloodwork from family doc shows 3.9 Totally confused and very concerned. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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Mentor
Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor | @artscaping | Oct 16, 2020

Hi there @bobpros. I just opened my computer and found your post. So....let me take a moment to give you a hearty welcome to Connect. I am not a prostate cancer patient, just a caregiver. I monitor this discussion because my life partner is a prostate cancer patient. He had a robotic prostatectomy several years ago. The surgery took quite a while and then the surgeon came out to speak with me. He spent considerable time explaining how the tumor was sort of leaning against the opening to the bladder. In order to make sure they got everything they did several captures of the margin area and continued until they found the margin sample to be free of cancer. However, it was noticed and recorded.

Two years later a PSA blood draw noted a rise and there were other signs that somehow either there was a bit of cancer that had fallen off into the surrounding area (prostate bed) or somehow got left behind around the margin. It was recommended that Jay begin a 7 week series of 5 proton beam treatments per week. He completed the treatment without any serious or long-lasting side effects. Since that time the quarterly PSA tests have all been undetectable for cancer in his body.

So....it does happen. The rise in PSA was immediately noticed as well as the doubling numbers. Everything was then taken care of by the Oncology team at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. We, of course, still go get the quarterly PSA blood draws. Have you been able to schedule an appointment with your prostate team that includes an oncologist?

May you have happiness and the causes of happiness. Now, I am going to run back to my home in Neuropathy. Just let me know that everything is o.k. and that you are being helped.

Chris

REPLY
3 replies
assad4zamani | @assad4zamani | Oct 16, 2020
In reply to @artscaping "Hi there @bobpros. I just opened my computer and found your post. So....let me take a..." + (show)
@artscaping

Hi there @bobpros. I just opened my computer and found your post. So....let me take a moment to give you a hearty welcome to Connect. I am not a prostate cancer patient, just a caregiver. I monitor this discussion because my life partner is a prostate cancer patient. He had a robotic prostatectomy several years ago. The surgery took quite a while and then the surgeon came out to speak with me. He spent considerable time explaining how the tumor was sort of leaning against the opening to the bladder. In order to make sure they got everything they did several captures of the margin area and continued until they found the margin sample to be free of cancer. However, it was noticed and recorded.

Two years later a PSA blood draw noted a rise and there were other signs that somehow either there was a bit of cancer that had fallen off into the surrounding area (prostate bed) or somehow got left behind around the margin. It was recommended that Jay begin a 7 week series of 5 proton beam treatments per week. He completed the treatment without any serious or long-lasting side effects. Since that time the quarterly PSA tests have all been undetectable for cancer in his body.

So....it does happen. The rise in PSA was immediately noticed as well as the doubling numbers. Everything was then taken care of by the Oncology team at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. We, of course, still go get the quarterly PSA blood draws. Have you been able to schedule an appointment with your prostate team that includes an oncologist?

May you have happiness and the causes of happiness. Now, I am going to run back to my home in Neuropathy. Just let me know that everything is o.k. and that you are being helped.

Chris

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Thank you and I appreciate your response to my concerns.
Regards
Assad

REPLY
jessica | @4mia | Aug 18, 2023
In reply to @artscaping "Hi there @bobpros. I just opened my computer and found your post. So....let me take a..." + (show)
@artscaping

Hi there @bobpros. I just opened my computer and found your post. So....let me take a moment to give you a hearty welcome to Connect. I am not a prostate cancer patient, just a caregiver. I monitor this discussion because my life partner is a prostate cancer patient. He had a robotic prostatectomy several years ago. The surgery took quite a while and then the surgeon came out to speak with me. He spent considerable time explaining how the tumor was sort of leaning against the opening to the bladder. In order to make sure they got everything they did several captures of the margin area and continued until they found the margin sample to be free of cancer. However, it was noticed and recorded.

Two years later a PSA blood draw noted a rise and there were other signs that somehow either there was a bit of cancer that had fallen off into the surrounding area (prostate bed) or somehow got left behind around the margin. It was recommended that Jay begin a 7 week series of 5 proton beam treatments per week. He completed the treatment without any serious or long-lasting side effects. Since that time the quarterly PSA tests have all been undetectable for cancer in his body.

So....it does happen. The rise in PSA was immediately noticed as well as the doubling numbers. Everything was then taken care of by the Oncology team at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. We, of course, still go get the quarterly PSA blood draws. Have you been able to schedule an appointment with your prostate team that includes an oncologist?

May you have happiness and the causes of happiness. Now, I am going to run back to my home in Neuropathy. Just let me know that everything is o.k. and that you are being helped.

Chris

Jump to this post

Hi Chris,
My new partner had a robotic prostatectomy a year ago. His PSA is super low, but going up slowly - it's being checked every 3 or 4 months now. When your partner had the 7week series of proton beam treatments, how did they know where to do these treatments? Did they ever figure out where the PSA was coming from, and how did they figure that out? I hope your partner is doing well and his numbers are good.

REPLY
keismom2 | @keismom2 | Aug 19, 2023
In reply to @artscaping "Hi there @bobpros. I just opened my computer and found your post. So....let me take a..." + (show)
@artscaping

Hi there @bobpros. I just opened my computer and found your post. So....let me take a moment to give you a hearty welcome to Connect. I am not a prostate cancer patient, just a caregiver. I monitor this discussion because my life partner is a prostate cancer patient. He had a robotic prostatectomy several years ago. The surgery took quite a while and then the surgeon came out to speak with me. He spent considerable time explaining how the tumor was sort of leaning against the opening to the bladder. In order to make sure they got everything they did several captures of the margin area and continued until they found the margin sample to be free of cancer. However, it was noticed and recorded.

Two years later a PSA blood draw noted a rise and there were other signs that somehow either there was a bit of cancer that had fallen off into the surrounding area (prostate bed) or somehow got left behind around the margin. It was recommended that Jay begin a 7 week series of 5 proton beam treatments per week. He completed the treatment without any serious or long-lasting side effects. Since that time the quarterly PSA tests have all been undetectable for cancer in his body.

So....it does happen. The rise in PSA was immediately noticed as well as the doubling numbers. Everything was then taken care of by the Oncology team at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. We, of course, still go get the quarterly PSA blood draws. Have you been able to schedule an appointment with your prostate team that includes an oncologist?

May you have happiness and the causes of happiness. Now, I am going to run back to my home in Neuropathy. Just let me know that everything is o.k. and that you are being helped.

Chris

Jump to this post

What was his psa when he had the radiation? Did he do ADT?
Thanks

REPLY
1 reply
Mentor
Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor | @artscaping | Aug 21, 2023

Good evening @keismom2, Although he is sleeping right now, I will try very hard to remember to ask him to check on his portal tomorrow for the information you want. That was in 2018 so it has been a while. His surgeon had explained to me why he was in surgery for so long. They were taking multiple samples of the prostate margins hoping to make sure there was nothing "suspicious" left behind. I was quite worried at the length of the surgery until the surgeon asked the folks in the patient family lounge to notify me that he wanted to speak with me.

He felt that they did everything they could to remove all of cancer....since his biopsy and imaging tests found nothing outside the prostate itself. However, he just wanted to reassure me that they would be checking regularly post-surgery. Within a year, his PSA numbers began to rise. What they found was a cancer element that had fallen into the prostate bed.

After considering the options, the 30-day radiation was chosen. This prevented having what I call a "surgery" hunt.

And yes he did three months of ADT pre-surgery.

Do you have other questions or concerns? That was 5 years ago and his tests are now every six months with 24 months between re-visits.

May you have peace and contentment.
Chris

REPLY
Mentor
Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor | @artscaping | Aug 21, 2023
In reply to @keismom2 "What was his psa when he had the radiation? Did he do ADT? Thanks" + (show)
@keismom2

What was his psa when he had the radiation? Did he do ADT?
Thanks

Jump to this post

Here are the PSA reports you requested. Just click on the image and it will open up for you. You will see the increased jumps and the amount of time it took before the proton therapy was begun. Yes, he did the ADT for three months pre-surgery.
Is there anything else I can do for you? Thanks for asking....I am learning also.

May you be safe, protected and free of inner and outer harm.
Chris
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