What to expect PSA number 4.7? 72 yr old

My point is that a digital exam is, IMHO, one of the most basic yet needed exams for your prostate. Many tests have shortcomings, including PSA levels, but when combined, they prove pretty effective in the discovery/treatment of PC.

My prostate was "lumpy" for 2.5 years before I insisted on an MRI. My PSA levels hovered around 2. It was the MRI and biopsy that proved the cancer and it was large, aggressive and outside the prostate but not metastasized.

All of the diagnostic tests, put together, paint a much more accurate picture.

Get another psa test after a couple of not too active days. A psa test is not definitive test. Ask for an mri scan first. If your psa level goes down it does not necessarily mean an improvement. Take all the tests and advice you can. Good luck

The radiologist who read my first MRI in 2022 missed my lesion. I walked around for two years with this cancer inside me until another MRI in 2024 and a different radiologist saw it as PIRAD-5. Hard lesson learned. Don't trust these people. If your intuition tells you something is not right (and mine did).........and I let my urologist talk me out of it...........seek second opinions or third opinions if necessary. Fact is it costs you little as most insurance plans pay for such opinions. And seek the centers of excellence for those opinions. I will be exploring malpractice options this winter.

"clandeboye", thanks for reminding me how lucky I was that my PC was 'found' quickly. I'd had BPH for a few years so I had dutasteride + tamsulosin and yearly urologist visits; never found with DRE. When PSA rose/doubled; real PC testing started with an MRI (saw it on right side), TR biopsy (14 cores negative), another trans- perineal biopsy found Gleason 3+4 on Nov 2022 and RALP early Jan 2021.
I was ignorant but very lucky.
God Speed to you. May you be on the up-swing.

I am sorry to hear that. Thanks to your advice I should I should not rely on the GP but in a specialist, a urologist.

I watched the doubling time. If your PSA went to 4.7 from a 2 something, then yes, it is a problem. If it raised a bit at a time, then maybe not. Mine went from a 2.3 to a 4.5 in 1 year. I got a biopsy and was Gleason 10, stage 3C....good luck.

Agreed .
Mine could not be felt on my regular DRE . Additionally my GP concluded my rising PSA was due to my BPH condition .. ALSO WRONG . Furthermore I have been on Dutasteride for 4 years -- when I discovered ( not via my GP ) that taking Dutasteride for a number of years you DOUBLE YOUR PSA , or , even multiply it by TWO & ONE HALF TIMES . I saw a Urologist . had a 3T MRI RADS 5
Yes I had cancer and was pissedd at my GP .

Beware...........a digital rectal exam can only assess the posterior side of the prostate, that side facing the rectum. It is of no value in assessing the anterior side of the prostate, that side that faces to the front. While a good share of cancers show up in the posterior region, a good number of them also show up in the anterior region. Mine happened to be anterior. I went for years having a DRE showing nothing and feeling good about it. All the while I had cancer growing in the anterior portion of my transition zone. A 3TMRI is the best assessment technique available today.

You need to see a good urologist who can guide you in your journey. PSA alone is not a diagnosis. The urologist can do simple things first, such as a digital exam. Then, if he feels it would be beneficial, he can schedule a special MRI to examine the prostate. One step at a time, but if you are bothered by the PSA, get to a urologist.

Joe,
Slow down you are getting way ahead of yourself . Obviously you know very little about prostatee cancer and any treatment options . FFirst , as we all do . Educate yourself and be yoour own best advocatee with the information you learn . Purrchase Dr Patrick Walsh's 5th Edition book " Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer " .
Dr. Walsh is the world's foremost authority on prostate cancer . He is the Distinguished Professor of Urology Emerius at the Brady Urological Institute at John Hopkins in Baltimore . Having read this book you will realise how much you are off base , panicing and jumping the gun .
1st Prostate cancer is slow growing , and even if you have prostate cancer . You are NOT going to die tomorrow , you like most every male , have had it for years 10 to 15 years without knowing .
RULE # 1 IF YOU HAVE CANCER : DON'T PANIC AND CHOSE A TREATMENT YOU WILL REGREAT LATER
Tale your time , educate yourself , and consult with your Urologist and plan your next steps .
My advice at this juncture . Get a followup PSA & Free PSA TEST . Your Urologist may next send you for an MRI - If so get one with a 3T Machine not the older 1.5 machines . An MRI will guide your Urologist whether to proceed to the next step a Biopsy . If so go for a Transperineal MRI Fusion Biopsy NOT a Transrectal Biopsy .
There is less chance of an infection for obvious reasons - fecal infection . ( potential sepsis infection ) .
Finally . Settle down - don't rush into a bad decision . Keep your family in the loop . Take a family member or friend to your doctors consultations . An extra pair if ears can pick up things you may miss . When you hear the term :
'You have cancer " You are in shock . it is a kick in the gut and you typically will miss part of the doctors next communication -- Thus the extra set of ears .
Good Luck .