HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Received pathology report post surgery

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 5/29/2008 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
 i had robotic surgery may 9.  i was diagnosed with gleason 7 (3+4) after biopsy.  the pathology report after surgery showed a gleason 8 (4+4).  margins were clear so i hope i caught it in time.   my first post surgery psa test is next friday (month after surgery).   it has been a nerve racking experience.  finding out you have cancer, selecting the option and then waiting on surgery.

age - 48

psa - 3.8

biopsy showed gleason 7

post surgery gleason 8

margins clear

no symptoms other than psa went from 2.6 to 3.5 in one year and 3.8 6 months later

Posted 5/29/2008 7:08 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah Rob, this is a hectic sometimes frustrating path we walk. Congrats on the clear margins and we are all hoping for a zero PSA report. It seems like every aspect of PCa takes patience...

Jim
Posted 5/29/2008 8:12 PM (GMT 0)
Congrats on the clear margins!! Great news!!! We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers for your first post op PSA, until then, try to sleep easy :-)
Posted 5/29/2008 9:10 PM (GMT 0)
Rob--You're in good shape with the cancer out and clear margins to boot!  Your 1st post-op PSA is a critical confirmation of this, but, as you say and I well remember, getting these PSAs is an anxious time.

Take care and hang in there...Tim

Posted 5/29/2008 10:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Rob,

Look on the bright side that the margins are clear. That's a good sign that all the cancer came out. My Gleason was also upgraded from a 6 (3+3) to a 7 (3+4). I was also disappointed but at least my margins were also clear.

I was just wondering why are you getting the first PSA after just a month. I was led to believe that it takes about 6 - 8 weeks for the body to get rid of all the old PSA stuff. My doctor is doing mine at my 8 weeks follow up.

Kris

Posted 5/29/2008 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
Dear Rob, great news about the margins. I hope the rest of your journey will be a good one.

Mika
Posted 5/30/2008 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
reply to krisp. i too thought the psa was too early. from what i've read the first psa is 3 months after surgery. when i had my catheter removed (after 14 days), i told the doctor i would see him in 3 months. he said i want you in in two weeks for a psa test. he said that before the pathology reports were in. i will ask him next week and get back to you. i was so happy to have the catheter removed that i was agreeing to any appointment!


da vinci 5/9/2008
psa 3.8
gleason upgraded to 8 post surgery
margins clear
Posted 5/30/2008 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
Rob

Good news on getting the surgery over and done and the post pathology report of clear margins. Hopefully you got it in the nick of time and can be clear from here on out. My first Psa came about 10 weeks after surgery. May you get a big 0.

Norskie
Posted 5/30/2008 12:56 AM (GMT 0)
Just received my post surgery PSA report and it came back a big fat -0-, needless to say I was over joyed but now I'm begining to wonder as my surgery was 4/28.  From what I'm hearing here the test is not valid unless done 2 - 3 months after surgery?? My Dr is a John Hopkins boy and I've got to believe he wouldn't have done it early of the results wouldn't be valid. eyes
Posted 5/30/2008 1:38 AM (GMT 0)
Congratulations on the clear margins. Now on to the PSA tests.........may they always result in zeros. yeah
Bill
Posted 5/30/2008 1:45 AM (GMT 0)

wallypm said...
Just received my post surgery PSA report and it came back a big fat -0-, needless to say I was over joyed but now I'm begining to wonder as my surgery was 4/28. From what I'm hearing here the test is not valid unless done 2 - 3 months after surgery?? My Dr is a John Hopkins boy and I've got to believe he wouldn't have done it early of the results wouldn't be valid. [img]/community/emoticons/eyes.gif[/img]

To my way of thinking doctors may not want to perform the tests too early as the PSA result may show a reading as pre-op levels of PSA have not had time to clear from your system. This would probably cause unnecessary alarm. If you are now a zero then you are a zero. Way to go!
Bill
Posted 5/30/2008 3:28 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Rob,
I had my first PSA just two weeks after surgery. In fact I had several before three months. It wasn't a problem to see that it not as yet declined to undetectable. And eventually it was undetectable. I have posted my history below for your reference. Note, however, I did have the positive margins and stage 3b disease, so we did not hesitate to see where we stood. I am glad we did.

Congrats on the clean margins, and Stay Positive!!!!

My PSA History

October 3, 2006 19.8
October 10, 2006 18.9
November 27, 2006 13.9
Surgery February 16, 2007
February 28, 2007 0.9
March 12, 2007 0.1
March 23, 2007 <0.1
May 16, 2007 <0.1
July 18, 2007 <0.1
September 19, 2007 <0.1
January 29, 2008 <0.1
May 9, 2008 <0.1

Tony
Posted 5/30/2008 12:52 PM (GMT 0)

Congratulations on the clear margins. You have much to stay positive about. I know the feeling about the post surgery upgrade in Gleason score. My biopsy went from a Gleason 6 to a post-op pathology of Gleason 7 (3+4). My surgeon told me not to be discouraged at all - clear margins and lymph nodes are the biggie, and that although the cancer was a little more aggressive than what the biopsy showed, and although nothing is certain, it was "unlikely" that any cells remained. The upgrade in the Gleason score just verified my decision to have the prostate removed.

I had my first post surgery PSA test done one month after surgery, and was worried that there would still be some residual PSA in my system. If the results did not show "undetectable" I was prepared to request a second test. However, I scored a big fat zero and have been pulling them ever since.

Good luck with the first post surgery PSA

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply