46 with a PSA of 3.17

Hi, Everyone.

My GP called me last Thursday evening to tell me she was referring me to a urologist. 

I am 46yo, and my PSA had risen from 1.7 to 3.17 in 18 months.  (There was no test conducted in between the two dates.)  I have no record of prostate cancer in the family, although my father died of colon cancer at age 60 and my brother (15 years my senior) has already had a portion of his colon removed due to malignancies.  I am also HIV+ (for nine years) but in good health.  My appointment with the urologist is in about 48 hours from this writing.

I've spent part of the weekend reading about PSA testing, false positives, age considerations, PSA velocity, etc.  I'm anxious to see the urologist, but not going "crazy" over what may come next.

I was just wondering if there was anyone else checking the forum who maight have had a similar experience and could share with me what to expect next.

Thanks!

Welcome to the group. I can say that my numbers were pretty much the same as yours. I went from 1.5 to 3.5 in 3 years. The concern was the velocity. My guess would be that they would do a digital rectal exam and a biopsy. If they do a biopsy, they will probably schedule it for another date. The biopsy is a little uncomfortable, but is the only real way to tell.

Personally I would not wait. You are still young, and if you do in fact have pca, you probably caught it early.

Good luck.

Keep us informed.

Be well and bot to worry yet. Still follow your GP's advice and get it checked. You have plenty of time so a watch and wait will likely be the next step. I have learned that this disease can strike anywhere an anybody. Like you I am young and there is no family history. But I have advanced disease. Lucky me! You do not appear to if you have it at all. But stay on top of it.

Tony

Hi cmh46!!!

I'm in a similar boat as you right now. My first ever PSA test returned 4.4 so I started the same journey as you are on right now. Check the thread entitled "Just trying to get the straight facts" for the conversation I started.

Anyway, I've been retested after 4 weeks and my PSAs are at 4.1 so in my case the only "good" diagnostic option is a biopsy. I did have an ultrasound and what I consider to be a fairly long DRE (I guess its always long... this just seemed notable) with no definitive results. So off to the biopsy I go! I'm not happy about it but since my father and paternal uncle and maternal grandfather all had PCa, I'm a real candidate for it myself. My Urologist said that the PSA scale really should be age balanced and that at our age anything 2 or over really should be checked.

You also have biopsy options. I'm opting for a Stereotactic Transparaneal Prostate Biopsy, which is done under general anesthesia. This procedure will gather something like 30 or 40 samples versus the usual 12 with the trans-rectal approach and is much less likely to cause infection. Since I'm young and have such a history in my family, the doctor said the more aggressive biopsy would be more sure to detect an early stage cancer.

Anyway just keep reading the posts here. I read every day to find out more information and get some comfort.

Hang in there, get your information together and take care of yourself.

Hi, everyone.

I had my appointment with the urologist yesterday and I really can't say I was impressed.

He spent about 10 minutes with me, 20% of which was spent questioning why, at 46 years old, I had a PSA test done in the first place. He then performed a DRE and said everything seemed normal. He prescribed 30 days of Bactrim and told me at the end of that regimen to go back to my GP for another PSA test, then call his nurse a couple of days later to see if I needed any further follow-up. I got the distinct impression that I was "wasting his time." I'm going to leave a message for me GP, just to let her know what's going on.

I did learn that the numbers I had in my head we're wrong. My PSA in 12/06 was 1.13; on July 1, 2008 it was 3.17.

A little more waiting ahead....