PSA Anxiety

Just gotta think positive;)

Rookey,
I'm going in for my first post-op PSA on Monday 4/6. To say I'm anxious is an understatement. Yesterday I was working in the yard pulling out some weeds in my flower bed knowing that no matter how careful I'm, the weeds will most likely come back. That is how I feel about aggressive PC. I'll always be looking over my shoulder wondering is all the cancer out? Or is it still there somewhere in my body waiting to come back. At my age, I'm grateful to have had a great happy healthy life. Great large family with kids and grand kids enjoying golf and retirement, so any additional year of surviving PC is a bonus. I do feel for my young PC brothers on this forum who are still working and raising a family. You are always in my prayers. I wish you all a long PC free life.

Looking back over the last year and a half, I would have to say that I have been more anxious than average. However, it does get better each time. The first couple of times are by far the worst. I think all of the bad news that got us here (high PSA -> biopsy -> diagnosis -> surgery -> recovery, etc.) makes it sometimes hard to believe that good news is possible. I have even toyed with the idea of searching out a uro who uses the less accurate "conventional" test to hide the ultrasensitive fluctuations. Hang in there - at some point you will refuse to let worrying over future PSA tests rob any more time from you than this dreaded cancer already has.

CaPCa

Ed, I am looking forward you to joining the Zero Club!

Greetings, Rookey.  At least for me, it does get better with time.  Like most here, my doc scheduled a PSA at 6 weeks and then every 90 days.  So, I am going in for my 5th post surgery check up tomorrow.  While I have known it was there since I looked at my weekly schedule on Monday, I haven't thought much about it this week.  It seems to get better each time.  Now when I am sitting in the doc's office, I do think about nothing else until I get the news once again that it is zero.  By the way, my doc doesn't tell me anything other than zero.  If they use a different test, he doesn't say anything other than zero. 

Trust you will have a good few days going up to the test and that your results will be great!  David

I go in two weeks for my 6th post PSA test, I try not to think about it and hope for the best, The stress can get high but you have to keep positive

hope the best for you

mike

It has been 13 years and 28 psa tests since my RP. I don't even think about it until a week before the test. Like everyone I was hoping to stay in the zero/less than 0.1 category. As it turned out the psa hit 0.2 (recurrent) after a couple of years and it is now 0.6. I got thru the last 10 years not being anxious about it day to day but of course I know I will have to deal with it sooner or later. I was fortunate to have a low Gleason 2+1. Every moment we give in to worry ro being anxious about PC psa takes away from the everday joys of life. Best wishes for a zero psa trend! Al

Hi Rookey, I get a bit uptight as the PSA test day approaches, not as much as I did in the first year, my Urologist gets the lab to send me a copy of the PSA test, and it usually comes 2 days after the blood is taken, so I do not have to stress for a week until I see him, I know what it is before I see him.

In the times between tests, I am getting to the stage that I just don't think about it very much now at all, just getting on with things, and life.

Regards Mal.

The first one I was a nervous wreck. The 2nd one was better. And the third one wasn't bad at all! Things will get better with time. I feel so much better knowing that I had a 7 before surgery and now it stays undetectable. So I do not worry about it as much now as I did in the beginning.

Of course, I eat healthy and do several other things to help keep my body fit.

I have been such a worry wart about everything it even amazes me that I can handle this. But I know the prayers and concerns of everyone plays a major part too.

So keep on supporting us and we'll support you too!

My three year is coming up in February and I have already started thinking about it. All previous tests have been fine, but I'll never feel safe again. Just part of the new normal. At least, I'm back to yearly testing.

Tom

I am new to this forum but not new to PC. If I am in the wrong place please advise me.

I was diagnosed after many return visits to my UO and finally a series of biopsies. That was Dec 05. A call into the office caused me concern, most doctors have waited for me to ask for an appointment. I got the sense my UO was angry with me but he might have been having a bad day, then my day got worse. 75% of biopsies were positive and the study post surgery (RP) showed the tumor occupied only 10% so I am pretty sure the UO knew I had cancer for a while. Surgery was Jan 19 '06.

Cells were found in the margins but the UO told me he thought I would not need any further treatment. PSA dropped to undetectable within a very short time. I was having that test at my local hospital where 0.1 was the lowest they could read. After 6.5 years the PSA became detectable and went up to 1.0. MY UO freaked and set up the radiation therapy to begin ASAP. This is now July '12.

A summer of radiation and the side effects with two somewhat unrelated surgeries resulted in a PSA of 0.13 in Dec '12. The PSA declined to undetectable now being done at the UO clinic where minimum is 0.05 and it has stayed there through Nov '15 so UO told me to wait 9 months for the next appointment - Mar '16 (last month).

On Mar 08 '16, after a round of golf I had a seriously bloody BM and saw my local doctor. He did a blood test and I asked that a PSA be included. The blood test showed nothing out of range including the PSA but it was 0.1 which would be alarming if it had come from the UO clinic but not the local hospital. I had a scheduled appointment at UO two days later where the usual is a PSA test and I was not concerned. I was concerned about the BM and the upcoming colonoscopy. My golf partner is just coming off of 2 years of treatment for colon cancer (doing very well by the way). So now I am thinking I might be battling cancer on two fronts.

The UO PSA report was 0.12 which I understand is not good after RP surgery. So I am experiencing anxiety. I had an appointment with the oncologist and I moved it up and visited with him for longer than he would have liked. I had hoped he could alleviate my anxiety but I am not sure he did. I have read that stress is a possible cause of PSA increase and I have experienced multiple fronts of stress in the past year. I am not sure about the biology of stress and PSA production and I don't know that the sources of stress are going to be reduced. My wife has a failing heart compounded by liver malfunction and the resulting dementia, my grandson underwent open heart surgery as did his father 35 years ago (same defect) and my 40 years of a job related activity came to an uncomfortable close and now what I thought was nearing a close on the cancer issue has re-entered my stress group.

The oncologist assured me that waiting 6 months to retest the PSA was pretty standard and that those tests and their wait times might continue for a few years to get a handle on PSAV - the rate at which PSA is increasing. He then told me that the next step in treatment is likely to be hormone therapy which has a finite time period and that after that, the effect of PC is going to be bone pain and some other uncomfortable symptoms.

I am now 69
Surgery was Jan '06
5 weeks on a catheter and nearly no leakage when it was removed.
ED is a fact of life but with my wife having serious heart troubles it is not a concern
Margins not clear but not of concern
Gleason score 7 stage 4 which seemed to be the reason to do RP ASAP.
Radiation with minimal side effects mostly diarrhea - but I also lost 25 unwanted pounds and an infected gall bladder.

The recent colonoscopy (minimal) showed a rectal hemorrhoid as a possible cause and no bleeding since. I wonder now if that should be removed and evaluated.

Anxiety is not relieved yet and it is difficult to wait another 5 months to see what happens.

WorryIll,

Welcome. What a stressful journey you've been on!

It's a good idea for new members to start their own new thread rather than piggyback onto an old one like this. Just click on "+ Post New Topic" in the previous window. Perhaps title it something like "New Member - PSA rising after salvage radiation" and just copy and paste what you wrote here.

Also, go into "My Profile>Edit Profile>Signature" and copy and paste that last part of what you wrote, edited down to 400 characters. Then when you post anything, check the two boxes below the window that say "Notify me of reply postings by email" and "Include signature."

You'll get a lot more and better quality feedback this way.