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New member Malisha post-brachy questions

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Posted 11/8/2012 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
New member Malisha posted:

Hellothere.  MY husband had brachytherapy in October 2010.  PSA was going down until today went up to 1.8.  He has burning sensation for past 3 months when beginning to urinate.  Urologist doing a coloscopy to check inside.  He said sometimes brachytherapy can cause scaring which then can cause PSA to rise.  Hope this is all.  Any more feedback from anyone?

(Modified subject - 142)

Post Edited (142) : 11/8/2012 8:56:51 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/8/2012 11:54 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Malisah,
My husband experienced a bounce at 12 months too, it is quite normal after brachy.
Susan
x
Posted 11/8/2012 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
I too have that burning sensation, but not all the time. For some strange reason, when I urinate during the night I don't feel any burning and some days are worse then others. I also find that when I have to urinate, I really have to go as my control is not what it use to be.

ps you should also change the subject name

Posted 11/8/2012 1:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Malisah,

Coincidentally I just attended a PCa forum in my area last night, and one of the topics of discussion was PSA. The forum was at the Chicago Prostate Center, where all they do is LDR Brachytherapy; I had mine done on September 21st.

Your very question came up from one of the guys, and the answer was "15-20% of men treated with Brachytherapy can experience a "flare reaction" in the roughly 18-24 months post treatment." Even though this may seem like a long time after treatment, the prostate is still all messed up - the cancer (and some of the benign) cells are dying, new benign cells are coming back, and the prostate can get agitated and sometimes result in urinary issues. These are most often short term, and can be offset by taking 400mg of ibuprofen 3x/day.

This "flare reaction" can evidently be part of the PSA "bounce" that many Brachy patients see - and would not be a concern unless the PSA exhibits a rising pattern on consecutive tests after treatment. Additionally some medical groups have proposed that if the PSA rises more than 2 above what's called the nadir (lowest level it reached), further treatment may be indicated.

Let me caveat the above by saying that I am NOT a medical professional - just a PCa guy that has an absolutely unquenchable desire to learn about this ****** beast so I can win - and hopefully help others win as well.

Best of luck to you guys.
Posted 11/8/2012 2:19 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your feedback.  It is much apprecated and it is nice to have people share their experiences.  We are in Toronto, Canada, medical health system good but still scary.

 

Posted 11/8/2012 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
Scary indeed Malisha! Even though we were warned Jeff may have a ‘bounce’ it still scared the hell out of me when he had his – mainly as he was only 12 months since implant and everything I was reading was telling me 18 – 24 months out. Seeing the drop again with his last PSA test helped but I will feel a lot happier if the next test shows another drop!

P.S. – Yooper, you are doing a grand job for all of us past and any future brachy patients. Hat off to you sir.

x
Posted 11/8/2012 3:58 PM (GMT 0)
Susan, thanks for the kind words - but I'm only doing what I said I would do - "Pay Back" those of you that were so very instrumental during my own search for knowledge of the beast, and to then also "Pay Forward" to those that will unfortunately come our way as well.

For me, it's a non-issue as I am consumed with this - not to the point of running my life, but I guess rather to the point of saving my (and others) life and QOL.

Malisha, please keep us posted on how it goes with hubby. Also if you could include more details on his own PCa stats in the "signature" part of your post it would help us, help you.
Posted 11/8/2012 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
I had a similar flair reaction at about 1.5 years without the psa rise. Burning on urination; a resumption of FlowMax resolved the issue within a couple of days.
Posted 11/8/2012 6:36 PM (GMT 0)
This article by Dr Peter Grimm should give you the information you need regarding psa bounce.

http://prostate-cancer.org/PDFs/INSIGHTS/BRACHY-GRIMM.pdf

Posted 11/8/2012 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
VIEW IMAGE   Posted 1/19/2011 3:15 PM (GMT -7)    VIEW IMAGE
Anyone familiar with or have any experience with this notion of a PSA bounce after brachytherapy.

PSA Results

April 2009- 3.4

May 2009- Brachytherapy

Nov 2009-  1.9

May 2010-  1.1

Nov 2010 -  2.4

My family doctor seemed very concerned about the doubling of the PSA  but my radiation oncologist was not- he told me to have another PSA in three months rather than six months- referred to this PSA bounce as not unusual for many brachytherapy patients.

I did some research- one study from the Radiotherapy Clinic of Georgia in Decatur says the bounce " is thought to be due to inflammation of the prostate, a condition that causes PSA levels to rise independently of any possible cancer. Men who undergo brachytherapy and have a bounce also experience symptoms of an inflammed prostate, such as a burning sensation during urination."  ( I have the burning )

Another theory from the Anderson Cancer Center in Houston says the bounce in PSA may be caused " by death of damaged cancer cells that then release their PSA." - no reason for concern.

The Cleveland Clinic team reported that a "PSA bounce may be associated with improved biochemical relapse-free survival."

"Immediate salvage therapy in patients with a rising PSA level after permanent prostate bracytherapy should not be initiated provided the PSA increase does not exceed the pre-treatment PSA value."

"PSA bounce predicts early successs in patients with permanent iodine-125 prostate implant."

All very interesting - any thoughts or comments are welcomed.

 Hi Malisha:

Here are my updated PSA readings since the PSA bounce in 2010

 

PSA Results

April 2009- 3.4

May 2009- Brachytherapy

Nov 2009-  1.9

May 2010-  1.1

Nov 2010 -  2.4

March 2011- 1.9

Sept 2011-   1.2

April 2012-   1.06

Oct  2012       .72

The severe burning I was experiencing has completely disappeared. I am sure your husband will be fine.

Posted 11/8/2012 9:22 PM (GMT 0)

142 said...
New member Malisha posted:


Hellothere. MY husband had brachytherapy in October 2010. PSA was going down until today went up to 1.8. He has burning sensation for past 3 months when beginning to urinate. Urologist doing a coloscopy to check inside. He said sometimes brachytherapy can cause scaring which then can cause PSA to rise. Hope this is all. Any more feedback from anyone?



(Modified subject - 142)

Moderator......you should modify the subject name as well.
Posted 11/8/2012 9:25 PM (GMT 0)

malisha said...
Thank you all for your feedback. It is much apprecated and it is nice to have people share their experiences. We are in Toronto, Canada, medical health system good but still scary.

I'm in Charlottetown, PEI and we too have a pretty good Cancer Treatment Center.
Posted 11/8/2012 10:33 PM (GMT 0)
Fox,

The "subject name"?

The post has my ID since I posted it, and I revised the subject to help members sort out why. Nothing else I can change there -

Posted 11/14/2012 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
Malisha:

We're in Whitby, what hospital are you using?  My husband had a big bounce when we had just started thinking we were "safe" - scared the you-know-what out of me but the doctor assured us it was fine.

Hope your husband continues on the declining psa journey - we are going on seven years post brachy now and all is good!

Posted 11/14/2012 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
This appears to be a response to this discussion:

F8 said...
Burning can also be from radiation cystitis, which I have. The burning is worse at times but usually not too bad.

edage: 57
12/09 -- PSA 6.8
G7 -- 3+4
HT, BT and IGRT
9/4/12 -- 2-year post treatment PSA 0.2
(PSAs .2, .3, .2, .3, .2)

Posted 11/15/2012 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
thanx Peter.  it was. i posted from my phone which i really shouldn't do cool .

ed

 

Posted 11/15/2012 3:54 AM (GMT 0)
PEI is some pretty place, got to visit there when I lived in NH for years.

On the burning part, the generic drug, pyridium is a very inexpensive med for that issues, works well, no major side effects, only problem is that it leaves an orange dye stain on your underwear and anything else the urine touches. some reports of staining contact lenses. ask you doc about it.

david
Posted 11/15/2012 2:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hey David,

 Not only is it(PEI) pretty, it's a wonderful place to live life. And thanks for the burning sensation tip, but for now I'll just chalk it up as a minor SE. My Family Doctor didn't want to prescribe anything unless I was referred to the URO, and right now my main concern is my PSA and of course my T levels as well.

Thanks

GlennK

Posted 7/28/2018 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
i too have had a bounce the last 3 months after brachy nearly 3 years ago.

my oncologist said it is far from rare and she is not concerned, but now being monitored every 3 months instead of 6.

have that burning sensation also when urinating also last 3 months, but not that bad.

went from .51 (lowest) to .65 to .81

Post Edited (racquetball74) : 7/27/2018 6:15:48 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/28/2018 12:37 AM (GMT 0)
racquetball74: Sorry to hear about your burning and bouncing. Bouncing happens at different times for different people. Take a few minutes to research bounces for members of this forum and you will see many varied times and trends involving bounces.

It would be very interesting to hear from the OP and others from the past to see how they are doing today!
Posted 7/28/2018 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
This my first bounce and I'm scheduled to go back in 3 months.
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