HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Just When I Was Thinking I Was Thinking I Was Clear

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 1/19/2013 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

just joined and sorry to start with overview of tough situation. Background and more unsettling details will follow later

In Sept. I went for my four year check up after my Radical Protatectomy in Memorial Sloan Kettering on Sept 23, 2008. It seems my PSA went from undetectable up until now to 0.05 (Sept) to 0.06 (Oct) to now in January at 0.09. I need to go back to my doc (Peter Scardino) on Wednesday and it looks like radiation therapy is on the near horizon.

I am tired and scared and at 51 don't want to think of "a good 5 to 10 years" as my urologist in Princeton put it. (Not seeing this guy any more.)
Posted 1/19/2013 4:28 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome aboard, thats the problem with this disease we never know when it may rear its ugly head. I saw my urologist on the 15th of this month. I asked him if we were just in a holding pattern or where we stood, I am 18 month post radical, his reply was that at this point in time with my path report it could pop up  at any time...and that we needed to be on guard, I told him I was confident that I would not die from this disease, he smiled and said lets see smhair , it would help us if you would post your stats and history... Stay positive, you like me have many treatment options available.

Stay positive. yeah

Posted 1/19/2013 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to our corner of the world. This thing can be scary. Those are still very low PSA numbers, even if they are rising. There are worse things than radiation.

You still have plenty of options and lots of life left to live.

Enjoy life but do talk to a couple of doctors.

All the best,
Andrew
Posted 1/19/2013 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi guys,

Thanks for positive thoughts. If I have this right, my new signature should have more stats.
Posted 1/19/2013 9:07 PM (GMT 0)
Noexpectations,

Wecome to HW...

You probably mean .09 in your signature?

What was your stage/report after surgery?

Thanks,

Jerry

Posted 1/19/2013 9:18 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to our forum. I hate hearing about guys like you with stats and numbers like mine. I am 18 months past surgery and know it will be years before I can consider myself free from this beast. It sounds like you may be headed to salvage radiation or SRT to your prostate bed to kill any remaining PC cells that are growing there. It may also be possible you have some benign prostate cells that have grown enough to put out some PSA.  If your post surgery pathology had no indications of the cancer escaping the organ this may just be a minor bump in the road and after the SRT you will finished for some time. You will know a lot more after your meeting with Kettering. Radiation therapy has come a long ways in the last few years and you just need to relax and not worry your self needlessly.

Terry

Posted 1/19/2013 9:40 PM (GMT 0)
You are certainly consulting with one of the leading experts, so I'm confident you will get the best advice there is. Best wishes, Medved
Posted 1/19/2013 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry to hear about this. You're experiencing my fear. I am 2 years out and am finally feeling comfortable about it. Posts liek yours remind me about our reality. I just can't let them get me down.

I think it's a good thing you have the option of doing radiation now.

Were you a 3+4 or a 4+3?
Posted 1/19/2013 10:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi NoExpectations

Sorry to hear that your not in the clear after 4 years. But FWIW, my experience with salvage radiation has been quite successful so far. See my signature below for my stats, but short version is that I had SRT 8 years after my RP surgery and it is now almost 3 years since I completed SRT and my PSA is undetectable. I hope it will go as well for you.
Posted 1/19/2013 10:27 PM (GMT 0)
Bohemond, posts like yours bounce me right back up. What a ride we are all on.
Posted 1/19/2013 10:34 PM (GMT 0)
Paul,

Sorry to hear about your setback. Lots of us are waiting nervously for that other shoe to drop.

It sounds like you've still got a very good chance at curative therapy. A good radiation doc might be able to get you back in the clear, possibly for good.

Hang in there and don't let this make you crazy. It's a drag that you have to go through this, but it's just one more thing, and you will get through it. Lots of guys have done great both during and after RT. I'm sure you'll be hearing from some of them.

Best,

Jonathan
Posted 1/19/2013 11:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Paul,

I had open RRP back in 2006 and a recurrence in 2008. I had minimal SE from the SRT and I'm still a <.04 guy after 4+ years. So, if you go the SRT route, there is a very good chance that you can beat the beast with minimal or even no SE.

All the best to you in your continuing battle.

Never give up hope!

Mag

 

Posted 1/26/2013 4:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

Thanks so much for all the encouragement. I saw Dr. Scardino on Wednesday and it looks like the cancer is back as I thought. His recommendation is SRT after doing a bone scan and MRI to ensure o spread beyond he pelvic region. Those tests will be done on 2/5. Then the probability is half hour of radiation, five days a week for seven weeks. According to the doc, because of how clean the post-op reports were he was surprised I was even there, but was very assuring that the SRT has a high probability of curing me with limited SE.

I am glad to keep you up to date.

Thanks again,

Paul
Posted 1/26/2013 5:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Paul, and thanks for the continued updates.  Not only will they help you to keep your sanity it will also help others that find themselves in a similar situation - so I would encourage you to keep everyone updated as you move down this part of your journey.

Having Scardino on your Team is a huge plus, one of the most respected out there in our part of the (PCa) world - and it also sounds like you've got a solid plan laid out.

Best to you - stay positive and rely on all of the support out here as well!

Posted 1/26/2013 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Paul,

Let's get this out of the way... Darn it! (only with an "m) I hate hearing stuff like this!!!
I thought it we were 'undetectable' for 3 years we were out of the woods.

You are 10 months ahead of me. Do you recall what your first PSAs looked like? Were your nerves spared?

I'm sorry for all the questions but you know how "enquiring minds" are.
Thanks.
Jeff

Hey, they don't call me Worried Guy for nothing.
Posted 1/26/2013 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Jeff,

Glad to help in any way I can. I have reports and know that the nerves were spared. Not sure of which PSA readings you are inquiring about. If you can help me better understand, I am glad to help.

Apologies for my mental density,

Paul
Posted 1/28/2013 12:15 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Paul,

I also am a patient at Sloan, and did a sequence of 40 radiation sessions for recurrence late last winter/spring.  In my case, that included six months of HT, hormone therapy.  My original surgery was upstate, but when PSA started to emerge again 18 months later, I decided to move my treatment to Sloan.

My radiation oncologist at Sloan is Dr. Marisa Kollmeier --  I think she and the team of radiation technicians are terrific.  I just had a six month check up at Sloan two weeks ago.  So far so good. 

(One note -- if your treatment were to also to include HT, generally a wait of about six months after HT and radiation is required to gauge the efficacy of the radiation. It takes a while to flush the HT out of the system, and that tends to "mask" PSA.  If you have HT and radiation, what ideally you would like to see six months later is an undetectable PSA and a testosterone level returning to normal.)

I am very glad I moved my case to Sloan.  Best wishes!

Newspaper Lover

Age 69

DaVinci surgery 11/09 upstate NY; Clean margins, clean seminal vessels.

Rising PSA noted 06/11

Gleason 8

Time to recurrence 18 months

Three month doubling time (summer 2011).

PSA rose from .07 on 06/11 to .17 on 11/11.

10/11 Moved management of my case to Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City

MRIs and bone scans negative so far.

Started hormone therapy (Lupron/Casodex) 12/11

Began radiation (SRT) 02/20/12.

Finished SRT 04/16/12

Last Lupron shot 03/12

07/12 PSA and testosterone "undetectable" 

01/13 PSA “undetectable”; testosterone (T) level at 452 ng/dl

Next set of tests July 2013.  Currently receiving no treatment

 

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply