HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

First post IMRT consult on Tuesday. What are we looking for?

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 1/27/2013 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, everyone. My husband has his first doctor consult post IMRT/HT on Tuesday. I'm not really sure what we're looking for in the numbers at this point. (Last radiation session was very end of October). Any advice on what to look for from the blood test? Or what questions we should ask? From what I have read here, HT has probably masked the actual PSA quite a bit? What would be consider to be a good/bad report? Thanks.
Posted 1/27/2013 9:56 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, if he responded to HT, it would have lowered the PSA to a very small number.
One standard is nadir +2. Take the lowest PSA number after radiation. If it goes up 2 then that is recurrence.
There is another standard also that involves 3 PSA rises as recurrence.
Another factor is that radiation may take a while to kill cancer cells. That makes PSA analysis more complicated. Good luck.
Posted 1/27/2013 10:00 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, Robert. What should we consider a good number at this point? I realize it could take some years to reach the nadir, so I'm not sure what would be "good" vs "bad" test results at this first checkup when he's still on HT. Or are we even able to tell much of anything at this point other than get a baseline?
Posted 1/28/2013 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
Irmaly,
I wish you and your husband the best! Since my treatment was similar to your husband's I'll provide the information; remember that I had a boat load of G8's..My first psa test was .06 followed by a .04 6 months later and the last 2 have been <.03 or undetectable. I believe that the dr is supposed to check for liver functions but mine never did--maybe it was because I wasn't yellow..the only other test that I had was a bone density scan after 1 year.
I laughingly told my dr that I would rather see a VC with an AK47 than a short nurse holding a 6 month shot of lupron; he denied my request for a 4 month shot so I had my 6 month shot--2 seconds in and out--hurt for a week..I'll be using a different nurse the next time. I take flowman, immodium, vit D3,
calcium and that's it. I have 2 more lupron shots left with the last in October..My doctor will never give me a prognosis except to have me read the NCCN guidelines pertaining to my case..When asked what will happen if my psa goes up after the hormones wear off, he stated that he will recommend that I continue with hormones and possibly take casodex or not depending on the rise..We will see how this plays out...Hope that hubby remains remission free for life!!
Bill
Posted 1/28/2013 4:59 AM (GMT 0)
Irmaly,

My husband's didn't really move until 6 months post IMRT. There was no real way to know what the number was right before, other than < .1 due to MDA's testing. We do know that 1 month prior to IMRT it was .045 and 6 months post IMRT was .02, as per Scholz sensitive testing.
Posted 1/28/2013 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much, Folks.
Posted 1/28/2013 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
My PSA dropped like a rock due to the HT.  From 59 to <.1 in under 90 days.   The HT doesn't mask the PSA it actually lowers it because it starves the PCa into a remission.   Radiation alone will cause a slow gradual PSA drop over a 2 or 3 year period before reaching the low point, but with the HT the drop is usually steep and quick.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply