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1st PSA results afer RaDIATION

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Posted 2/27/2014 3:59 PM (GMT 0)
hI gUYS,
I'm fairly new to this wonderful website; lots of good information here that has helped me alot! I had prostate removed May 14, 2013, my psa was .3 after; I signed on for 38 radiation treatments that ended on Nov. 14; I had my 1st psa test this morning, it was .4, not what I was hoping for, the doc said it 'was a good thing" it pretty much stayed the same, I have another test to be done on May 29th.....I have never been sick from day 1; no leaking, no blood in urine or stools, still working 45 hours a week.....I'm trying not to worry about it but you know how that goes......I understand the radiation is still working up to 6 months so maybe this wasn't a 'true reading', that's what I'm hoping for......has anyone here had similar results? I guess the next form of treatment for me would be hormone therapy; I've read alot about it and have already decided against it for the future.....any input would help, thank you.......
.
64 yrs old, - diagnosed with PCa April '13 PSA 8.

Biopsy 4/13
7 of 12 Gleason scores: 6,6,8,9,9,9 and 10
Radical Prostate removal Divinci Robotic May 15, 2013
3 mo PSA 8/28/13 0.3
38 Radiation Treatments, completed Nov.15, 2013
Next PSA test Feb. 2013
Feb. 27,2014 PSA .4

Post Edited (shutterbug1024) : 2/27/2014 9:25:12 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/27/2014 5:09 PM (GMT 0)
don't start sweating it yet, shutterbug (I know, easier said than done!). it took me from end of SRT in June, until the following March before I got to "undetectable", but I've been there for almost 4 years of ZEROs ...hang in there !
bob
Posted 2/27/2014 9:13 PM (GMT 0)
thanks Bob, that's very encouraging, you made my day....... :)
Posted 2/27/2014 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
I can't say I agree with your doctor, but of course, we don't see or hear everything that is taking place.

After you finished your SRT, you should have seen a big decrease in your PSA, definitely should have dropped below the .3 you started with. Unlike RT as a primary treatment, with SRT, you should never, ever see a rise. It's possible that your remaining cancer was not in your prostate bed, very typical for many men, and if that is the case, I would expect to see a slow rising trend, indicating your second go at BCR. Of course, not a doctor, and hoping I am dead wrong in your case.

Even though my surgery and my radiation both failed, when I first finished radiation, it dropped my PSA by 75%, if I remember correctly, then it slowly started rising, and then started picking up speed.

Good luck, the next few PSA tests should tell the tale.

David
Posted 2/28/2014 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
Purgatory, crap, now I'm nervous again; what did you mean by a second round of BCR? What is BCR....
Posted 2/28/2014 4:11 AM (GMT 0)
BCR just a fancy way of saying "recurrence", meaning the cancer is still there and active.

In all honesty, your next PSA reading should be a better marker for you. It absolutely should not be going up at all after salvage radiation.

When men choose radiation as a primary treatment, as opposed to surgery (like you and I), there is this thing called a PSA bounce, and it commonly will go up at some point, peak out, and start going down. This is normal. With Salvage Radiation, this is not the case. If the cancer was in the prostate bed, then the cancer should be being killed off, thus steadily decreasing the PSA to undetectable. This is what one hopes for with salvage radiation. The problem is, not a single Radiation Oncologist (RO) can tell with certainty where you remaining cancer is located. So its always a bit of a gamble with salvage radiation.

Hope this clears up things better for you. Don't worry or be nervous, just wait till your next PSA reading comes around. Hope it goes down and down for you.

David
Posted 2/28/2014 4:15 AM (GMT 0)
PSA after radiation is a fickle thing. I would have expected lower but it can take a full year or longer.

I vote for a retest.

You don't need to be nervous now - wait till the next test a see what turns up.

Andrew
Posted 2/28/2014 4:19 AM (GMT 0)
In all honesty, your next PSA reading should be a better marker for you. It absolutely should not be going up at all after salvage radiation.

When men choose radiation as a primary treatment, as opposed to surgery (like you and I), there is this thing called a PSA bounce, and it commonly will go up at some point, peak out, and start going down. This is normal. With Salvage Radiation, this is not the case. If the cancer was in the prostate bed, then the cancer should be being killed off, thus steadily decreasing the PSA to undetectable. This is what one hopes for with salvage radiation. The problem is, not a single Radiation Oncologist (RO) can tell with certainty where you remaining cancer is located. So its always a bit of a gamble with salvage radiation.

I agree completely with David on this.
Posted 2/28/2014 11:58 AM (GMT 0)
I did have a CT and bone scan done and they were both clean......this was done  2weeks after I was diagnosed with PC....then I had the removal done....
Posted 2/28/2014 4:54 PM (GMT 0)
I'll keep telling myself that Purgatory is not a Dr.....:(
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