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Posted 10/1/2015 1:56 AM (GMT 0)
I'll pick up the mantle for Compiler, and start this thread....

Blood draw tomorrow .... at Quest. Spent the evening googling for data on errors by Quest, reporting .1 in too many cases proving to be false. Cant find anything other than whats on this forum. Guess I'll take my chances. Will have results towards end of next week, online. ugh
Posted 10/1/2015 2:36 AM (GMT 0)
I'm on that track too, blood draw tomorrow at Quest, then 3 month post-treatment visit with RO next Thursday.
Posted 10/1/2015 12:09 PM (GMT 0)

Pratoman said...
..Blood draw tomorrow .... at Quest. ..

How often are you doing a PSA test? Seven months out from surgery and three zero PSAs the urologist doesn't want to see me for six months (no PSA tests for six months in other words.)
Posted 10/1/2015 12:44 PM (GMT 0)
John, I'm 9 months out. I had a 6 week, 3 month and 6 month PSA test , all undetectable, and now a 9 month. My understanding is after this, assuming another 0, I'll have another in January and after that, if it's still 0, he spreads me out to 6 months
Posted 10/1/2015 3:01 PM (GMT 0)
My test tomorrow also, hope cancer is still flatlining!!
Posted 10/1/2015 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
just got my email from the cancer monitoring team. Oct is test month for me.

I want to pass this PSA test so I am going to study hard for a couple of days and go in tomorrow for the test.

Andrew
Posted 10/1/2015 7:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hubby gets his PSA tomorrow as well, then visit with Med Onc on Monday. Would love to know the results immediately to see where he stands (we're leaning toward above 1.0 now) but protocol at cancer center has us having to wait til we meet with the doc. A baseline bone scan will be ordered if at 1 and then we go from there. Neither the Med Onc we see at home nor the consulting doc at MSK treat until PSA reaches anywhere from 6-10. MSK would start him on Casodex only, not sure what the local doc will do. Fortunately these two doctors have shared patients and are familiar with each other's procedures.

Age 58 at surgery
Sep 2013 PSA 3.7, clinical stage T1c, 3+4
RRP 10/31/2013, path stage pT3bN0Mx
SVI bilaterally (direct, not distal), LVI, pos margin at apex (3+3), EXE at base
4+3 w/ tertiary 5 (65% 4, 35% 3, 5% 5), tumor involved 15% of gland
12/2013 PSA 0.02; 2/2014 PSA 0.03; 3/14 PSA 0.02; 4/2014 PSA 0.02; 6/2014 PSA .03
MRI/bone scan negative
7/01/14 to 8/27/14 - 40 sessions adjuvant radiation
11/26/2014 PSA three months after radiation: .03 (same as before radiation)
2/25/2015 PSA six months after radiation: .05
5/21/2015 PSA nine months after radiation: .17
7/20/2015 PSA now at .41
Posted 10/1/2015 7:04 PM (GMT 0)
Had my 3 month draw today at Quest. 13 months out. All tests less than 0.1.

I asked them to fax me the results and I get them within 24hrs. Usually comes through early am. Much better than waiting a week to hear the news.

Good health to all,
David
Posted 10/2/2015 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
Prat:

Thanks for starting the Oct. thread!

I have no tests this month.

Wondering how your test came out -- can't you get the results online within 24 hours?

Mel
Posted 10/2/2015 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
Pratoman, My 9 month result increased from <0.1 to 0.1 with Lab Corp so my urologist is watching closely - I think one more flunking grade will be a problem!
He told me that he has taken all of his patients off of blood work at Quest due to having his over 6 patients get erroneous results in the past 8 weeks.
He said guys with 5+ years of <0.1 data suddenly had 0.1 or higher results that were not confirmed on retesting.
He notified Quest but they had no answer.

Study hard and Good luck!
Posted 10/2/2015 1:30 AM (GMT 0)
Mel, no they get the test to the Dr in 5 days then give hm 2 days lead time before they get it to the patient

Newlylimp , hope your next one turns out ok. What your Dr said makes me nervous. But what I don't understand is how his patients got <.1 in the first place. The uPSA at Quest detects down to a level of <.02. Is a reading of <.1 a standard test, not ultra sensitive?
Posted 10/2/2015 10:39 AM (GMT 0)
My next blood test is in about 3 weeks. I am 2 years and 10 months out from the RP, 2 years and 2 months out from the end of ART, last shot of Eligard was exactly 1 year ago. Both T and PSA have been undetectable for quite some time now. Testing every 3 months though.
Posted 10/5/2015 3:26 PM (GMT 0)
Got mine back today, I'm a zero still!! 22 months in a row.
Posted 10/5/2015 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
eligard 6 mo. shot ends in 9 days Uro does not want to test for 3 mo.I am V.A.He wants to see what srt did I can't wait will test in 10 days at local hospital 6 week&3 mo. .01 will let all know NEPOL
Posted 10/6/2015 4:37 PM (GMT 0)
Was quite surprised this morning. At the GFMPH gathering I stated I had a .08 in July test. I have doing 3 month tests for 77 months.

I opened my 9/29 test this morning. It was a .05 ! Woo Hoo ! I am excited. We'll see what it does in 3 months.

Goodlife
Posted 10/6/2015 5:32 PM (GMT 0)
My first blood PSA test Monday the 12th after 37 IMRT treatments......
Posted 10/6/2015 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
Goodlife, congrats, thats a sigh of relief right there.

I am still waiting. They say 7 days from blood draw. Tomorrow is day 6. Every time my phone beeps signaling an incoming email, my heart skips a beat. I hate this
Posted 10/7/2015 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
I am not scheduled for my PSA til the end of this month, but I did have an MRI done to check on the cause of some tingling in my right arm. Results came back today and showed no sign of metastatic disease there. That is a huge relief for me since I have spine mets down lower. I am very happy to know that I am just another arthritic old fart with a creaky neck, at least as far as this is concerned.

The MRI is never fun, but I managed to get a hot flash from my ADT side effects right as they put me in the cage. I had to lay there 30 minutes heating up, sweating, and unable to move. Especially not fun!
Posted 10/7/2015 1:32 PM (GMT 0)
Test yesterday, result .01. So far one of the lucky ones.

Best to everyone living with more advanced disease.

Wilderness
Posted 10/7/2015 8:58 PM (GMT 0)

Super Max said...
I'm on that track too, blood draw tomorrow at Quest, then 3 month post-treatment visit with RO next Thursday.

PSA <0.1 and T at castrate level, so all is well, and Lupron expires in January. Saw the RO today and will go six months until next PSA.
Posted 10/13/2015 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
I got my test results today - undetectable at 21 months post-op. My urologist is fine with me being on 6-month tests right now, but the endocrinologist who prescribes my testosterone wanted me to stay with quarterly tests until 24 months.

I also had a CBC done to see how I'm recovering from the anemia I dealt with over the past 5 months or so. I'm now 4 weeks post-op for the liposarcoma tumor, and my hemoglobin is at 11.4, with a reference range of 13.5 to 17.5. I was at 17.9 earlier this year, and dropped as low as sub-7 right after surgery (necessitating a transfusion of two units of blood, minus a bit that spilled when my IV failed for some reason - I barely remember that through the morphine haze). I had been at 9, plus or minus, for most of the summer, and I was at 8.4 when I left the hospital. So, while not yet back to normal, I'm well on my way. Also, my MCV was 79, with a reference range of 80-96. This measures the size of the red blood cells in my system, and it was much lower all summer. This is a good sign that my body is producing high quality red blood cells.


Damon
Posted 10/13/2015 3:57 PM (GMT 0)
Great news dmlvt!!! always good when those other numbers start falling in line too! I know the low RBC can really drain the energy as i dealt with that at the beginning of this battle!

Best of luck on your continued battle!
Posted 10/13/2015 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
So far not one result at higher than zero....congrats and best wishes to all who have posted on this thread. Keep those zeros coming guys!
Beth n Gary
Posted 10/13/2015 4:37 PM (GMT 0)
After reading this I'm feeling pretty spoiled with my uro having in house testing facilities and results within 15 minutes of the draw, then getting to discuss it with the urologist immediately thereafter. For me the timeline for testing goes like this: Every three months for the first year. If all remains "<", then every 6 months for another year. Annually thereafter (not sure how I feel about that yet).
Posted 10/13/2015 8:34 PM (GMT 0)
NL - My uro has laid out the same schedule for me, I'm 9 months out. I don't intend to go to a 1 year schedule for a long time, if ever. I'll hopefully get to 6 months, and then i'll stick to that schedule.
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