PSA moved up

Just got my last PSA test. It is now at .10 up from .06 in July and .07 in March and .07 in January. Last Oct it was .05 but before then I was in the zero club. So it looks like radiation now for sure. I plan to wait until January 2017 to schedule it. Will this make any difference?

I second what Andrew said. Sooner is better. Also the increase may not be at a constant rate. At the time of my SRT 6 years ago the guidance was to wait until PSA hit 0.2 -- which is higher than guidance these days. My PSA took about two years to move from 0.1 to 0.2 but then jumped to 0.4 in just a few months.
Jim

AK123 go to TA's post on portos page 3 then read his blog lots of rad. info there I think I saw SRT at 50% I hope I am on the good side of the 50--- hope this helps NEPOL..

if BCR is confirmed -- and for me it is -- why on earth would you wait? hell yeah it makes a difference.

ed

Thanks all
F8, I have not confirmed bcr with any doctor's yet
I had RP surgery on 12/2012
PSA history .02, .03 on 4/2016 and then all of a sudden it jumped to .07 11/2016 a few days ago. So I am trying to think what to do. I am freaking out and don't know what I should do. I don't have a MO OR RO, only my Uro which I will try to call tomorrow and get an appointment
What should I ask him please? Do I need to get this dicypher test, should I do bone scans? I am VERY lost
Any advice would really be appreciated VERY much

Thanks all
F8, I have not confirmed bcr with any doctor's yet
I had RP surgery on 12/2012
PSA history .02, .03 on 4/2016 and then all of a sudden it jumped to .07 11/2016 a few days ago. So I am trying to think what to do. I am freaking out and don't know what I should do. I don't have a MO OR RO, only my Uro which I will try to call tomorrow and get an appointment
What should I ask him please? Do I need to get this dicypher test, should I do bone scans? I am VERY lost
Any advice would really be appreciated VERY much

Easier said than done but don't freak out. I just went through this in July and finished SRT last week. Get a referral to an RO and get started with the process. Sooner is better than later. It sucks to have to deal with this again after RP but you still can be cured. Waiting until PSA rises to 0.2 to confirm BCR is BS IMHO. The window of opportunity for best chance of success is near. Don't wait. I can only speak for myself but once I had a definite plan I felt better and the demons backed off. Wishing you all the best...

Hello,
I am very scared of the radiation and have decided today NOT to do it ever and just do HT when time comes. I am doing the wrong decision?
Please advice anyone please?
Thanks all

Howard, my unprofessional opinion echoes Bohemond and others above. While it might be okay to wait, unless there's a compelling reason to do that, I would move forward more quickly.
The way I see it, once you make the decision to have SRT, time is not your friend. Earlier is better, study after study shows.

You should find an RO and discuss your case. Your positive margins support a local residual tumor and thus the use of salvage treatment. The lower the PSA at the time of salvage therapy, the better the outcome. RO will consider other factors such as PSA doubling time and time to biochemical failure in the decision process. 0.07 is still low, maybe a new test in 3 month to confirm a rising trend is appropriate?

Ak123, I intended my first response for the original poster in the thread, Howard3569. I apologize for any confusion.

If you're looking for success stories where the salvage radiation apparently cured the patient with no lasting side effects, I'm one of them.
It's not risk-free, to be sure. But these days the vast majority of patients have very little or no side effects, and the ones that do appear tend to be temporary. (See: /www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928131212.htm for instance)

"Burning" is a term that is frightening, and not very accurate, at least in terms of the radiation I had. It's an overdose of X-rays, carefully aimed to limit collateral damage. The X-rays damage the DNA of the cells it hits--nothing is "burned" by heat in the way it is sometimes thought. The treatments are totally painless and very easy to tolerate.

In my case I had about a 40% chance of success. So I took the gamble and won. If I had the bet, it would just have been my insurance company that was out the money (plus my co-pay!)

I had a temporary side effect that resolved on its own within a couple of weeks. A colonoscopy a few years later found no sign of any damage from radiation to my colon.

If you don't want radiation, I'm not trying to preach to you. Of course you shouldn't feel pushed into a medical treatment you don't want.

Your PSA is still very low, but at least on the last reading it seems to be increasing in velocity. So at the very least, keep a close eye on it. If you do decide you want SRT, you don't want the window of curability to have closed on you. I would agree with others that you should at least be consulting with a radiation oncologist.

By the way, having positive margins--while normally not a good thing--actually IS a good thing when considering SRT. Positive margins offer a local explanation for your rising PSA. In other words, the probability your PSA is caused by a bit of cancer left behind is higher, and therefore, your potential to cure it with SRT is higher.

Did you mention your age? That should factor into your decision making.

Kind regards,

G.

AK123 -- if you're willing to forgo the chances of a cure that's your choice. as you can see by my signature I've had two forms of radiation plus hormone therapy. my toughest treatment was HT, and my greatest fear having to take Lupron for the rest of my life.

ed

Paxton, well said.