My first post - PCa diagnosed - looking for advice on HDR BT

Stay ultra hydrated but avoid caffeine, acidic and carbonation. If you think you are drinking a lot of water, increase it. Drink green tea several times a day. It become satisfying like coffee but without the caffeine and acid. It is also slightly diuretic so helps urinary flow. Also increase your intake of water rich foods like watermelon, cucumbers, apples, etc.

I was on Jalyn (includes Flomax) during and after my procedures. When I stopped I had no decrease in urinary frequency or flow, but credit that to diet.

Well, had my first follow up appt at Fox Chase today. Overall, it was not encouraging.

PSA came back at 6.0. That's a 10% drop in 5.5 months. Expected drop is usually between 25-75% at this point on average, though the doc did say that the PSA test is one moment in time, and can vary a lot for many different reasons.

Doc then attempted a DRE and I about jumped through the ceiling, a LOT of discomfort - first time that has ever happened. He indicated my prostate was very inflamed and I could have a prostate infection which could explain the elevated PSA this far out, so we are going to try a round of antibiotics. He also wants me back on Flomax and Aleve for the time being to help reduce inflammation. Another PSA in 90 days. Overall, the doc indicated that the next 12 months will tell the tale. If a year from now PSA still hasn't dropped significantly, or if it rises in the interim, we'll have to look at next steps. Fingers crossed and trying to stay positive for now.

darn Hitchhiker... That sucks. As for Michaels question, I had HDR but have not had a DRE since so I would not know if I got my prostate that swollen. I'm sure it was as I needed flowmax to have a decent pee. Good luck and I hope the round of antibiotics works well on you. Take care. -JR

CaliJR said...
darn Hitchhiker... That sucks. As for Michaels question, I had HDR but have not had a DRE since so I would not know if I got my prostate that swollen. I'm sure it was as I needed flowmax to have a decent pee. Good luck and I hope the round of antibiotics works well on you. Take care. -JR

Thanks JR. I don't think a DRE is typical this early post RT as long as your PSA is in the generally expected range. I'm guessing the DRE was in part because my PSA was not in line with expectations.

Hi HitchHiker. that "feeling" is a little something I like to call "Angry Prostate".

Seeing that your prostate is inflamed (probably enlarged due to the inflamation), the flomax working to expand your urethra is working against the pressure exerted from the enlarged prostate, hence the pressure feeling down there.

Sorry about the situation you're in. I can't imagine another DRE at this point.

Frankly, after HDRBRT AND EBRT AND HT, I am just plain done with anyone sticking anything up my anywhere.

Robotguy, sorry for the delay in response. I had my PSA at one year HDR-BT anniversary and it came back at 2.0. Much better than the previous 6.0 score for sure. We will be testing again in six months at the 1.5 year mark when I return to Fox Chase for my next follow up. So from 6.6 in Feb 2016, to 6.0 in August 2016, to 2.0 in Feb 2017. So a 70% drop in PSA in one year's time. Heading in the right direction though not as low nor as quickly as I would like.

That said, I've seen some references to a slower drop over a 2-3 year period post RT is actually more favorable over the long term than a fast drop right away from a recurrence/curative perspective. Here's to hoping. I'm also making changes to my diet - partly to resolve some other health issues- heading toward the Mediterranean diet - which also shows evidence of being anti-cancer friendly. One step at a time right?

My last PSA came back at 0.7 in August. Follow up appt with DRE felt nothing unusual. I did have sex about 48 hours before the PSA draw. We are upping the PSA tests to every six months now just to keep closer track given we did not see a significant drop from 0.8 to 0.7 over a years time. Next update in six months...

InTheShop said...
Not a bad number. At least stable and reason for a party.

Keep us updated,
Andrew

Agreed not a bad number, was simply hoping for a larger drop than 0.1 over a year, but it could have been influenced by sexual activity within (just within) the 48 hour window. I will take it though!

It looks like you're just about two years out from your HDR-brachy...I believe it's pretty typical to still have some fluctuation at this stage. Still, I hear you about the disappointment--I always wanted each PSA score to be lower than the one that preceded it and when it wasn't, I was always bummed out.

https://www.ascopost.com/news/18642

I know this is not a working link, but type it into your browser to get to a brief ASCO article about PSA bounces leading to better freedom from BCR.

Edited to make link clickable

Post Edited By Moderator (Pratoman) : 4/24/2019 3:37:44 PM (GMT-6)

You said a mouthful Hawaii.

Just a quick update to say that my latest PSA from this week just came in, 0.4! So the last few tests:

8/17 0.8
8/18 0.7
4/19 0.9
9/19 0.4

I must say it was a relief to see another significant drop in this latest test, especially with the uptick from 0.7 to 0.9 on the last two tests. Logically I figured it was just a PSA bounce, but there's always that little voice in the back of your mind that wonders otherwise. I'm just over 3.5 years out from HDR-BT primary treatment now. I'm also down 30 pounds as of this month and continue to focus on diet and exercise on an almost daily basis. Time to celebrate!