strange PSA result number

My dad recently had bloodwork completed for his medical insurance. Yesterday we got the results and his PSA level is high....with a result number of 1056....yes 1056, no decimal points. He has a follow up appt. with a urologist tomorrow to get checked out...just wondering if anyone has ever encountered such a strange number. thank you!

Welcome to the site that no one wants to be a member of.

Actually, the number isn't "strange." It's just really really high and warrants talking to a URO.. Odds are the URO will start with another blood test.

Let us know how it goes.

Hello, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you are worried about your dad.

His PSA reading is very high but not impossible. We have men whose PSA was higher than that at some point. (And many of them are doing well years later.) It's good that he is seeing a urologist. There are a number of reasons his PSA could be that high and, except for possible machine error at the lab, they all represent something that needs to be dealt with.

Let us know what the urologist says. Sometimes we can help you understand the jargon. Sometimes we can just keep you company while you are confused.

HK, welcome. Sorry you have to be here.

As others have said, a PSA result that high is indeed possible. Of course seeing a urologist and re-testing is good advice. If the number is confirmed he will most likely be requested to get a biopsy.

Depending on further test results, it may be a good idea to consult with a medical oncologist who specializes in prostate cancer. But, first things first...see what the uro says as well as additional tests and then you can go from there. In the meantime, let's hope it was a machine error and the result is really 1.056!

Jim

Just to put a figure out there, there have been men here with 3000 and it is legitimate. having said that, I have seen numbers that high reduced to single digits with treatment. This forum deals with the good , the bad and and the ugly. Unless he has a very nasty infection or there was a mistake at the lab, your father in all probability has advanced PCA and it needs to be treated, sooner rather than later. Michael Milken, I believe, had a higher psa and he is still alive and beating it some 15 or more years later. Do not panic at this possibility of cancer. Im going to put this out there also for you. If you are close to 40. You need to get a psa test, as Pca does run in families. Don't worry, its probably fine and you certainly would not be anywhere near that number. But it needs to be watched. I say all this because you need to know what the situation for your father really is. I will let you decide if I am good, bad or ugly. Or any combination thereof. Last word here, this is not the end for your father, there are many, many reasons for hope here.

I don't know if anyone else has asked this question yet, but was your father physically active in the 48 hours prior to his PSA test?

ANYTHING that stresses the prostate can trigger a temporarily high PSA reading. This is why a patient should NEVER have a digital rectal exam, sexual relations (specifically ejaculation) or ride a bicycle, etc., in the 2-3 days before a PSA test is scheduled.

Good luck!
Chuck

Resident of Highland, Indiana just outside of Chicago, IL.
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate.
Right posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, PSA <0.1.
Semi-firm erections now happening 14 months post-op & slowly getting a bit stronger.

To answer your question HK, I would say no. I don't believe an infection would, in any case, cause this kind of number, nor would 48 hours of continuous sex, bike riding , fasting or whatever cause this number. Im trying to be real here….. HK get a biopsy so you know what you are dealing with. BTW What does your dad think about all of this? Is he involved, depressed, denial???? you have gotten my answer to your question. If you are not getting anymore answers here. Google ,use other resources on internet…...

Robert Young years back now, was diagnosed with a psa over 3000+ for his first psa results, he did have bone pains and went to see a doc. His website for PCa folks is www.phoenix5.org   he became empowered on PCa issues fast and created the first laymens PCa dictionary ever made and was put into library system. You can have no symptoms or have symptoms with PCa, if you have symptoms is it usually a worse scenario. I presume he will be getting biopsies and ct and bone scans real soon. Then it will be known alot more as to what is what. Hope is eternal. Lots of ways to combat PCa even with incureable scenarios, education is very helpful to the patients.

After the biopsy it often takes a maddeningly long time to get the results and the waiting can be a very nervous time. With his PSA and the DRE it seems fair for him to expect that his prostate will be something he will be dealing with for a while. He can just go ahead and calibrate his worry for a medium-lousy result, then if it's merely meh he can feel relieved.

This thread was started 7 years ago...HK4376 never returned...