PSA

I have a question, once the prostate gland is removed, why do we return for PSA readings? PSA= prostate specific antigen. Fortunately, after my prostate was removed, the PSA was <0.1.

May as well chime in...

Here's how I understand it: for those of us who have had our prostates removed, the only things that generate detectable PSA in our blood are either prostate cells or prostate CANCER cells.  Without a prostate, we shouldn't have prostate cells, so detectable PSA post-op is an indicator that there are cancer cells SOMEWHERE in our systems.  Its either - residual disease (they didn't get it all), or a local recurence (which means the cancer is growing back at the surgical site) or the cancer has spread into other parts of our bodies --- which is not a good thing.

My post-op PSA have bounced between .04 and .09 (not in a linear upward trend).... my doc said not to get too worked up unless it started pushing .2.  IF that happens, and you suspect local recurrence or residual diseae in the prostate bed, radiation appears to be the next step in mainstream medicine.

We want to keep an eye on this because if the PSA starts to rise, the "second chance" for a cure is best when you do additional therepy BEFORE the PSA rises to 1.

We're "lucky" that we have one of the few cancers with such a strong marker.  THis saves us from jumping into unneeded treatments, and also tells us when to really get up on things.

Congrats on the .1 reading--- keep it up --- or I guess I should say DOWN!  

thanks for asking the question. Jeff's doctor recommended a supplement for a healthy prostate and Jeff asked why should I take it if my prostate is gone? the answer was you never know if there are any cancer cells lurking that are undetectable right now. I guess that is why there can be a recurrence of cancer even when the prostate is removed. I was wondering if our sons (19 and 23) should take the supplement? but it's about $30 a month.

Kat,

What kind of supplement are you talking about?  I have Curtis drinking the pomm juice and he likes it.  I also bought the selemium tablets, but found he's already getting all he needs in his multi-vitamin.

Just in case anybody's curious...Prostate 2.2 contains:

100 IU vitamin E (as mixed tocopherols)
1600 IU vitamin D (as vitamin D3-cholecalciferol)
200 mcg selenium (as selenomethionine)
30 mg lycopene (as Lyc-O-Mato®)
50 mg soy isoflavones (as Novasoy)

I compared this with the high potency vitamin I take. The biggest vitamin difference is the Vitamin D (this has 400% daily disage). My multi-vitamin does not have soy or lycopene. My thinking there is to get these from food sources (tomato products and watermelon for lycopene, soy nuts and soy milk for the soy).

All good things no matter how you get them, although I'm going to take another look at taking Prostate 2.2. I also take Nexrutine, which is a Cox-2 inhibitor. And I've replaced scotch with pommegranite juice!

I've NEVER been much of a pill taker, either.....now look at me! I went to a church meeting last night that served pizza and didn't even eat a piece... which for me, turning down pizza would have been UNTHINKABLE 6 months ago..... Amazing what having the you-know-what scared out of you can do to modify behavior!

Ed, as others have said, PSA is the 'future cancer check'. If some of the cancer cells got out before surgery, or got left behind and survived, then having your PSA stay undetectable means also that you are cancer free.

I note you said "<0.1". Are you rounding, or is that the result you're actually getting? Post surgery you should be having the Ultrasensitive PSA test, not the 'normal' PSA test. This is actually really important--you're looking for small changes. I just got my annual test back at <0.006.

Stephen, I didn't notice this was a zombie thread. I'll comment on the supplement question: IMO, we should be careful with supplements. Many popular prostate supplements contain saw palmetto, which can help with BPH (enlarged prostate). However, it can also have the effect of lowering PSA from cancer, so the user can be thinking all is good--their PSA is staying low--when in fact they have been incubating a cancer for a long time that is getting ready to move from treatable to not so much.

I just read consumer reports this morning on supplements. It was a whole lot of reading to find out that for the vast majority they are worthless and too much can cause liver disease. Having a balanced diet rich in leafy greens, nuts and vegetables with fish is the way to go. That said, if on hormone therapy, extra calcium and vitamin D is needed to prevent bone loss. At least that is what my wife and I were told by our cancer doctors. This is fun, bringing up a Zombie thread from the early 2000s can spark both humor and knowledge. My best to all.
Jack

sterd82,

In Centrum Silver one a day vitamin there is 600 mcg of lycopene. And as you said, you can also get lycopene from tomatoes etc.

Take care
Bill