18 Month PSA...Not exactly what I expected

Darn Les - sorry to hear this. Keep us posted.

The moderator is right - they'll retest. However, if it's above 0.1, they'll want to radiate the pelvis. The treatment these days is good, and if you hit it early and hard you'll be OK. This is VERY common. So common in fact that I'm enrolling in a clinical trial to see what works best for recurrence.

I'm getting set up for radiation or radiation + HT in the next few weeks (depends on the clinical trial). But, the outlook is good for at least a long term remission. All I can ask for.

good luck

Hi Les,

Sorry to read about your increasing PSA level. I too had an occurrence which started about 2 years ago and I had the SRT late in 2008. Fairly uneventful with only minor side effects. Starting SRT as early as possible is supposed to have the best chance of a positive outcome.

Wishing you all the best on your journey.

Magaboo

Les

Wishing you the best.

Skeener

Hey Steve...my good neighbor...thanks I keep in touch

James and Boise...yeah, I figure there will be a retest in the next couple of months. I was figuring on just slightly over the .1 mark as I know my uro was expecting the same. We talked about the slight increases over the last year and he felt it was pretty insignificant at the time and just needed to be watched. So we'll see what happens next.

Sleepless and Magaboo...thanks guys...with my stats it is probably local in which the radiation will zap it. Unfortunately my only fear is where the margin was. My uro spent several hours during surgery to prevent damage to the rectal wall and if this is where the cancer is, then radiation may cause some issues. But I will address those concerns with the radiation guy.

Thanks Red and Skeener...everyone here is a great bunch to be associated with

Bronson...my man..thanks for the email. I can't completely read it right now but certainly will over the weekend. I have been taking high doses of NSAIDS which was suppose to suppress the cancer from creating blood vessels for survival. I thought during the last year that it was doing a pretty good job, until this lastest test. Guess the cancer cells figured a way to stay alive.

Haven't heard back from the doc yet, and probably won't until next week. He performs surgery on Thursdays and makes his hospital rounds on Fridays.

Again thanks to all the support

Les, Very sorry to hear about your rising PSA, but it looks as though you'll have a good chance for a cure with radiation. I'm in the same boat as you are. My PSA just went up much more than I expected.

Thanks Ed BB_Fan and Jeff. I am going to hate going home to tell the wife though tonight....she is the pessimist in the family and I am the eternal optimist. Personally, it's just those trials in life we all face in different degrees. I have to spend the weekend and keep the wife occupied to get this dang stuff off her mind for awhile.

BTW...BB_Fan...Baseball season....Rangers win opener

Les,

Keep the good attitude.  Support those around you when they need it.  I forwarded my 1 year results to my wife today and she confided that she had been more worried about this one than the others.  I guess she hasn't forgotten that I had/have cancer.  I look forward to hearing good updates from you.

And yes, "You are beating back cancer, so hold your head up with dignity", says it very well.

Dan

Les, don't worry ... we'll hold your bar stool for ya!

We are sorry to hear the news about your PSA - a real bummer. Interesting that your PSA rose about the same amount of time after surgery as my husband's - hopefully yours will go back down as well! Wonder if there is something like a PSA "bump" after surgery (like there is after primary radiation therapy) due to benign prostate tissue left behind.