Still freaking about Dad's pain

Sorry to bring this up again, especially when I started this topic on a new thread. But I am freaking out still. My dad is still in pain even on his vacation and I feel so bad for him.
Seriously now, can it be pain caused by mets when his psa is .1 (see below)??????? It can't be right? Has anyone experienced really bad lower back and hip pain after radiation?

To actually have visible bone mets on a scan i read your psa has to be at least a 10. Also doesnt your psa have to be at least 50 before you start experiencing pain from mets? I don't know!!! I just don't want to believe its anything serious...

Sorryto bother you guys with this again, just really really sad, my dad has not had a break. Its been hell since November.

Lynne

You cannot rule out possible mets(I hope it is not so and it shouldn't be looking at those numbers), but you don't understand fully all the inconsistencies in PCa, basically no rules in stone, plenty of unknowns. You could have an unknown PCa variant (not easy for pathologist to know this stuff), you could have maybe an aggressive PCa, that is not giving off much psa value and in these patients could even have mets with psa of under 5.0 or such. There is no guaranteed psa level whereby you do not have mets, now likelyhood values are known and written about, call them generalities and lots of generalities are put forth in PCa, also exceptions, exclusions. Did you have all the marker tests Dr. Strum talks about in his book, that real good onco-docs would use to help define if this actually is bone issues or not? Maybe go get a second opinion or QCT scanning that Dr. Strum mentions as better for bone density testing.

I don't claim to know what is going on, but those signs are something you should investigate. Sure, could be something else and we hope so.

My PSA has been undetectable for 5 years. I have mets all over both lungs and on my right pelvis. A new one on my right hip is causing horrible pain. I'm on oxycontin and oxycodone and am to start radiation to hip this week. (I'm still waiting for approval for Provenge.)

You guys who are convinced your troubles are over when you get an "undetectable" are, in some cases, deluding yourselves.

Post Edited (Gordy) : 8/21/2010 7:04:07 AM (GMT-6)

Bro. Sonny has just recently been treated with radiation for a Met on the top of his leg, having a rising PSA after radiation that was done after surgery. I dont believe the has to be above PSA of 10 rule is written in stone. Its possible your dad is dealing with something PC related, or as others have posted, might be another cause. Good luck.

two things:
"To actually have visible bone mets on a scan i read your psa has to be at least a 10."

Not sure where you read this but I not sure I've ever heard anything close to this? Every case is different,
that is the only thing the is consistent about this disease. The location of the tumor (met) is more likely
a cause of the pain, not the PSA level.


"Also doesn't your psa have to be at least 50 before you start experiencing pain from mets?"
Again, not the case at all, mine reached nearly 200 earlier this year and though I had extensive tumors, I had no pain.
Two months later the pain came in a bog way.

There are men with high PSA, and not pain and men with low PSA and extensive pain.

You might consider an MRI or CT scan of the area. For me, bone scans where no exact or detailed enough.

Is your dad taking Cialis? I'm 41 and Cialis kept me awake for 96 hours from the incredible back pain. It was similar and almost as bad as having a kidney stone. Once I realized it was the Cialis I stopped taking it and it still took about 2 days to subside.

T

That's the trouble with cancer...All your other ailments get blamed on the cancer and sometimes other more common reasons get overlooked...