It is possible my PSA is increasing THIS fast?

Hi Folks..

My 1st post-op psa was <0.10 on Aug 18 - undetectable is how they described it.

My 2nd post-op psa, blood taken Nov 9 - ultra sensitive machine, was 0.13.

Visited my uro in Boston - gave blood for another psa test Nov 16, just came back at .20.

Boston nurse says "there are different machines, variables, etc.

Even taking that into account, I though this test was determined to be pretty accurate?

I guess the BIG question to me is IS IT POSSIBLE TO GO FROM .13 TO .20 IN A SINGLE WEEK?

Thanks in advance, and happy holiday, if you can.

Thanks Mel... I just connected with my rad onc, he speeded up our end of mo appt for this coming tues.. so that will be 3 tuesdays in a row having psa test. That's about $150 retail cost. Nothing when compared to the $75k-$100k+k radiation plan i'm about to be on. Or the $30,000+- RRP.

Heck, the psa testing is the easiest part of all of this.. it's the results that seem to sting.

Bob
In my opinion that is too high a value to ignore. If those were my numbers I'd be asking for copies the lab reports. That will tell you what machine and protocol was used. See if they are the same machine and if the values really were to 2 decimals. Two readings at 0.2 is generally considered a recurrence. The earlier you get it, the better.
How soon can you get your next PSA and appointment?

FYI here are my post DaVinci numbers:
I am in a study comparing the older ultra sensitive 2 decimal protocol (2006) with the new, more selective method (2010)
As you can see the older method reports a slightly higher value and my results are quite stable.

1/14 6 months - 0.05 (Siemens Centaur)
4/14 9 months - 0.04 (Siemens Centaur) and <0.01 (Roche ECLIA).
7/12 1 year - 0.03 (Siemens Centaur, direct chemilum); <0.01 (Roche Cobas 601 ECLIA)
10/22 15 months- 0.03 (Siemens Centaur, direct chemilum); <0.01 (Roche Cobas 601 ECLIA)

Personally if my Roche Cobas result ever gets above 0.05, I'll be on it so fast it will make my pee pad spin.

Good luck to you.
Jeff

Post Edited (Worried Guy) : 11/19/2010 12:37:47 PM (GMT-7)

Didn't someone post here about sending his blood sample through the mail and got a result of 0.6

Certainly caused him some anxiety to say the least.

It has always been recommended that the same lab be used for followup blood work due to just this very reason.

Get another test at the original lab before getting too excited about the numbers.

No an easy thing to work out. But labs differ. Continuity helps.
My uro (and those of others here) insist on just the one lab doing all the tests.

I agree with the suggestion of getting a repeat from the same lab first.

Alf

very wise decision, Bob.  i wish the very best for you.

ed