Post op PSA results in!

Well....I just got the call from the Uro nurse with my 1st post-op PSA results: 0.26....POOH!
I have my Uro visit next Weds. the 23rd, I'm sure we'll talk about what's next. Gonna be a B*#CH trying to sleep tonight. Kinda bummed

daslink -
- sorry about the bad numbers -
- the RT guys I have met through my work have done well with it all - one even used the phrase "piece of cake - go for it"...
-it may seem very dark right now - but it will lighten up by the time you talk to your URO ( was he also your surgeon?) - keep looking and researching - vent when you need to vent ... bring notes and questions to the meeting ... take no prisoners... do what is best for you.

hugs,
BRONSON

Darn I hate hearing news like this but hang in there. Let us know what the Uro think and keep us posted.

Cajun Jeff

DaSlink: Don't get discouraged. I know I sound like a broken record but read the section in Walsh's book on Surviving Prostate Cancer that has the heading, what to do if your PSA goes up after surgery. It has a lot of good advice and most of all it provides hope. Don't give up you have lots options, ammunition and time on your side.

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Mike S.

DaSlink: We are routing for you. It is easy to get discouraged. Again, read the book, I think you will get some comfort and encouragement from it.

MikeS.

DaSlink: Yes, getting Walsh's book will really help. It address your issue (PSA not going to zero after first post surgical test) and makes some very concrete and supportive statements about what to consider doing. As you can see in this "game" knowledge is power. Knowledge is also a fear reliever. Walsh says in one section that when the first post PSA test comes back without being zero, Men usually ask Well, how long do I have to live?" With sensitivity to all concerned, Walsh points out that the question is very premature. With several therapeutic lines of defense in your arsenal, most men can expect many, many years of symptom free life. In fact, your issue may be easily treatable with local radiation and you might well be rid of the problem in short order. Get the book, read, and then get your questions lined up and write them down so when you see your doctor you won't forget anything that is critical to ask. While difficult bumps in the road lie ahead, you will get through them.

Insurance is a nasty thing. Explore your options now so that you don't run out of coverage before you need some additional treatment. You may be jumping to conclusions that you won't be back to work soon and be able to carry on with insurance. Don't assume that the next steps in recovery and further treatment will keep you from working.

Peace my friend. Praying from my lips to God's ears.
Mike S.

Well we already had the book. It was on my wife's side of the bed. She is the reader here. I read the section that Mike S recommended but I'm still a little confused. My gleason was 7, but PSA high. Most of it refers to a gleason 7 and below as low risk and 8 and above as being high risk. So maybe that puts me in the middle.
I do feel better when the book said retest then decide,and that I have some time and this can go bye-bye with treatments.Uro visit should be interesting. The decision will be made quickly.Not gonna waste too much time.
Jeff, I worked years ago in one of the nuke facilities here(Fernald) and look what it got me! They processed uranium there and did what magic they do and turned it into 300lbs ingots to be made into fed rods.
The PSA numbers have me baffled....0.0anythhing is good and 0.2 has concerns. Do the numbers go 0.0 to 0.9 then 1.0 to whatever? Not sure how it works.

Slink,

Without a prostate, you should have no PSA, or at least very, very little. .2 is kind of a magic number that anything above that indicates that PC is still active. Don't know if you have seen any of Snuffy Myers videos, but he shares one story of a guy who had an inexperienced doctor and left a large portion of his prostate, which gave him a high PSA. Snuffy would also say retest and watch the doubling time before proceeding to next step.

Shake it off, and get ready to face the next phase of your journey.

Good luck.

My first post op PSA was .28, So I did the next step and had radiation .It sounds scary but for myself is was not bad , just a pain going to the hospital everyday for treatments. I had no pain from the treatments. If that is the route you take I'm sure you'll do just fine .

I hope the best for you

DaSlink: Yes, that section is confusing in Walsh's book but read it over several time because it repeats other scenarios with some small differences. I read it last night again. I was around page 382 to 387 if memory serves me. Walsh should have created a decision tree to make it easier to follow. He just uses narrative instead.

I agree with Worried Guy. Your pre surgical PSA was high and you never reached zero post surgically. Read every instance in the book that talks about what to do if your PSA does not reach zero after surgery. Walsh is cautious but injects some optimism in his remarks. As you know PC is complex and NOW is the time to become well educated in what to do next. Some people agonize over the purchase of a brand of refrigerator or a car and spend weeks researching which is better. Do the same for yourself. Research what is best for you so that you have really good questions for any doctor you visit. If they are good docs they will appreciate a good debate about what to do rather than having them lead you through a decision passively with you just nodding your head.

Also this is a good time to be discriminating about what literature you do read. I would put more faith in the literature from major academic resources rather than the first hits you get in a Google search that say "ignore your PSA and eat this specially treated gravel." In some cases it is hard to separate the whack-jobs from the authoritative material.

I found that the complexity using the Walsh book was in determining if the PSA comes from a prostate bed source or a distant metastasis. Frankly, I think even Walsh says that initially it is uncertain as to where the source of the PSA is hiding. Read this carefully. He seems to create a decision tree kind of model using Gleason and PSA along with time. Check other experts as well. You might reach a consensus among top rated prostate authors as to a path to follow.

Peace,
Mike, S.

Sorry for the bad news Slink.  Probably should have it nuked on the advice of doctor.  There is another guy on the forum that spoke of Calypso radiation where they insert makers (lot like the needle biopsy) and then nuke the target area.  He is in the first week or two of therapy and seems to be handling it well.  You're in my prayers, guy.  

Hey Slink buddy,
It's like drinking from a fire hose. So, here, I'll break it down for ya'.

Slink rest this weekend. Drink beer. Make big pee in toilet. Slink Happy.
Slink hug wife and do something fun this weekend.
Monday, Slink's wife call radiation onco doc and make appointment soon.
Slink get nuts nuked.
Slink and wife live long and prosper.

Got it? Good! ;-)
Jeff

Ya know what Jeff? That language may be more from my Cherokee side than the Appalachian side. Both are registered!
Go ahead and nuke the nuts. It's not like I'm using them any way!