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Posted 4/10/2012 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
 

Has anyone had their prostate removed and the PSA came back .16 then it started rising again and I went in for 8 week of radiation to kill this. I am 1 month out of radiation and the PSA is .33 and the radiation doctor says that it will probably go down due to dead cancer cell still floating around and the body just needs to get read of them. Has anyone heard of this or know of anyone that this has happen to and did the PSA actually go down? I am scheduled for another screening 6/26/12 to see if it went down or is going up? It had probable gone up to above .5 at the time of the start of radiation in January of 2012. Any info would be helpful?

Thanks Bill

Posted 4/10/2012 3:40 AM (GMT 0)
The PSA can take up to 1 year to drop to its stable level, assuming that the radiation did the trick. My oncologist told me that we would be happy with any eventual level at or below 0.2. The thing that you are looking for is that it stays at that level or goes lower. The main thing that you should NOT see after salvage radiation is completed is a rise (but of course minimal variations don't count). I would say that the 0.33 reading might be very encouraging news, but it is too soon to tell. I would expect the next reading will be the more telling reading - if it is 0.33 or lower, (or even 0.36 or thereabouts would still count as no change) that should be encouraging indeed.

The likelihood that the PSA has dropped is the most important news. Take it as encouraging until you get the June results (IMHO).
Jeff
Posted 4/10/2012 3:54 AM (GMT 0)
Not good that you had to have more treatments but as long as the PSA is lower this test, take it as good news.

Hoping your next test is lower.
Posted 4/10/2012 2:08 PM (GMT 0)
bill,
it took about 9 months for my PSA to settle down to zero after salvage radiation (but it's stayed at zero for a year and a half). the way it was explained to me, the radiation doesn't kill the cancer cells, it messes up their DNA, so the cells are still alive until they try to multiply, then they get tangled up and die. so it takes time....no worries at this stage of the game...
take care
bob
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