Putting Off Getting PSA Results

Do any of you ever do this?

I always use our local hospital lab for the blood draw. They usually have the results the next day. I can go into the Medical Records office, pay a buck, and get the results. I usually go the second day, just to make sure.

I gave blood Friday, so for sure it's there today. I was going to get it late this afternoon. I do have a meeting at work that will end about 4:30, but it could be longer, meaning that I might not have time to get the results today. I'll have plenty of time to do it tomorrow as I'll be done well before 3:00PM. So...I guess I'll wait until tomorrow.

Why? Because as my numbers go up, I find each result to be like another kick in the gut (except a few times the result declined a bit, which was a pleasant surprise).

Anyway, if it goes up, we will probably still due a confirmatory one at the end of December (although it is exceedingly obvious that the overall PSA trend is significantly up). I just don't want to deal more with it this month. December is a busy month and the children and grandchildren will be visiting at the end of the month, through January 4th or so.

Once it is confirmed, it will be scans time followed by the start of HT (Casodex for about 10 days and then the addition of Lupron).

Mel (procrastinating a bit)

I get mine in the mail. My uro uses Bostwick and they send me the results 7-10 days after the blood draw.

I put off getting the blood drawn. The hospital I use has a whole department of hyperactive medical assistants dedicated to sending emails and making phone calls to us PC patients (they call themselves the "Prostate Cancer Monitoring Team") so I avoid having the test done at all. If they don't have the results, they don't call and I get more time in the shop.

Mel,

I don't blame you. I just can't do it, however. I'm wired like goodlife...I have to know so I can get on with what's next.

Joe

I had my PSA checked ever 6 months. My Urologist ordered it. Last July it was 1.2. Now it's 7.8. PSA without a DRE won't help you. The doctor has to do the DRE to check for swelling or a lump. I had a lump. Don't mess around.

I may have posted the idea before, but it would be nice if there was some way we could all escape from PSA anxiety so that our bloods were taken automatically without us noticing and then we got the results automatically too in some way that got round the ussie of not wanting to know what they were at the same time as wanting to know.

And I bet that it could all be done a lot quicker. Imagine the idea that you could give blood sample next to the testing machine so you sit down, needle goes into the arm, blood sample gets taken out and put straight into the testing machine, they click on the "run" button and the result pops up on the screen before you've put your shirt back on with uro there to give opinion on result if not a zero. Maybe all done in 5 minutes.