Santa came and took away my less than sign on my PSA test

Dev,

Sorry to hear about your bad news. Though you didn't say exactly how bad it was. My first non-zero was a bummer, though now I've had several. In my case, the doc thinks that I might remain at a low level of increase for years. Maybe. You might be different, or might be similar.

DJ

Dev,

I think those ultrasensitive tests are to be taken with a grain of salt. You could always get an ultra, ultra sensitive (down to the .xxx) but those are really to be taken with more grains of salt.

Recheck in a couple of weeks, you might be surprised and the < will be back.

I hear you about hating the disease...hang in there.

Jerry

Dev,
I'm not clear on if the last PSA was over 0.01 or was "just" a change from <0.01 to 0.01.

Just an FYI, I also was pT3b NO MX (4+4+5) and wasn't expected to have too long of a "clean" run, after some interesting lab reporting changes I've been 0.02 for the last 3 tests. I get tested every 3 months and the last test was for my Dec-1 30 month anniversary. The important thing there is it's "detectable" but stable at 0.02.

I hope your next test is stable or back to <x.xx and stays that way.

This thread convinces me still, of why some oncologists/urologists are so opposed to ultra sensitive PSA testing. There is no good reason to test to .xxx figures. No one needs to know it to that level of accuracy, assuming it is really that accurate at that level. One reason why my oncologist doesn't believe in constant PSA testing period. All it does it promote needless anxiety and worry.

Especially when I see men worrying about a reading (just an example) of .02 or <.02, of the order changes from time to time. There are natural vairances from day to day, month to month, most times, those ultra minute bumps up and down don't mean anything useful.

It's different, if one starts getting consistent reading above .10, and seeing steady rises over a given period of time.

Same can be said for frequency of testing. Hard to believe there are men that get tested every month to six weeks. What's the point, how does it help the doctor? It doesn't.

I remember reading in the Walsh book more than 4 years ago, about the futility of ultra-sensitive PSA testing, I still think he is right on.

I am post surgery and post radiation, with a PSA above 40.x, and it doesn't concern or worry me, or my doctor at this point. Nothing terrible is happening to me at this point, it's truly just a number on a piece of paper. When I met with my oncologist just recently, we kind of looked at each other, and read each other's mind, and decided, nah, no point in testing again, as my latest number was about 2 to 2 1/2 months ago.

I think a lot of guys need to re-think their PSA testing strategy, and perhaps change the frequency and their empathis on the findings when they do get results. Even at the classic ".10", it was explained to me by a good radiation oncologist, just how microscopicaly amount of cancer that really represented in the body. So all this worry and grief over tiny readings, like .02, .005, etc, truly seems to be a waste of concern and worry.

Just my opinion, I am not a doctor by any means, but I do know that all members of my medical team echo the sentiments I am trying to display here. Life is too short to be worrying needlessly over things in the first place, kind of takes away time for what you really like and want to do.

david in sc