I lost my membership to the zero club

Sorry Chief, might be a blip or a glitch in the matrix. Hopefully they ask you to retest and its back to 0.1 or lower.

Fingers crossed for you

Pat

Yes, you need a retest. One test isn't enough to confirm an increasing PSA.

Hi Chief,

Sorry to see your report. I'd want to see another test at or above 0.2 before agreeing to SRT, but you are right to have scheduled an appointment with the RO for next month. Assuming there is no reason to assume that any recurrence is not local, you will want to get on with SRT before your PSA exceeds 0.4. Also you need to ask the RO about his/her recommendations for Lupron and/or Casodex along with any SRT. Studies show a higher probability of long-term success when a short course of hormone blockade accompanies the SRT.

Our pathologies aren't exactly parallel, but are similar. You had a higher pre-treatment PSA and a possible positive margin. On the other hand I had SVI and later had an enlarged lymph node at the time of my SRT. But FWIW, I finished SRT 4 years ago and am still scoring 0.0 on my PSA tests.

Jim (Navy radioman '67-'71)

NavyChief said...
Well as of 18FEB I am up to 0.2. I have been running at 0.1 for about 8 months and finally climbed to 0.2 I am scheduled to see a Radiation dude next month. This really sucks..

Does anyone have any advice?

If you should need salvage radiation treatments, I hope & pray it will quickly complete the cure for you. :)

Chuck

Resident of Highland, Indiana just outside of Chicago, IL.
July 2011 local PSA lab reading 6.41 (from 4.1 in 2009). Mayo Clinic PSA Sept. 2011 was 5.7.
Local urologist DRE revealed significant BPH, but no lumps.
PCa Dx Aug. 2011 at age of 61.
Biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma in 3 of 20 cores (one 5%, two 20%). T2C.
Gleason score 3+3=6.
CT of abdomen, bone scan both negative.
DaVinci prostatectomy 11/1/11 at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), nerve sparing, age 62.
My surgeon was Dr. Matthew Tollefson, who I highly recommend.
Final pathology shows tumor confined to prostate.
5 lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, extraprostatic soft tissue all negative.
1.0 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm mass involving right posterior inferior,
right posterior apex & left mid posterior prostate.
Right posterior apex margin involved by tumor over a 0.2 cm length, doctor says this is insignificant.
Pathology showed Gleason 3 + 3, pT2c, N0, MX, R1
adenocarcinoma of the prostate.
Prostate 98.3 grams, tumor 2 grams. Prostate size 5.0 x 4.7 x 4.5 cm.
Abdominal drain removed the morning after surgery.
Catheter out in 7 days. No incontinence, occasional minor dripping.
Post-op exams 2/13/12, 9/10/12, 9/9/13 PSA <0.1. PSA tests now annual.
Firm erections now briefly happening in early mornings, 2 years post-op.

I've been told that .2 twice in a row dictates more treatment so I would wait ( which I am doing).

the problem I see with that is PSA could go from .2 to .3 or .4 and the best results from SRT are at .2 or lower.

ed

Really hoping that this latest PSA test is just a blip!

Best of wishes sent your way!

You certainly want to wait for that second confirmatory PSA reading but this is the right time to talk to a radiation oncologist so you will be ready. I've done radiation. It's not that bad. (usually) You don't want to pull the trigger prematurely but this is a sensible time to make sure the gun is loaded.

Sorry to read this. Hope it was a mistake, retest for sure. I will pray that you get back to the zero club.

Don