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Posted 8/14/2014 10:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi have been on the board off and on for about a year and a half.  46 years old and i was prompted to join this board when i got a 3.9 reading on a PSA test!!!  I took the middle approach at the time....a retest in three months with the idea of watching everything carefully and looking for trends....in a test which provides more questions than anwers!!!  As background here is my current data:

3/30/09   2.72

12/19/11  2.65

6/12/13 3.9  (the spike that was very concerning)

9/20/13 2.5 (the 3 month retest )

8/12/14 2.79 (my reading of earlier this week).

In any event...as you can see, other than the 3.9 i have kinda spent five years in a relatively narrow range.  Interestingly...the normal range on the results was 0-2.5 for the tests in 2013 and is 0-4 for the most recent...looks like different labs....my assumption is my Dr. wont do anything apart from recommend that we wait a year.

I am happy to have the '09 baseline...and i know many of you would say that ALL of these values (when age adjusted) would warrant a biopsy.

I am wondering how reasonable it is for me to keep doing what i am doing, ignore the 3.9 as an anomoly (if i did have a second value that high the answer would be rather clear and i would go for the biopsy)...and just assume that i trend a bit above (as i have from 2009)....i am white, american, no history of prostate cancer in the family, etc.


thanks for any insight.  Everyone be well!

Posted 8/14/2014 10:53 PM (GMT 0)
I think you're doing the right thing.

I had similar numbers and my urologist gave me the option of the biopsy saying he was sure he would find nothing given my age and low PSA but that ideally my PSA should have been below 1.0 so I could do biopsy if I wanted to. He then disclosed that he owned the biopsy center :) anyway, we did multiple PSA tests, antibiotics twice in an attempt t avoid the biopsy.

I am assuming you've taken antibiotics and explored the other causes for the elevated PSA.

There is no reason to assume you have PCa. On the other hand, PSA testing and biopsies have changed the landscape with PCa. Before their widespread use those found to have PCa had advanced PCa in far larger numbers than today, where the vast majority of men who are tested end up with early, contained and treatable PCa.

If I had to guess and give you a non-medical opinion i'd say you could continue to monitor the PSA and then do a biopsy, as you say, if/when it spikes up more.
Posted 8/14/2014 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
You're on the right track; just monitor PSA and get DRE annually and watch for symptoms in your urinary tract like frequency, difficulty starting, dripping, etc. which could just be BPH or could be something more. Good luck.

Bob
Posted 8/14/2014 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
Bob,
I see from your post in September that you were 45 years old then.
I would keep doing what you have been doing. Keep the 6 month PSA test going and see if anything changes.

I had 2 biopsies and PSA's up to 9 before 2004 and no PCa showed up. But then I guess I thought I was bullet proof and went 8 years without another PSA. My numbers below show what happened with that plan. yeah

You should be fine for awhile, enjoy life!

Bill from Florida cool
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