Looking for ideas...

Had removal done 2/26/2013 and all was going well as you can see below, all tests were done at my surgeon's office.  Now the PSA rates are starting to go up again.  Not due to see my surgeon until late January. What are your thoughts, should I call and try to get in sooner than that?  Worried...yea, but maybe I shouldn't be.  Always appreciate your insight.

First post-op PSA = UNDETECTABLE
Second post-op PSA 7/15/2013 = UNDETECTABLE
Third post-op PSA 01/29/2014 = UNDETECTABLE
Fourth post-op PSA 7/30/2014 = 0.10 surgeon said to not worry about it, re-check in 6 months.
Fifth post-op PSA 8/29/2014 = 0.15 done at my primary care physician at my request.

Not sure if they'd do one before then or not, but can't hurt to ask can it. Guess if there's another problem starting up I want to get it under treatment ASAP, not wait around. Thanks...

I suggest you ask either your primary care doc or your uro for a test at 3 months from your previous test, which would be late November. My own experience was my PSA remained low for a long time and then stabilized at 0.1 for a couple of years. But when in began to move from there it moved quickly from 0.1 to 0.4 in less than 10 months. I'm stable now since SRT and am currently being tested only every 6 months. But in the past when I was at more immediate risk, my uro would see me every 6 months but would also authorize in-between tests, so I'd have a test and get results at 3 month intervals but would see him at 6 month intervals. I don't know what your insurance plan authorizes, but my understanding of my plan is they will pay for whatever psa tests my doctors think are needed for patients who have been diagnosed with PCa. I've never had a test rejected by my insurer even when I've had an immediate retest because of a test result that looked just wrong -- the retest proved it was a bad test and provided a correct result.
Jim

waleygator,

Was your pathology Gleason score GS6? Were your margins clear? No SVI?
I strongly suggest you call a radiation oncologist, rather than your surgeon, to discuss this. It may be tissue left behind, but it may be a local recurrence as well. Either way, it is not something to ignore when your PSA is almost .2 already and doubling quickly.

- Allen

One quick question, were all the tests done at the same lab?

Hi WG,

I think researching radiation oncologists is a very good idea while you wait for your next test.

It is not inevitable that salvage radiation is the next step. One of our long time posters Sephie had her husband reading go up to 0.3 before dropping down below 0.1.

However it pays to be prudent and watch this situation very closely.

Wish you the best.

An