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Posted 10/29/2014 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
Saw Uro this morning, now I'm crazed. Doing biopsy next week. PSA was 4.3, fPSA was 12%. 6 months ago, my psa was 3.1, 6 months before that it was 2.9, and the six month intervals prior were 2.7, 2.9, 2.1, going back about 4 yeARS.
Had a biopsy 2 years ago, 14 cores, 1 core had hi grade pin.
Doc did a PCA3 which i'll get back in a week.

I'm pretty convinced that this time i will have a positive diagnosis. 3.1 TO 4.3 is a big jump.
No questions here other than looking for a strawto grab onto, besides"it wont kill me"

UGH.
Posted 10/29/2014 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome back, Pratoman!

When you were here six months ago Tall Allen had just given you information about "mindfulness" training. I had hoped you would come back to us calm, serene, and suffused with inner light. But here you are, back with us with your hair on fire, just like any other guy looking forward to another biopsy.

Glad to see you but sorry you got reeled back in.
Posted 10/29/2014 3:47 PM (GMT 0)
If you have PC, I'll bet your on the lower end of the risk scale - that PSA number isn't that high and it's like only in your prostate. All just guesses but I'd put my money on it. You've got lots of choices for treatment.

Surgery, beam raditaion, brachy seeds, HT,etc. Even if the worst is true you've got plenty of ammo to throw at it and every possibility of a positive outcome. It won't be fun to do and normal will change but you've got plenty of actions you can take to beat the beast.

Opt for the positive view - makes life more enjoyable.
Andrew
Posted 10/29/2014 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
I know how you feel Pratoman (everybody else does too I'm sure). I went to the cancer center Monday and for the first time ever, had high blood pressure. The nurse said nearly all men coming in there have it and it took her a while to get used to it.

The good thing is you seem to be on top of it and it's probably early, if you in fact get diagnosed.
Posted 10/29/2014 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hey, welcome back Pratoman!

Sorry to see you are going in for another biopsy. I had 3 biopsies before they found IT! Maybe you'll be lucky again.

But just remember, if you have PCa, it is the Good Cancer! smhair

Bill from Florida cool
Posted 10/29/2014 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the responses guys, i know its probably early. I don't fear the disease much, (i fear hearing the words you've got cancer though). I know it wont kill me. I fear the treatments and all that comes with each option. I know too much, from all my reading.

6 month jump from 3.1 - 4.3, with A fPSA of 12%, I'm pretty convinced I'm getting diagnosed.
Posted 10/29/2014 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
Why do the PCA-3 test if a biopsy has already been decided? Usually, that is done to perhaps rule out a biopsy.

Mel
Posted 10/29/2014 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
@Mel - no clue, good question.
I see Dr Aaron Katz, he's got a good rep, is chairman of Urology at a large hospital on Long Island, and i trust him (i know, always trust but verify). But thats a good question. I do know he is very conservative. He generally doesnt rush to action, in fact last visit six months ago, when it popped from 2.7 to 3.1, i asked him, in view of the constant rise, and the fact that my biopsy 2 years ago showed 1 core of hi grade pin shouldn't we do a biopsy. And his response was, that at age 63, (i'M TURNING 64 NXT WEEK, SOME GREAT BIRTHDAY I WILL BE HAVING) 3.1 is not alarming considering the slow RATE of rise. hE SAID IF IT RISES AGAIN, HE WOULD PROBABLY DO AN mri BEFORE DOING A BIOPSY.

i am assuming that he is going straight to biopsy because of what seems like a large jump, that is not typical for me.

Post Edited (Pratoman) : 10/29/2014 2:34:32 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/29/2014 8:28 PM (GMT 0)

PeterDisAbelard. said...
Welcome back, Pratoman!

When you were here six months ago Tall Allen had just given you information about "mindfulness" training. I had hoped you would come back to us calm, serene, and suffused with inner light. But here you are, back with us with your hair on fire, just like any other guy looking forward to another biopsy.

Glad to see you but sorry you got reeled back in.

Peter (and Tall Allen, when you see this)
Yes, i remember that, and it makes so much sense. I hate to say this, i am just not built that way. I fully intend to try to live in the moment, until i get the biopsy done and results back. But its not easy, when you are built the way i am
Posted 10/29/2014 8:34 PM (GMT 0)
So the reasons i am so (almost) positive that a diagnosis is going to follow my biopsy are as follows

1. jump from 3.1 to 4.3 in six months seems big, especially considering my history
2. fPSA of 12%.
3,.fPSA of .5 (absolute number) - i read on the mayo clinic website that ages 60-69, with a f:psa to total psa ratio of less than 10 gives you a 57-65% chance of cancer. I think i am calculating correctly - 4.3/.5 =8.6 which is <10
4. one core out of 14 showed hi grade pin on my last biopsy
5. history -- mydad was diagnosed, at around age 70

If i look at these together, aren't my chances very very high? Am i missing anything.

Sorry, like Peter said, my hair is on fire right now, I'm not sure how to get thru the next few weeks.
And i have a client dinner tonight, where i really have to be focused. Should be a challenge.
Posted 10/29/2014 8:35 PM (GMT 0)
Peter:

It is easy to tell someone to just relax.

As Prat. says, he is clearly not built that way. In all honesty, most of us aren't.

Just look at some of the threads discussing nervousness approaching PSA test results.

In fact, I am probably missing a few people, but we have only one person on here -- who posts a lot -- who claims he doesn't worry. I think there are a few who have been getting undetectables, with a G6, for many years, who are finally a bit more sanguine.

Mel
Posted 10/29/2014 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
Mate,

Try not to second guess the results. Wait till they turn up and if needed prepare to have a second opinion. In the meanwhile, take care!

.
Posted 10/29/2014 9:32 PM (GMT 0)
Mel,

I know it is difficult not to worry. I've been known to recommend that guys waiting for a biopsy and/or biopsy results do two things -- stop worrying and win the lottery -- with the idea being that the one is no more difficult than the other.
Posted 10/30/2014 1:36 AM (GMT 0)
Peter, i know you are right, in a perfect world, we live in the moment. I wish the world was perfect. I would pay big money to be able to do that.

Like i said, with all the risk factors, i feel like i dont have a lot going for me in terms of hope that the biopsy will be negative.
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