My Dad's PSA rising again after surgery and SRT?

Hi everyone,

I posted here previously (2011) when my father was undergoing a robotic prostatectomy for Gleason 7 (4+3) prostate cancer, and really appreciated all the kind and informative replies I received then.

My father (now 65) had a really high PSA level prior to his operation which never when down to zero after the surgery. As a result of this he did salvage radiation in 2012, and in January 2013 his PSA levels came back less than 0.1, and have remained at this level until the test he did last week which came back with a reading of 0.8.

He went to visit his oncologist today, who said the next step is to carry out more blood tests with his GP in March, May and July of this year, before going back for a consultation in July. He also mentioned the possibility of hormone therapy, but that this wouldn't be happening at least until the consultation in July.

I don't really know what advice I'm looking for here, it seems mostly to be a case of waiting to see what happens :( Am I wrong in thinking that a jump from less that 0.1 to 0.8 seems massive? He seems to be so fit and healthy, and was just beginning to put his whole prostate cancer journey behind him. I know its a hard question to answer but what sort of prognosis does he have now, and can hormone therapy slow it down/stop it for long?

I really appreciate any replies, and wish you all well on your individual journeys.

I'm not a medical professional, but it does seem like enough of a bump to be concerned about. At the same time, it's still a fairly low PSA so I don't think it's a source of panic.

You're not far away from the March PSA test, so it probably makes sense to wait for that. I think that guidepost can help lead you to your decision about what to do next. Hopefully, his PSA is the same or even down. If it continues to go up, then I personally would not want to wait until July for another consult with the oncologist. I would also want line up an oncologist that specifically works with prostate cancer since they have some very specific knowledge as opposed to oncologists that work with all types of cancer. It's unclear to me how much prostate cancer experience your oncologist has in your Dad's case.

And for the record, if his PSA is up, there's all sorts of things that can be thrown at this to help keep it ay bay, including hormone therapy which can knock it down for a very, very long time.

Keep in mind that I'm just a random guy on the internet giving you my take on this. Hopefully, a few others will weigh in here. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies-- I pass them on to my Dad who is very grateful.
He received the results of his latest blood test today, which is 1.3, gone up from 0.8 in January....not the news we wanted to get.

His appointment with the oncologist is in June/July but I was thinking that now it is risen we should get an appointment earlier? Does the fact that it is rising so rapidly mean is more aggressive?

Thank you all for all your responses