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What to expect after radiation is over - PSA, etc.

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Posted 7/1/2015 6:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all, My husband finishes his IMRT on Monday after 9 weeks. He's had two Lupron shots, one in February and one in June and will have two more in the coming months. We were under the impression (probably incorrect) that his PSA probably had already dropped. When he saw the RO yesterday, he told him that when he has his first PSA test in October there will probably only be a small drop. PSA was 16 when diagnosed. Other details below. I know it's a slow drop with radiation, but what should we realistically expect? He's taking Flomax for the flow issues that radiation started and has some burning. How soon will that and the urgency go away? Thanks!
Posted 7/1/2015 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
Has he had a PSA since he's been on Lupron? That alone would reduce his PSA to near zero. As long as he's on Lupron, PSA won't really reflect the effects of the radiation.

It can take a couple of years to hit nidar after RT, if lupron weren't a factor you could expect to a small drop in October and with each test more dropping. It's a slow game.

As for the urgency, it took me a couple of months before that started to ease. And it never really goes away, but it does get more manageable.

Andrew
Posted 7/1/2015 7:12 PM (GMT 0)
No PSA test done since he's been on Lupron. The uro originally said it was probably near zero, but the RO told him yesterday there would be a slow drop. So I'm really confused. Thanks for the info on the urgency, it's better now than it was a few weeks ago. And now they extended his sessions until Tuesday because of the holiday. At least he's almost done - 3 more. Showing up is the worst part!
Posted 7/1/2015 7:21 PM (GMT 0)
In your case, HT drives the PSA to zero, masking the effects of RT. Until the HT is stopped, you won't know much about the effectiveness of the RT.

Yes, it's an endurance test and I was very tired by the end. He should recover from all that quickly.

Andrew
Posted 7/1/2015 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
I had similar treatment and the Lupron dropped my PSA down to (more or less) zero pretty quickly. After my IMRT was completed (still on Lupron) it was still at that level. When I finished my Lupron (I did 18 months) it started to slowly float up, which was expected. I'm now more than one year post-Lupron and my last three PSAs (each taken 3 months apart) were 0.16, 0.15 and 0.16.
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