PSA increase 3 years after surgery?

First of all, I wish you the best as I know that it cannot be easy.

The only advice I would give is to try to find a philosophy of life to help you through this. In one way we are fortunate to be in this age of communication because you can search what philosophical approach other people in similar circumstances used to help them deal with such situations. You will probably find many other people's approaches don't work for you but every once in a while something will stick that provides a strong sense of comfort.

It would also probably help to join a cancer support group as you can get good advice/support from others going through similar challenges.

Thanks Pratoman, I have no doubt they will want me to retest right away, and again in a few months. I was really hoping this visit would would be my 2 years post lung, and 3 years post prostate. It has been really difficult to put all this behind me. I will do whatever they recommend.
I noticed your PSA's. MDA only reads to 0.0. I ask them about the 0.01 I got at 3 months out from my local hospital, and MDA said they consider anything under 0.0 is undetectable. I kept getting checked @ MDA, because I was going there for the lung anyway. I do have confidence in those people down there in Texas, but I do wonder what that hundredth digit would've shown over the last 3 years.

I vote for a retest. You need to confirm that number.

If it is rising, you have a few options on the table. Lots of guys here been down that path.

Andrew

InTheShop, Thanks for the reply. I'm afraid the test was probably accurate, because on my spring trip to MDA I go to the St Lukes heart hospital for cardio screening, (they are who first found the tumor in my lung with a standard chest X-ray). They do a blood work up on me and just so happens they checked my PSA also, (they usually don't). Well it was .3 also from a different lab.

Fairwind, What is HT like? It appears to work

Howard, that's all we can do, is to hang in there. Your PSAs are a perfect example of what I referred to earlier. MDA considers any PSA below 0.1 as undetectable. My local hospital's lab gives PSA's to the nearest hundredth. I did not want to see that 2nd digit when I started the testing. Now I sort of wish I did, perhaps Friday's result wouldn't have been such a shock. Thanks for the reply.

Island time, Thanks for offing some fore sight as to what my treatment might be. I stated in my original thread, that I have been away from this forum since the lung cancer. I realize I should've stayed, because I could have offered some insight to those, who may have been where I was 3 years ago. It was real discouraging not finding a lung cancer forum. I just assumed no one lived long enough to post, so yes, as my family doctor told me, "I'm one lucky dude".

May I assume SRT stands for Salvage Radiation Treatment? What does "B" in SBRT stand for?

Thanks for the reply.

Island time, SBRT - Stereotactic Body Radiation Treatment. I think aka. Gamma knife
MDA was offering this to treat my lung cancer with some incentives, like no deductible, and other incentives just to get people to try it, so they could build some data. What data they had was promising, so I ask the surgeon what I should do, and he said, "I'm a surgeon, I want to cut it out, and surgery has proven to be effective, I'll send you to the radiologist if you want". I had him cut it out. I really like the guy, he is a very impressive man. If you have time, search Dr Ara Vaporciyan.
I was so scared because the prostate surgery was horrible. The lung surgery was a cake walk compared to the prostate. We rented the same apartment in Houston for the recovery. I didn't leave the apartment for 2 weeks after my p surgery, except to be taken to the emergency room for the hiccups. I was sitting by the pool drinking beer with my daughter 5 days after the lung surgery. We were going to the zoo, the museums, and galveston. It was almost like a vacation, probably because of the refillable script to norco.
Anyway, SBRT may be encouraging for me if necessary. Thank you so much, this is what I asking for, when I started this thread.
Ps. I'm a libertarian, so yes, I know all about Mr Stossel.
Phil

hah Fairwind . it's funny how our description of chemical castration evolves over time

ed

Hi 10drum, I had no choice but to go on Zoladex after my PSA shot up last year, ( I guess I did have a choice, but did not like the alternative) when I had my RP 9 years ago, my Psa came in at 0.5, I have never had a zero, the side effects are not too bad, and the effect on my PSA have been dramatic, from 11.70 to 0.03 in 6 months, I have been impotent since the operation, but at age 76, really not bothered, I really do hope you and your doctors can come to a reasonable plan of action.

Best Regards Mal.

Don't get libido mixed up with ED. I'm just surmising that what's you're referring to re the "never woke up" comment, but they are two completely different things.

But...you're really jumping ahead here. You likely have SRT in your future...that has a pretty darn good chance of mopping up anything that has been hanging out the last there years and has (belatedly) caused a rise in your PSA. That may or may not involve hormone therapy as an adjunct. (Re HT, I've done it...it isn't fun, but it's also not the end of the world if it's a short regimen.)

Presumably, you have connections at MDA to steer you through this? I'm no doctor, but a small rise in PSA after three years--while clearly not what you wanted--still seems very treatable to me.