Posted 5/6/2017 10:53 PM (GMT 0)
Folks, I'm looking for your collective thoughts on some recent PSA swings and Finasteride usage advice.
My recent history:
- MRI on 10/31/2016 (happy Halloween) is unremarkable; previously known PCa is not clearly identified in this scan
- PSA on 11/02/2016 is 4.0
- PSA on 01/05/2017 is 6.73, my highest reading ever
- Biopsy (my fourth) on 01/17/2017 shows two cores of Gleason 6 (3+3), 5% or less involvement; for the first time, the report lists chronic inflammation in five of the remaining cores
- Based on the above, my doctor suggests we might want to start thinking about treatment, suggests cryogenic-ablation, and prescribes Finasteride, 5 mg
- PSA on 04/26/2017 is 1.6, my lowest reading ever! (Yay?)
My doc explains that the PSA spike must not have been due to PCa, and that the Finasteride helps to reduce 'background noise.' Treatment is off the table for now, and we go back to checking PSA every 6 months.
So, is Finasteride really the miracle drug? My doc doesn't want me to use it for more than 2 years max, and my wife doesn't want me to take it at all. Is it possible that my high PSA reading was erroneous?
Any thoughts will be appreciated.