ADT and SRT Journey Part 6

AZ Guy said...
Just got the good news...undetectable today! The nurse practitioner thought a year was a long interval but I assured her it was the Doctor's recommendation.

Good for you!

Hey guys, love it that this thread is still around.

I had my uPSA test last week, i have to go see the doc for results tomorrow... not sure why I'm so anxious.

What do you guys do for psa test anxiety?

I get my result directly from the lab, usually within two days of the draw, way before my doctor appointment. The lab sends me an email as soon as they post the result and I access it through their patient portal. There's a brief moment of anxiety when I open the PDF, but then it's over. Much better than trying to guess the result from the look on my doctor's face when he comes in the examination room.

The PSA anxiety is real. I don't know if anything can be done about it. I just coach myself that its part of my life experience and I need to accept it like all the good things in my life.

👍👍👍

Great news Zzarth!

Boy, had to really dig deep to uncover this thread again.

Good news, boys: Met with my MO yesterday, he says now that I've gone 2 years undetectable he's switching me to PSAs and followup visits every 6 months instead of every 3. He thinks that since I had a small positive margin that the SRT was able to target, there's a decent chance they zapped it all. He mentioned that he's had a number of PCa patients whose PSA eventually surfaced again but it remained fairly indolent and never reached the point of requiring further treatment. Yeah, sure -- but it's nice to dream.

Saipan,
Curious what your initial PSA was and if the path report also came in at G8. But, none of that really matters. What does matter is two years undetectable.

Congratulations!

Great news on your PSA Saipan! Also I don't think I posted earlier but I went in for my first colonoscopy last year and had 5 benign polyps removed. Doctor said there is a loose colon-prostate cancer risk so I'm going back again in 3 years. I also recently had bladder and kidney ultrasound which looked good except for 3 mm stone that was first identified as 3 mm stone in 2005. Don't think I'm going to take action other than drink a lot of water and get another ultrasound in a year.

Gary, nice result on your uPSA. Glad to hear it.

"Targeted" -- I don't know about a boost. I'd have to ask the RO, but I'm not following up with him anymore. I'm loosely translating what the MO said, which is probably based on assumptions he makes about what the RO & dosimetrist did. The radiation dose was on the hefty side, 72 gy, for what it's worth.

Post Edited (Saipan Paradise) : 6/11/2020 2:45:39 PM (GMT-6)

My most recent PSA&T is in the record books. PSA remains <.008 but testosterone has only risen to 60. My final Lupron shot was January 2018. Of course I'm elated that the ART seems to have done its job well, and I told my uro that I've become accustomed to the low-T.

He still insists that I should avoid any form of T supplementation. And I agree. Hot flashes are far better than bone mets.

When I asked how long I will be tested every six months, he said ten years. I'm not sure if that's ten years since RP or ten years from ART, though they were only one year apart. So it looks like I'm hooked to this wagon for the long haul.

Hey Rob,
Good news. Better safe than sorry with the testing.