What does this mean?

10 years after prostatectomy my PSA became detectible. at the end of April, it was 0.12. My Urologist suggested salvage radiation (IMRT) which I completed on 8/23. I had a PSA test on 9/22 and the result came back the same as it was 5 months ago. I'm seeing my Urologist next week to go over the result.
Should the PSA have gone down? is it too early to know since radiation was completed only 1 month ago? does staying the same tell me anything?

Agreed

Sounds like you will have to wait and get a few PSA’s under your belt before drawing any conclusions. My wife had SBRT to a single affected rib and her cancer markers went down slightly at first then jumped up and increased for a over a year before stalling then dropped quite a bit a few months ago. I kept telling her that she had to hang in there and not worry about it too much until she gets a couple of years under her belt or scans show something. I think I was proven right in her case but it is not because I had any special knowledge, just hoping for the best and a positive attitude with a little bit of science behind it.

Try not to worry about it too much knowing that radiation treatment and PSA changes do not seem to be a very reliable indicator of much at first. My rational would be your PSA probably went up a little before your SRT started then came down a little after completion and you think it stayed the same. You need the next points to draw a line and a longer period to arrive at any conclusions.

Hello, Ed C. -----

These are "early days" in the process, and my lesson learned --- after pursuing radiation treatments --- is that it's like a ride on the SLOW TRAIN, and not the FAST TRAIN, as a fellow might hope.

We put in the work, by following the radiation treatment regimen. It's tempting to think --- after walking out of the radiation center --- that our due diligence will show an immediate PAYOFF, in terms of immediate results.

We went to every appointment, right? We got there on time, right? We followed the radiation protocols, right? We followed all the guidelines our radiologists set for us, right?

From there --- immediate results, in the form of lowered PSA scores --- ARE justly deserved. But --- with radiation --- the dividends and payoff --- may not be seen for months.

I began to think of my radiation like an INVESTMENT --- where the dividends show up in the future, instead of immediately.

As months went by, my oncologist tracked my lab work and scans, after my radiologist had done his work. As time went by, the value of my radiation treatments was truly revealed.

Those treatments CONTINUE to help me, even today!

My life lesson learned? My journey on the SLOW TRAIN was worth the wait!

Congratulations on your upcoming 80th birthday! Celebrate that special day!

With my best to you,
CYCLONE ~~~ # Iowa State University

on 4/29/21 my PSA was 0.12. I started IMRT on 6/26/21 and completed it on 8/23/21 (4 months later). I had my first post IMRT PSA test on 9/23 and the PSA was 0.12 (didn't go up or down). My urologist believes that it is a positive sign that it didn't go up and that the next PSA test in 3 months will tell us more. I hope he is right about that.

yes, it just seems that when you think you kicked your cancer, it shows its ugly head again and you are back to the dreaded PSA anxiety all over again.