PSA Update & Question

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all well and had a good Thanksgiving.

Rick went for his latest PSA and it came in at 0.12, I went to the MSKCC.org web site and entered the information for PSADT & it came back with a doubling time of 2.45 months. My question is: Is his PSA still low? How concerned should I be with a doubling time of 2.45 months? Did I do the entry right? How valid is "Don't worry about PSA until it hits 2". I looked at Mama Bluebirds definition and understand that he is at 12 pennies if I read it correctly. Did I? If Rick continues to do nothing will the PSA start to rise faster as the cancer grows? Last question: If Rick stays on statin drugs which I have been told keep the PSA reading low, How will we really know what the PSA is doing?

Thank you in advance for your help. I am sorry to have so many questions but I really don't know what to expect.

Thanks Diana

Diana,

As just a fellow patient, I'm sure no expert, but Rick's experience sounds familiar, and I really agonized over the PSA question you have, so here's what I found out:

First of all, Rick's PSA dropped very low after surgury, which is great news! THat would tend to make you think that IF there is any cancer left behind, there wan't much. With Geason 9 and positive margins, and I THINK Rick is pretty young if I remember from earlier posts, there's a good chance that there might be some cancer left behind---BUT AGAIN, the good neews that, with a positive margin, its incresed the liklihood that the cancer is still localized.

With a PSA at .12, up from .07, its still low... my doctor said at these low levels PSA doubling time might not mean very much, so don't worry about it.

As far as what level the PSA hits to consider additional treatment, .2 (that's 20 pennies)was the best answer I found NOT 2....DO NOT WAIT THAT LONG.

Localized residual disease is still curable with radiation therapy, but it is most effective if undertaken BEFORE PSA hits .5 (50 pennies). Even without a PSA rise, with a higher Gleason and a positive margin, I think a lot of docs would want to do radiation/hormone combined (Tony and I have both done that, and agree its not all that bad!)

My advice would be to make an appointment with a good radiation oncologist for a consultation, just to see at what level they might treat Rick... and to get the preliminaries out of the way so you're ready in case you get another bump.

God blees and Good Luck ---- I may not be right on this stuff, but its what I followed andf have no regrets!