Greetings all. After my RP in May 2016, I had six months of undetectable PSA, then followed by detectable, very low, but slowly increasing PSA. I realise that these numbers and the trend are nothing...
Walking continence comes last. Your pelvic floor muscles must now learn to hold all the time, and I think it is harder when lots of other muscles move. When you sit or lie down, there is little to...
TA: A very interesting link you posted above Allen. Continuing the out of the box theme, what about this: Let's say a tumour is seen some time post prostatectomy in the pelvic bed on a patient's...
This is a very helpful thread. I wondered whether it is technically possible to put together a radiation types flow diagram. RT: ----- BRACHY --------------HIGH DOSE --------------LOW DOSE ------...
MK, gather the courage for the trimix. It is less of a big deal than you might think, and the results are likely to surprise you. You may see the 'missing' 2 inches again. It has helped me, and my...
The half-life of PSA in your blood is about 3 days. 6 weeks is 42 days, or 14 half-lives. With (0.5)^14 being a very small number (0.00006) even a PSA of 100 would be reduced to 0.006, so a six-week...
A good question to ask. Some neuropathy can stick around for quite some time. I still have reduced sensation in most of my fingertips and toes, as well as under balls of my feet from chemo (for Colon...
The way your margins are noted in your signature are a bit ambiguous - to me anyway. Were your margins negative (no cancer at the margins) or positive (cancer at the margin(s))?
Brother, I can relate to your anxiety very well. But - hard as I found to do it - the advice you read above to give it a bit of time is very good. I am no shining example of the calm approach to PSA...
I understand and agree with the first two sentences. But why wouldn't blood-supplied ('alive' for want of a better word) benign tissue continue to be a source of very low amounts of PSA? Further, I...
Interesting also to note the big variation in toxicity between the various trials too. I realise there are many variables at play, but still. For example, the lowest 2+ urinary toxicity of all...
Could you perhaps elaborate on that, or provide a link on this specific issue? I am keen to understand: 1. Does the (possible) influence of benign tissue disappear / reduce after a period of time?...
Redwing - you are right, because we multiply / divide the logs only, we can use either LN or LOG. However, the very basis of the number 'e' (or Euler's constant as it is sometimes called) is...
Colbo, I guess if the sensation of irritation continues, you need to talk to your medical professionals at some point. I had it a bit as well, but maybe less than you describe. One other thing I...
Yes I agree Peter. Everything about this disease is 'a bit more complicated'. :wink: I wanted to come up with a really simple explanation. The 'normally closed' valve goes, and you are left with only...
If you are mechanically minded, the following might make sense and help. Before, you had two valves - a normally closed one (bladder neck / top of prostate) and one normally open valve (external...
For what it is worth, simple doubling times are calculated using the natural logarithm (Log to the base 'e', or LN on excel spreadsheets). To understand how things grow / change in nature, google...
Having had two cancers diagnosed by my mid-50s (probability about 1 in 2000), I decided to have a genetics test. I wanted to inform my children if necessary. I used the US company called Counsyl....
Did you discuss your relatively high PSA for such a small amount of G6 cancer with your medical specialists? That amount of PSA from 0.4% of your prostate looks high to me, but I am no doctor. Just...
A very helpful answer TA. Much appreciated. If I may ask a follow-up question: You list some issues to consider. I know, or I am monitoring uPSA and trend, length of PSM, Gleason at PSM. I do not...
From a recent link which Tall Allen posted (below): "Kang et al. found that, among men with capsular perforation, PSMs, or seminal vesicle invasion after surgery, only 17% actually went on to have a...
The emotional roller-coaster is unfortunately a significant part of the "big C" journey. It is a shock, and it is so for all the people I know who have been diagnosed. The first thing to be sure of -...
Tall Allen, thanks for the reply about the calculation. I see what you say about stage pre-op, and it makes sense. However, to the best of my knowledge it was T2c at the clinical (pre-op) stage too -...
J&D, no, to be honest it is more my own restlessness after the small rise in PSA. No need to measure so often, just follow your medical advice....
Thank you all for the helpful and very interesting comments. Imaging for cancer, as we all have experienced, has a long way to go but I guess it is also fair to say that it has come a long way. I ran...
This is water under the bridge for me, but I am wondering about the general practice with respect to taking lymph nodes, or not, during a prostatectomy and if so, how many. I had none taken and I now...
As I have it, uPSA can measure down to the third decimal, with lower detection limits typically 0.008. (Or even lower in some cases.) Depends on the lab / assay.
This is a question that is unlikely to find a definitive answer, but I am curious, so I will ask. As you can see, I also had colon cancer, just one year before my PCa dx. I had a right...
Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate the links Tall Allen. I will look at them. I am trying to read widely to understand what secondary weapons there might be in the fight against this...
Does anyone have any views about, or personal experience with using beta-blockers such as Propranolol as a preventative medicine? (Preventing metastases in particular.) This is just a overview, there...
I understand the comments about the very low levels, and the advice that flows from that. I know it is good advice, and I thank you all for it. Like WinnieHK's husband, I also understand the shock to...
Let me make a few statements that I believe are generally true after a prostatectomy: 1. An undetectable PSA nadir (low) after the operation indicates no measurable distant disease at that time 2. A...
Tough one. I had to do it twice, for two different cancers. Advice, for what it may be worth: Tell them when you are ready, and that means you have a more or less complete story to tell. 1. This is...
TA: Fair comment, your answer was yes. Your general advice above is very good, I am sure, but I am finding this limbo-land hard to navigate. While my PSA is very low, as you say, it has lifted...
Thanks TA. I am asking in the general sense, as I am getting to know this complex disease. But as always there is some context that leads one to such a question. My urologist has expressed concern...
We know that there are some rare forms of prostate cancer that metastasise without putting out much PSA. Does anyone have such a cancer, or know more about it? Would such a cancer be visible to a...
Tall Allen, you make a number of fair points, but let me address the PSA recurrence issue first. Like you (no doubt) I have seen hundreds of references to the definition of PSA recurrence / BCR in...
Fair question, doing this at such a low PSA. The idea is to do this while the disease burden is still very low. I realise I can wait. But why would I wait if I could perhaps really knock this dreaded...
Chas, Thanks for the interest. There is a place in Perth, called Theranostics (google that and Perth) who do this commercially. I have had a consultation (via Skype) and they are prepared to do it in...
I seem to have the early signs of PSA recurrence. My urologist thinks, on balance, that it is early metastatic disease. I am not keen on ADT right away or chemo (which I have had for colon cancer) or...