HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Recurrence?

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 10/24/2013 4:50 PM (GMT 0)
Just got the result of my 9 months PSA test. The number is 0.07 ( no< sign). The two previous test numbers were <0.05 after 3 months, and <0.05 after 6 months. This leads me to think that the sensitivity of the measurement is 0.05 (or maybe 0.06). So, my question is, am I experiencing the early signs of a recurrence? I know that many doctors think that anything less than 0.1 is undetectable, and I realize that the key thing is the next PSA test in three months. Do these early PSA numbers after RALP sometimes go down as well as up? Am I going to get kicked out of the Zero Club? What a bummer.
Posted 10/24/2013 12:34 PM (GMT -5)
Suggest monthly PSA. I had to argue with my doc and his staff to do it when my Post surgery PSA climbed beyond undetectable, and very glad I did so. My PSA climbed every month for four consecutive months, more than doubled. Test is inexpensive. If it climbs for three straight months, probably want to see an oncologist. Best wishes.

NewspaperLover
Posted 10/24/2013 2:30 PM (GMT -5)
I suggest 3 month testing's, nothing in your numbers strike me as being anything near signs of recurrence. Once you have three climbing numbers >.10, then it would be time to be concerned of recurrence. Right now, I think its just another form of ultra sensitive PSA testing.

David
Posted 10/24/2013 2:36 PM (GMT -5)
Hi doodlebugger.....What is your history ?? if you post that as a signature it will help us to give you more accurate input on your situation.

For myself, I was a G6 after robotic surgery. My surgeon felt very strongly that the cancer was totally contained in the prostate.....because of that, he left a fair amount of prostate tissue behind when he separated the prostate from my bladder.

This extra prostate tissue started generating some PSA as time progressed. Some people thought I was having a recurrence. My PSA slowly climbed up to .258 and now has been stable for some time. My new baseline is now around .26....if we see a steady climb upwards away from that then I will know I have a problem.

I went on monthly tests for almost a year so I could see the trend more accurately. It is very important to hydrate yourself very well the day before and the day of testing to make sure you are getting good consistent test results. I found that your hydration level will greatly effect your PSA number when you are in that very sensitive low range area.....

Let me know if you have any more questions about my case....you might be seeing the same thing that happened to me.

Wish you well, we are all here to help in anyway we can.

Curt

Posted 10/24/2013 4:34 PM (GMT -5)
It's really too soon to say. That's not much PSA and a single rise isn't a trend. You're still well in the zero club. Most docs won't think about a second treatment until you've gone above .1. If you extrapolate your current rise, it could be a long time before you get there.

Also PSA is a trick test at the ultra sensitive level. It could just be a bad test. It might bounce around at a low level for awhile.

Don't rush into thinking about recurrence. You need a lot more data before going down that road. You'd need to see several PSA tests with a consistent rise before worrying about that.
Andrew
Posted 10/24/2013 5:05 PM (GMT -5)
Doodlebugger,
When I began having a PSA rise with ultrasensitive testing it bounced around a bit between .01 and .02, but after that I did have a very slow rise in my numbers with no reversals (except for one outlier test that was so far off the mark I asked for an immediate retest, which came back much lower.) However in this range it might be hard to tell how consistent or accurate results may be from one lab to another. My current lab reports no lower than <.02.

Also you may find that even if future tests show that you are having an actual rise in PSA, the rise may not be at a steady rate. In my case, once I finally hit 0.1 I remained 0.1 for 3 years before I finally had a doubling to 0.2 and then another doubling to 0.4 three months apart.
Jim
Posted 10/24/2013 5:21 PM (GMT -5)
The <0.05 means that the test equipment used can detect the presence of PSA only if it is above 0.05. That is that particular equipment's lowest readable level. The current reading (if done on the same equipment and in the same lab) of 0.07 might indicate a rise of 0.02. But that is a really tiny difference and I would not sweat it ----- you need some more numbers before seeing if anything is actually changing or things are just bouncing around a little.
Bill
Posted 10/24/2013 10:03 PM (GMT -5)
I totally agree you must have more data points to know what is going on.....and this is stressful in and of itself !! It could be statistical noise....that is a really small increase ,but any increase tends to freak us out....take some deep breathes...... do PSA tests every 30-45 days.....that will give you your answer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply