Eight Years after Surgery PSA up DANG

I was hoping I could just pop back on here for my annual PSA report and it would be all good. This forum was a wonderful place to be when I got this in 2006. Most of the guys I got to know here have moved on and didn't report back as to how things went. I was feeling pretty good in the fact that I reported back each year and it was a good report with low PSA and all bodily functions working well. So, now here I go again.
10/2006 DaVinci Surgery PSA 0.01
10/2007 PSA 0.02
10/2008 PSA 0.04
10/2009 PSA 0.06
10/2010 PSA 0.06
10/2011 PSA 0.085
10/2012 PSA 0.15
05/2013 PSA 0.13
10/2013 PSA 0.13
06/2014 PSA 0.14
12/2014 PSA 0.20
06/2015 PSA 0.17

Dang just got back from the doctor he said we would just get another PSA in six months and watch and see. Other than the stinking increase in my PSA everything has been going very well health wise. I feel great have all my bodily functions without any problems. This forum was a real blessing to me and a wealth of information when I got this in 2006. At what point does one consider the salvage radiation?

Added 12/20/14
I have no idea what this stuff means except it was supposed to be "good news" at the time
pre surgery 2006 The words "positive a margins" was never mentioned. Was told after surgery it was all good if there is such a thing with PC.
PSA was 4.3
Lat Mid Gleason 6 Grades 3+3
Lat Base Gleason 7 Grades 3+4
Stage was T1

Post Edited (56pontiac) : 6/14/2015 12:48:20 PM (GMT-6)

Not the news you wanted.

You're almost at that point. Another rise and you'll need to make the rounds of the doctors again.

Hard to say if SRT is the next step for you, but sadly you might be talking to an RO in six or seven months.

Sucks actually.
Andrew

I agree with proscapt advice , but with a a change. It would be time to consider additional treatment.Consider being the operative word. SRT would be one of the options for treatment, not the only one. And based on the trend{moving slowly, still hasn't doubled since 10/2012} Doing nothing, at this juncture would also be as viable an option as the others. There are studies out there that would support any of the 3 options. Your Doctor is no dummy on this. I like the 6 mos psa test, rather than than 3 mos even. He seems steady to me. So carry on my friend...

Hey there Tim G! I remember you as well. We both are about the same age we got this disease about the same time. We both are in the Pacific Northwest. Most all of our "classmates" have moved on ( a good thing for them I hope) and I only see a few of the familiar names here from "back in the day". Anyway looks like I will be studying SRT and seeing what it is all about. Any recommended reading or material to consider about it in my investigation?

Hey 56
Uhgg, that's not the news your were looking for. Would you mind posting information about what your pre-surgery stats were? Did you have any positive margins?

Best of luck and hopefully the next test result is down and this was just a glitch

Pat

Hey 56,

Sorry to hear that you have to concern yourself with this garbage again. You and I came on hear about the same time. Hang in my friend....

Jim

56,
Your PSA history is very similar to mine -- see my signature below. Like you, I also stayed at 0.1 for several years. But when it started moving upward again the pace increased greatly. It jumped from 0.1 to 0.2 and then hit 0.4 just four months later. So If I were you, I'd be consulting with an RO now and not waiting too long between PSA tests. The good news is that my SRT has been successful for 4 1/2 years so far, though there may be a looming disturbance in the force. Best of luck.

Jim

There is no pathological (after surgery) stage pT1. I asked about age because if you were, say 90 y.o., you might not want to do SRT. PSA is almost entirely from prostatic cells, both healthy and cancerous - that's why it's called Prostate Specific Antigen.

- Allen

There is both a Gleason and a stage post-surgery and pre-surgery. It would be on your path report from the full pathology of the prostate done after the surgery.

Yes, it's important to have. Ask your surgeon for your post-surgery path report. Your RO will want it anyway. It has critical info on Gleason score, stage, LNs, margins, etc.

Hello 56,

Your post is very interesting to me since we are progressing much the same. My DaVinci was in August 2005 and PSA was undetectable for several years. It has progressed very slowly, was 0.15 six months ago and actually went down to 0.13 most recently. Plugging my numbers into one of the programs shows a doubling time of about 8 years. I did have positive margins.

Like you I am very reluctant to risk the potential side effects of salvage radiation. I am currently 67 and otherwise very healthy. A couple years ago my uro was pushing me to interview radiation oncologists. When I balked at that he agreed that we would just keep a close watch and now agrees that that was the proper path. If my doubling time doesn't shorten my PSA will be 0.5 or 0.6 when I am 83 years old and in my 90's before it goes over 1.0.

I will follow your situation with strong interest. One thing to consider is advancements in prostate cancer treatment. Every year that we are able to avoid being zapped is another year that might produce an effective treatment with fewer, less dramatic side effects.

Good luck with your journey and, while prostate cancer is certainly not a blessing, you and I are far better off than many of the good men on this forum.

56Pontiac,

Yes, please keep us updated on your situation. In my case, the only time I've been undetectable is with the standard PSA test, which measures to the nearest tenth nanogram. With the change to ultrasensitive, I've never had an undetectable PSA. I'm still confident that I'm done with prostate cancer and will not need further treatment in the future.

I got my medical records. Here is what it says on the Pathology Report after surgery dated 10/12/2006 Anybody know what it means in simple language?
VIEW IMAGE

Post Edited (56pontiac) : 12/29/2014 3:19:35 PM (GMT-7)