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Posted 8/19/2024 6:52 PM (GMT -5)
Just had my PSA recently taken at VA and it was 0.2. I see on the Forum here a few saying they tested 0.0. If you still have a prostate you can't be 0.0 right? A cancer survivor still with a prostate will always test at least 0.1......is this correct or am I wrong here? I have always tested either 0.1 or 0.2 at VA after brachytherapy + radiation back in 2020.
Posted 8/19/2024 7:14 PM (GMT -5)
Yes Wayne, you are correct, as long as there is prostate tissue, you will always generate some PSA, so nothing to worry about,
Posted 8/19/2024 8:49 PM (GMT -5)
Wayne - one can have an undetectable PSA at some point after RT, just not 0.0 since no test could resolve that value. There are a number of guys here that end up at <0.1 over time.
Posted 8/20/2024 12:44 AM (GMT -5)

Mumbo said...
Wayne - one can have an undetectable PSA at some point after RT, just not 0.0 since no test could resolve that value. There are a number of guys here that end up at <0.1 over time.

yep. me for example
Posted 8/20/2024 8:06 AM (GMT -5)
I have my PSA checked along with my annual lab testing. For years it has come back as less than .1. For some reason the testing this year went to a lab that does more sensitive testing and the result was .06.

Jim
Posted 8/20/2024 10:43 AM (GMT -5)
PSA isn’t limited to prostate tissue. Prostate cancer can express it and most women express it as well. Go figure. As far as we know, there is no such thing as true zero because no test will go that low.

Some of us, like F8 and Jim, express undetectable PSA even though we have our prostates. For some men, the combination of radiation and/or ADT will allow the prostate to continue to function, but not express PSA.
Posted 8/20/2024 11:59 AM (GMT -5)
Wayne, as you've noticed, with PCa there are a lot of 'yes, but' answers. If you still have a prostate, your PSA may or may not go undetectable--which is not the same as zero. Mine (post surgery) is <0.006.

What you care about is your PSA Nadir: the lowest level to gets to a year to 2 years post treatment--that is your marker for future changes.
Posted 8/20/2024 12:08 PM (GMT -5)

Tudpock18 said...
For years it has come back as less than .1. For some reason the testing this year went to a lab that does more sensitive testing and the result was .06.
Jim


This is exactly why I wish my MO had put me on Standard old PSA test. No need to know if my PSA is between 0.01 and 0.10. It would just be added stress for me. I envision my PSA coming back and stressing me by floating around in that range for a long time. That's what cancer likes to do. 😐 I've been doing my current test for years so I never ask MO to change it.
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