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Posted 1/18/2021 10:36 AM (GMT -5)
Hi
My dad has been dealing with prostate cancer for a few years now (see signature). This past year he has had some fluctuation in his PSA results
VA labs .06 in January
.28 December 29
Urologist labs
.18 Feb 2020
<.13 May 2020
.14 Dec 11 2020
.34 Jan 15 2021
He just had a retest at urologist due to the difference in labs. It returned as .34. It doesn’t make sense how it is climbing so fast. He is a type 2 diabetic and his sugar has been high for a few months. He is scheduled with urologist this coming Wednesday.
What should we expect for the next step?
Posted 1/18/2021 5:58 PM (GMT -5)
The PSA is still low, but rising at an alarming rate, starting with the .28

Maybe check it again in a month with an eye towards HT if this trend continues (?).

(Just my non-expert opinion).

Mel

Post Edited (compiler) : 1/18/2021 4:01:01 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/18/2021 6:28 PM (GMT -5)
Thank you. I’ve been hoping people would reply and shed some light on this. Just when you think you have your head wrapped around PC it throws you a curveball. Of course my parents are worried, we all are, but I’ve seen a lot of mention on here about HT and the likelihood of treating it with this for years.
My dad is 74. I guess we have always hoped it would be gone for good. It seems to keep popping it’s head up.
Posted 1/18/2021 7:22 PM (GMT -5)
Since your Dad is relatively young at 74, it might be worthwhile to let his PSA go up a little more and see if a high powered scan can find something, maybe a lymph node or something in local area that could be treated. On the other hand, he could start some sort of ADT program where they knock down the PSA for a year or two, then go off and monitor for a while, and repeat as required. Many get lots of years with HT treatment given the many options now to keep the cancer confused.

He might benefit in getting another opinion from an oncologist that does a lot of prostate work so he has something to compare with what the urologist proposes. If he is like my Dad, he will go the doctor and do what he says without any frame of reference which is his choice of course.
Posted 1/18/2021 7:44 PM (GMT -5)
Mumbo-
Thank you! I have a feeling his urologist may have him see an oncologist but we’ll see. Their office also indicated that a PSMA pet/cat scan may be done. I think we are just pretty startled at how fast the PSA has gone up. It’s all so scary and he is pretty healthy, otherwise, and very active.
Posted 1/18/2021 8:13 PM (GMT -5)
Try to use the same test.
Posted 1/18/2021 8:28 PM (GMT -5)
Yes, we used the same lab that had the .14 result on December 11. That same lab was .34 on January 15....if that’s what you mean. Thankful that he had his VA appointment so we noticed such a difference on Dec 29 (.28) even tho it was a different lab. That’s what prompted me to check with his urologist. They let us decide about retesting now or waiting. I thought a retest would be a great idea.
Posted 1/20/2021 2:52 PM (GMT -5)
Dr said he wants to retake blood to check PSA and testosterone levels. Dad is supposed to go back in a month for blood work then they will schedule him based off what that shows. He said we want the PSA to be the same or not much higher. He wants testosterone to be in the normal range I believe he said. That would mean that the PSA is feeding off of the testosterone (I believe is what he said) We don't want an even higher PSA with no, or low, testosterone. If it's the first scenario I think he said they'd likely start the Lupron shot to knock PSA back down and then if it stayed down for a year they could take a holiday and monitor to see if it went back up. If it was scenario 2 and the PSA goes up a lot again, then he can either start on hormone shot and knock it back down/stop growth or let PSA get to 1 and then go in for the specific prostate cancer scan and see if they can see anything anywhere. He said it has to get to at least 1 to be able to see anything, as in bad cells, then they could do radiation if needed and shots. He said it's all treatable but scenario 1 would be best
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