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if a rise in psa means that cancer cells are lerking else where in the body
would it besafe to say that not all cancer cells, will form a tumor ?
can cancer cells just lay dormet
A steady rise in psa is usually indicative of PC cells growing. It is estimated that 50% of all men over 55 have indolant PC cells in their prostate. Most of these never grow into a tumor and some are picked up on biopsies, usually reflected by a gleason 6 less than 5%. It is also estimated that over 1,000,000 men have been treated for a cancer that would never have hurt them.
PC cells can lurk in the body and never develop into a tumor. In this case the psa wouldn't rise.
Johnt
What John says is correct, as far as it goes, but the subject of PSA is a complex one and what the PSA levels are doing depends on a number of things, including what treatment a man has or has not had.
If you read through as many stories as I do, one of the things that will strike you is that a man can be very pleased that his PSA is ‘only’ 40.0 or 50.0 ng/ml (or even higher) – that might be because when he was diagnosed his PSA was in the hundreds or thousands. At the other end of the scale a man might be very concerned because his PSA is ‘up’ from 0.002 to 0.003 – that might be because he has had surgery and believes that any increase is a signal that he is going to die from the disease.
Take my case as an example. My PSA climbed to over 40.0 ng/ml before I decided to take limited action – three Zoladex shots. That brought my PSA down to 0.20 ng/ml in February 2008 – one hundred times higher than the man in the second example above – but a level I was very happy with. Since then my PSA has climbed to 2.20 ng/ml. Does this mean that this increase is generated by prostate cancer – or is it the BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia) that has enlarged my prostate gland (which I still have, since I did not have surgery or any other treatment when I was diagnosed) – or both? And if it is prostate cancer that is responsible for part of the increase, is the disease confined to my gland or has it spread throughout my body – the radiologist says he saw something on my ribs?
I simply don’t know – and there is nobody in the world who can tell me the answers to all these questions because there are no answers – there is no certainty. People wiser than I am can guess, but no one really knows.
From your first post on this Forum it seemed to me that you may have had surgery and that you are concerned about very small increases in ultra-sensitive tests. If that is the case, all I can do is suggest that you try to read and understand ULTRA SENSITIVE PSA
I hope this helps you with your problem – if it doesn’t, then let us know more clearly what is concerning you. Don’t ever stop asking questions until you get the answers
Since I was diagnosed a couple of years ago I have had a very difficult time. From the original biopsy through Croyosurgery, EBRT, side effects, pain and a general lack of quality of life I now believe that I would have been either better off or in about the same place if I had done nothing. Doctors in general are very quick to want you to do something even though doing nothing may be the correct approach. This prostate cancer is a strange and fascinating ailment.
Aloha Jim,
There are several men in your position that I know of and one man that is in considerable daily rectum pain and he only had EBRT. There is no clear way to prevent these situations, as myself, I did not start looking at the treatment vs web until I had serious problems. I now believe that I got the best treatment possible and I just landed on the wrong side of the curve. To land on the wrong side of the curve with treatment that was possibly not needed is unfortunate. How to notify men that they may not need treatment must be facilitated by the medical community. So, that those with prostate cancer will know just what their options and potential outcomes could be.
Joe
I was 71 years old when my family doctor found a hard mass on my prostate( with his finger of course). He sent me to his favorite urologist for another exam and then biopsy. The urologist wanted me to have the prostate removed as soon as possible. I studied the situation and decided that cryosurgery would be the least invasive and reported fast recovery. I had a massive heart attack 1 year earlier. A year later , after the cryosurgery,my PSA had jumped to 7.5 and I was having pain in my groin. Tests showed a tumor next to the prostate. The Pca had spread. My family doctor then said to go to a radiation oncologist. I endured over 70 treatments and later my PSA( after 3 months) was down to 2.5. As a result of the EBRT I now have ongoing bowel and bladder problems as well as muscle aches in my hips where the radiation was shot through. I also have continuing fatigue problems and 2 months ago I thought I was strong enough to climb on a ladder to fix my antenna. I fell and fractured a bone in my back. The pain that I had was just awful. The bottom line is that I have told each and every doctor that I consider my quality of life much more important than how long I live. They look at you and and they say they understand but then they turn right around and perform some therapy( expensive by the way) that saves your life but leaves you physically in misery. I have a friend who is 80 years old. he told me that when he was about 70 years old he told the doctor that he would not allow any more prostate examinations or PSA tests. He was a engineering professor so one can't say he was stupid or misinformed. I can't begin to describe the pains that I have endured the past two years. I wish I had done like my engineering friend and said enough is enough. My final statement is : There must be a better way my fellow survivors.
