This forum is for the discussion of anything to do with Prostate Cancer. There are only four rules:
No fundraisers, no commercials (although it is OK to recommend choices of treatment or medical people based on your personal research; invitations to participate in third-party surveys are also acceptable, provided there is no compensation to YANA);
No harvesting e-mail addresses for Spam;
No insults or flaming - be polite and respectful at all times and understand that there may be a variety of points of view, all of which may have some validity;
Opinions are OK, but please provide as much factual evidence as possible for any assertions that you are making
Failure to abide by these simple rules will result in the immediate and permanent suspension of your posting privileges.
Since this is an International Forum, please specify your location in your post.
I think the first thing you need to do is to check the latest PSA test.
1. Do you have a copy of the reports from the last test and the other tests? If so, do they show that the same test protocls were applied in all tests so far. I ask because labs sometimes change suppliers or protocols and that can cause a signficant number of problems because they results are not accurately calibrated.
2. Consider having another test now (pay for it yourself if you have to) to see if it matches the previous tests or replicates the new test.
Ultra-sensitive tests are not universally reliable. Like all PSA tests they can result in results that are within a fairly wide range. If you haven't read this page ULTRA-SENSITIVE TEST on the site before, it may help you.
If these checks show an increase in PSA then I think it would be good, for your own peace of mind as much as anything else to get a second test in a three month scale rather than a six month one.
BB,
You may not need psa tests on a monthly basis but there are other tests that you do need such as testestosorone and other blood markers to see if the HT is acheiving complete blockade, which is its purpose. PSA should go down to .05 and remain there for at least three months for HT to really work. I would read Dr Strums book "Primer on Prostate Cancer" or go to prostate pointers P2P archives and look at what tests Strum suggests to monitor that the HT is achieving what it is supposed to achieve.
Perhaps I can add my two penn'orth as someone who had a similar diagnosis - see my Yana record.
First thing I would say to Frightened British Boy is that I would attach greater credence to what a medical oncologist advised than a Urology generalist. Second point, you should have joint management of your case (as I have) by the two disciplines - that is UK best practice and I would kick up until you get it. Third, see the Advanced Prsotate Cancer website for a recent posting about the overwhelming evidence in favour of a combination of EBRT and ADT prolonging life expectancy in cases of locally advanced PCa like yours and mine. Even a Urologist must know this! Fourthly, know that mostly ADT has a time-limited efficacy and PSA will probably start to rise after a couple of years. But there can be false rises (or bounces) I had one as my record shows. You may well notice this too.
Finally, as my post shows, the Oncology advice to one whose most recent PSA reading was 1.2 was "don't worry, it will be years before you need to worry about your PCa". A change from 0.2 to 0.3 doesn't mean a thing. You have responded well to treatment with ADT as I did. Don't be frightened. The time for that in your case is a couple of year later than it will be for me and that's a long way off!
Usual caveats about a layman's opinion apply but if a chat with one who has been longer on your path than you would help, email me directly and give me your phone number and I'll give you a call.
Godday Chap and fellow bloke (probably you have joined the club of ex-stiffy meister's in fighting PCa- LOL). Hey minor psa flips at this juncture are not that worrisome, I got psa's even monthly for a while when I lived in the Twilight/Panic Zone early on in my high risk scenario, like yours. I did ADT3 drugs for 2 yrs. and then switched drugs. Well I am 8.5 years since original emergency room for total urinary blockage caused by PCa and lousy stats. So, my advice is look ahead at further drug protocols for possible options and choices as you will likely need to or want to switch at some juncture.
