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User
Posted 04 Dec 2015 at 13:08

Had result of psa test this week 7.5 ! ( Asked for this as I was having a blood test to check Haemoglbin)

2.5 @ diagnosis this time last year

1.7 psa in Sept

VERY disappointed and concerned.

Seeing Onco next Tuesday

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

( Did I say today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday !!)

Edited by member 04 Dec 2015 at 16:15  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 04 Dec 2015 at 15:16

Good luck for Tuesday Old1.

I hope you can be given a reassuring answer for the lack of a big drop in the PSA.

I take it that before the test you hadn't just been cycling or cannoodling, which as you are probably aware can cause a spike in the PSA and might explain why the drop wasn't larger.

We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails
User
Posted 04 Dec 2015 at 16:03

Thanks, unfortunately ! I wasn't cycling etc.

User
Posted 04 Dec 2015 at 16:16

Hi Old1,

I have no knowledge of your particular treatment path, so can't advise you,  but I would suspect your onco will request another PSA test just to check that your latest reading was not corrupted in any way?

Hope all goes well for you next Tuesday

Best wishes 
Luther

User
Posted 05 Dec 2015 at 10:36

Thanks Luther, yes I thought the same re. PSA test.

User
Posted 05 Dec 2015 at 10:37

Anyone else who could give some much appreciated advice ??

User
Posted 05 Dec 2015 at 14:47
Old 1

First things first don't get too worried right now, your surgery was followed up in may with RT. The RT carries on working for quite some time after treatment finishes.

You still have a plethora of possible treatment options. A PSA of 7+ can be reduced or stabilised with The HT you are on now.

With no evidence of spread to lymph nodes or bones or soft tissue you may find that after 2 -3 years of HT your PSA is stable enough to go onto intermittent HT.

If your PSA continues to rise and gets to a level (often at 20+) your consultant may want to do further scans/tests to see if further more agressive treatment might be needed.

Sadly there is no general timescale for any of this but if you feel well then that is the best indication of all.

Make sure you ask loads of questions and make notes of options or longer term treatments when you see your medical team.

Best wishes

Xx

Mo

User
Posted 05 Dec 2015 at 15:58

Thanks Mo you are a good one.

I appreciate what you say and fully understand it, its just that following guys on here, similar to myself, I have been expecting a continual and steady drop in PSA

I do feel really well, thank god, its such a help to have the support you and others have and are giving.

Will keep you updated.

User
Posted 09 Dec 2015 at 09:58

Saw my Onco. yesterday.

He was not unduly concerned, at least made out he wasn't ! Said I need to take Bicalutamide 50mg tablets/daily to assist. the HT.

I am disappointed the HT is not working on its own, and am hoping that in combination it will do the trick.

He does not want to see me for 3 months, when they will review the situation; it seems such a long gap, during which time so much can happen, as has been the case with me.

He did say if in the meantime I had any concerns to phone him & he would see me straight away.

Has anyone else had Bicalutamide added to HT ? 

 

User
Posted 09 Dec 2015 at 13:26

Bicalutamide is the tablet you probably took at the beginning of your hormone treatment, which you couldn't remember the name of. The hormone you have been on for a while works by stopping testosterone production in your body and thus starving the cancer; the bicalutamide works by disguising whatever testosterone is still floating around so that the cancer can't find it.

If you compare yourself to others on here you will drive yourself crazy - your green light laser treatment is rare enough for there to be hardly any information about how quickly the PSA drops ... you presumably still have some healthy prostate inside you which will be producing some PSA whereas most men who have surgery go to a very low number immediately because the whole gland has been removed. For that reason, if you feel you must compare with others, you would be better looking at those who have had brachy + HT or external beam RT + HT.

Hope that helps a bit?

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 09 Dec 2015 at 17:21

Thanks Lyne....as ever, much help.
Yes Bicalutamide was the tablet I took initially.

 
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