Hi Bri,
There is something I have never really understood, but I am sure there are some on this website who know the answers, hence my post.
In your case, you had RP, so logically any residual PSA can only be attributed to 3 possibilities, perhaps some health prostate cells were left in the margin when the scalpel cut out your prostate, or ditto some PCa cells were left in the margin, or prior to RP there had been some minimal spread of PCa and this is growing elsewhere in your body.
In my case I had RT, so residual PSA can be attributed to 3 similar possibilities, healthy prostate cells in what is left of the radiated prostate are growing back to life, or PCa cells within the radiated prostate are growing, or likewise some PCa cells had spread prior to RT.
Now in an untreated man, a PSA of 3, 4 or even 5 would be seen as perfectly normal and healthy.
So how come we worry about such low numbers, your PSA of 0.01 or even 0.02 is very low, lets assume that the surgeon managed to remove 99% of your prostate tissue, the residual 1% left behind might be assumed to generate PSA of 0.05 even were it perfectly healthy?
As a youth I cut my hand quite badly with a saw, what was once a vivid scar is now hardly noticeable, over time, measured in years, my body has gradually replaced the scar tissue with, for want of a better word, 'hand tissue'. Isn't something similar happening to our prostates, or what is left of them?
Personally I would be reluctant to go back on HT or any other form of treatment until my PSA was rising quite steadily way past the range considered healthy.
But as I said, I have never really understood why the doctors are so concerned about such low PSA numbers, I guess someone can tell me?
:)
Dave
Edited by member 11 Nov 2016 at 20:13
| Reason: Not specified