Hello Big Fella and welcome
You've come to the right place for advice (which I can't offer since I don't have the knowledge).
All I can say is we have men on here that have aggressive cancer and some men who are incurable, who will no doubt be along to give you support.
In the meantime, best wishes.
PS December till May for Recovery is not long in the wider scheme of things. A lot of healing is still going on. A raised PSA now could simply mean that you perhaps have a little infection.
Hang in there until somebody with real knowledge comes along to help
Sandra
***
We can't control the winds - but we can adjust our sails |
User
Welcome
Please click other people's pictures to reveal their profile and treatment path. You didn't say whether any lymph nodes were removed and whether they were cancerous as well as this makes a difference. Also did your surgeon confirm you had positive margins ( during pathology they can see if cancer has been left in the body ). It seems to me that if they offer immediate radiotherapy you could still be curable. My post op psa was 1.5 and quickly reached 2.4 but I had lymph involvement. I'm still working on treatment options. Good luck and give us more detail maybe
User
Hi big fella I was offered adjuvant RT even though my psa was undetectable, as pathology showed positive margins I would ask about early RT at your next appointment as your psa seems to be on the rise . all the best Andy
User
Big fella
Like Andy I had an undetectable PSA (0.03) and positive margins. I was not offered adjunctive RT, I have just completed salvage RT three years after surgery.
Thanks Chris
User
You want honesty? Here goes. It looks distinctly like the operation failed to get all the cancer out. You have three options, 1) do nothing, 2) have adjuvant RT or 3) wait till the PSA rises over time to 0.2 or move and then have salvage RT to the prostate bed. I chose (3) and gambled wrong. In hindsight, I wish I'd had the courage to have adjuvant RT after my operation. In my view, i would have stood a better chance of totally eliminating the cancer. Of course I could be wrong. It could have been laying dormant in some distant site that no amount of RT op aimed at the prostate bed would have done the trick. That's what happened to me when I waited over two years for the PSA to rise.
Your call now. Good luck brother.
User
Hi Bigfella
With a PSA of 0.38 at this time post op I am a bit surprised that further treatment hasn't been discussed. Over here a PSA of 0.2 would trigger a conversation about that. There could be cells in the prostate bed or they could be floating around anywhere. My understanding from my oncologist was that slow rising PSA post op suggests cells in the prostate bed so salvage RT aimed at the prostate bed could deal with them but a rapidly rising PSA indicates they are somewhere else and so HT is the better option. Or the scatter gun approach is have both.
Following the salvage RT my PSA was still not going the right way so now on HT.
Feel absolutely fine.
All the best.
User
Hi bigfella
Following my RP my PSA was undetectable. I had
RT 8 months later because of the positive margins!
I have continued to have an undetectable PSA for 4 years now!
It just goes to show how different this disease reacts with each of us.
I trust my urologist and oncologist 100% so I'm very lucky!
Once a blue always a blue |
User
Hello
I was Gleason 9 as well. Had the op, the 6 week PSA was 0.08, and I immediately started 33 treatments of RT aimed at the prostate bed (had positive margins) and the lymph node areas (1 of 10 found to be infected). Also on HT - Bicalutamide 150mg. It's hard work, but only two weeks of RT to go. My feeling is this was the best option, especially the zapping of lymph node areas. Frankly, with a Gleason 9, throw everything at it. Good luck!
cheers
G
User
Hi Bigfella,
I was Gleeson 7, had the RP in 2015 & RT in 2017, my PSA started rising 3 months after the RP to the level 1.8 the Consultant then recommended Radiotherapy to destroy any cancer cells left in the "prostate bed" area.
I will have blood test every 3 months to see if PSA still continues to rise.
Best Wishes
James
User
Originally Posted by: Online Community MemberHi im a 60 year old male (obviously) I have just had a RP in December 2016 I had a Gleeson score 9 PRE Psa 39 T3a aggressive tumour with a grade 5 not great huh after my opp in dec I had a psa test feb 2017 0.18 then 3 months later 0.38 not going the right way huh :) please I would love some honest opinion's
Honest opinion? I am a bit shocked that they didn't get you straight on to an oncologist to discuss adjuvant radiotherapy in February rather than delay 3 months to repeat the PSA test!!!!
Have they referred you to an oncologist now?
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
|