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PSA levels rising post robotic and radiotherapy

User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 14:25

Hi All . Am here to try and get info and reassurance..

My partner had robotic surgery 4 years ago and last year radiotherapy due to his PSA levels rising to 0.5.

He's due a pet scan on Friday and his PSA results this morning, ready for this, read 0.8  

Sometimes you can scare yourself, going on line, trying to get more information on the subject. I'm such a positive person normally, health wise, having had bowel cancer myself but it's so much harder to deal with when it's a loved one.

I would be so grateful if anyone thats been through or experiencing the same, could give me some positive info on this.

Thanks in anticipation 

Sue

User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 16:02

Hi Sue

I finished SRT in June 2016 which I had without any HT. PSA in Sept 2016 was 0.6 and by March 2017 was at 1.2 so started HT Prostap 3. All subsequent PSA tests have been undetectable.

Hope this may help.

Kind regards

Kevan 

Edited by member 15 Jan 2019 at 16:02  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 16:10
Hi, can you confirm the PSA results are 0.5 and 0.8 rather than 0.05 and 0.08? If he was left to get to 0.5 before having salvage RT, that's quite late. Also, did he have hormones with the RT and if so, is he still on them now?

A rise to 0.8 would indicate that the cancer is still active so the next step would be either to start hormones or to change the hormone he is currently on to something different. On the other hand, if it turned out to be 0.08 he may just stay at that level for years - my husband's PSA has been bouncing between 0.09 and 0.11 for a few years now depending on the time of year :-/

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

User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 20:15
I don't know why some oncos give salvage RT without any hormone treatment, all the data shows that RT works better with at least a few months of HT beforehand to weaken it. However, you are where you are and it seems that your OH has moved into the incurable camp but that does not mean that there isn't loads they can still do.

A PET scan at this PSA level might not show anything so don't build your hopes up that you are going to get answers, just in case it doesn't work out that way. On the other hand, if the scan shows one or two hot spots away from the prostate bed, you could ask the onco whether it is possible to have radiotherapy to the hot spots. If the cancer clusters are in the prostate bed, there will be no more RT and the conversation with the onco will be about the different kinds of hormones and whether or not early chemo might be worth trying; there is lots of recent research to suggest that chemo given at this stage can make the hormones more effective for a longer period of time.

When you see the onco for the scan results, I would be asking why hormones weren't given alongside the RT. If you are unsure about whether the onco is up to date with modern PCa treatment regimes, you can always ask for a second opinion from a different onco.

Where on earth do you live that doesn't have PET scanning?????

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

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User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 16:02

Hi Sue

I finished SRT in June 2016 which I had without any HT. PSA in Sept 2016 was 0.6 and by March 2017 was at 1.2 so started HT Prostap 3. All subsequent PSA tests have been undetectable.

Hope this may help.

Kind regards

Kevan 

Edited by member 15 Jan 2019 at 16:02  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 16:10
Hi, can you confirm the PSA results are 0.5 and 0.8 rather than 0.05 and 0.08? If he was left to get to 0.5 before having salvage RT, that's quite late. Also, did he have hormones with the RT and if so, is he still on them now?

A rise to 0.8 would indicate that the cancer is still active so the next step would be either to start hormones or to change the hormone he is currently on to something different. On the other hand, if it turned out to be 0.08 he may just stay at that level for years - my husband's PSA has been bouncing between 0.09 and 0.11 for a few years now depending on the time of year :-/

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

User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 19:01

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Hi Sue

I finished SRT in June 2016 which I had without any HT. PSA in Sept 2016 was 0.6 and by March 2017 was at 1.2 so started HT Prostap 3. All subsequent PSA tests have been undetectable.

Hope this may help.

Kind regards

Kevan 

Thanks so much for your reply Kevan, thats very reassuring to hear. 

l hope it remains that way for you..

Sue

User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 19:18

Hi Lyn.

Thanks for your response. 

Yes 0.2 and 0.5 were the figures but my mistake,( 0.5 was post RT..)

0.2 was post op for 2 years. Then it went up to 0.4, hence the RT..

They gave it another 3 months!! it was again 0.5, thats when the pet scan was mentioned.

Unfortunately, we were informed we'd have to go out of county for it!! and between the two involved, things got messed up!!! 

Now arranged for Friday and PSA currently at 0.8.

He had no hormone treatment with the RT  and is on no current medicstion for it.

Kind Regards

Sue

 

 

 

User
Posted 15 Jan 2019 at 20:15
I don't know why some oncos give salvage RT without any hormone treatment, all the data shows that RT works better with at least a few months of HT beforehand to weaken it. However, you are where you are and it seems that your OH has moved into the incurable camp but that does not mean that there isn't loads they can still do.

A PET scan at this PSA level might not show anything so don't build your hopes up that you are going to get answers, just in case it doesn't work out that way. On the other hand, if the scan shows one or two hot spots away from the prostate bed, you could ask the onco whether it is possible to have radiotherapy to the hot spots. If the cancer clusters are in the prostate bed, there will be no more RT and the conversation with the onco will be about the different kinds of hormones and whether or not early chemo might be worth trying; there is lots of recent research to suggest that chemo given at this stage can make the hormones more effective for a longer period of time.

When you see the onco for the scan results, I would be asking why hormones weren't given alongside the RT. If you are unsure about whether the onco is up to date with modern PCa treatment regimes, you can always ask for a second opinion from a different onco.

Where on earth do you live that doesn't have PET scanning?????

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

User
Posted 16 Jan 2019 at 09:19

Wow! I found this reply a little scary Lyn.. Are you saying you think he's at the incurable stage!!

Ref. Your PET scan comment...., we live in Cornwall and will travel to Plymouth for it....and they have only been doing them a few months or it would have been Dorset.

Sue

User
Posted 16 Jan 2019 at 09:52
Hi Sue,

Is the PET scan a Choline scan?

Cheers, John

User
Posted 16 Jan 2019 at 10:39

Hi John.

Yes, it's a NM F18 choline whole body PET CT scan apparently!

I'm not up on all the medical terminology I'm afraid. This is all quite new to me. (I was lucky enough not to have even had to take an aspirin after my bowel cancer surgery) Hence the reason for some personal experiences of different treatments from people.

Regards Sue

User
Posted 16 Jan 2019 at 20:03

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Wow! I found this reply a little scary Lyn.. Are you saying you think he's at the incurable stage!!

Sue

IMO thats something you need to discuss with the oncologist as they know your OH’s medical history, results etc

Take care

Bri 

 

 

 
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