PSA readings.

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User

Posted 08 Sep 2019 at 00:46

Hopefully I'm worrying about nothing. My Dr said not to be concerned. So, here goes. My PSA readings are:

29/3/17 - 5.3; 12/4/18 - 6.3; 5/7/18 - 7.4; 4/6/19 - 3.1 and 2/9/19 - 2.9. The 7.4 reading was followed by a biopsy showing G7 (3+4) then 60 Gy in 20 fractions in January, a nice drop from 7.4 to 3.1 this June. I've been told that the PSA could have risen in the 5 or so months until rt, as it was going up anyway.

My concern is the small drop of .2 for the last test, compared with a 4.3 drop for the one before. At least it went down, and I don't know what to expect anyway! Reading over this post, it seems quite confusing with the bombardment of numbers, but I'll post it anyway. John.

User

Posted 08 Sep 2019 at 06:52

Hi Dunniz, you don't say if you are on HT or not?

User

Posted 08 Sep 2019 at 08:02

No. They said they treat people with normal testosterone levels.

User

Posted 08 Sep 2019 at 09:28

You can’t really compare yourself with other people having RT. Almost everyone has some HT before RT and then continues with it for 6, 9, 18 or 36 months. Not only did you not have HT, I think you were advised to continue with your testosterone replacement. Consequently, their post-RT PSA results will be much lower than yours.

The drop will not always be incremental. The big drop last time may have been partly because a lot of cancer was zapped and died during the actual treatment, and partly because your TRT stopped and started. The radiation has damaged the DNA of the cancer cells which prevents them from multiplying so the RT will continue to work for about 18 months but the PSA drop slows down - the aim would be for your PSA to be below 2 by July 2020.

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

User

Posted 08 Sep 2019 at 09:42

Thank you. Very informative. I just assumed it would continue to drop quite rapidly. Yes I do have testosterone injections every three weeks and you are right, I was told to stop for a while but resumed just before rt. Testosterone level a few days ago was normal on 20.8.

User

Posted 17 Sep 2019 at 09:49

I've been told by the consultant to wait 6 months before the next PSA and have a DRE next June. The readings are normal he said, so get on with your life and stop worrying. At 73, something else will probably get me before PC. Over and out and thanks for the replies. John.

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