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PSA increasing 2 years after prostatectomy

User
Posted 09 Dec 2021 at 13:59

Hi

i had a prostatectomy in August 2019. First 2 PSA tests after that were undetectable. After 18 months it was 0.04, followed by 0.08, then 0.12 and now 0.21. 
I am that 1 in 50 with long term incontinence after the op. I am now being offered radio therapy as the assumption is cells in the prostate bed. My oncologist reminded me again today that side effects will likely be, a worsening of the incontinence, with more frequency and urgency, and loose bowels with 1 in 20 having long term problems.

Has anyone experienced this, as I have come to live with the incontinence, but don’t like the odds for the bowel problem

User
Posted 09 Dec 2021 at 15:00
Sorry you have been left with a side effect more severe than most men who have had RP which long term is unusual. A substantial minority of men have a failed RP and RT is very often used as a salvage treatment, sometimes accompanied by Hormone Therapy. Some Oncologists like to treat this fairly early if the pattern of PSA tests leads them to believe some cancer cells remain in the Prostate Bed. Others leave it until PSA increases are such that they feel some cancer cells may have gone further away and may show up on certain scans. In some of these cases where scans show tumours, RT can be more precisely delivered. So much depends on what an Oncologist feels is most appropriate in an individual case. Hope you are not unlucky again with side effects if you do have RT. They can vary in type and intensity from one patient to another.
Barry
 
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