recurrent psa 0.2

User

Posted 04 Aug 2022 at 05:52

the pcuk nurse i talked to seemed to indicate there is no scientific consensus on reasons behind fluctuating psa, i cant find any research on line..i think chris may be correct in his conclusion

.on the one hand the lowering of psa ,as peter says ,is a positive as it may indicate delay of any required treatment,but doubt in the process never good (why measure so sensitively if measurements can vary due to outside factors) and as trend over 12 months still upward,and as lyn says psa still too high for a prostate less man,i have to place trust in oncology..be interesting if they have different emphasis to urologist.,though as my psa now below 0.2,im now below treatment threshold on tyneside.

..as for my breakfast im a granola grandad,well thats what my grandaughter calls me.thank you,gan canny,joe

User

Posted 09 Aug 2022 at 10:16

just had my phone consultation with my oncologist,was meant to be in person but ive got a cough

,he agreed with urologist that it would be prudent for me to wait until my psa reaches 0.4 then to have a scan then any treatment decisions can be better informed.

he said the recent dip in psa was interesting and he had seen case of mens psa stabilising around 0.2, but as the overall trend of my psa is slowly increasing with a doubling time of 12 months i should ,expect to be at 0.4 threshold in a years time.thank you all for your support,

User

Posted 12 Oct 2022 at 14:37

latest psa result was 0.188..an incremental increase over 2 months..im delighted at that,consultation with urologist tomorrow,where i'll ask about flucuating psa..wishing the best of health to all

joe

User

Posted 12 Oct 2022 at 23:01

0.21 in June, 0.183 in August, 0.188 in October. That's pretty amazing. How it toys with us. Mine went 0.06 to 0.09 then to 0.07. Not sure what it means although putting off treatment as long as possible is an attractive idea. If you're still happy about waiting to 0.4 then it must seem very good especially if you can push things out to spring and miss the winter rush.

User

Posted 20 Dec 2022 at 10:03

just had my latest psa test, its down again to 0.173,!!!

i divvnt knaa whats ganning on, but i like it.

.glad i didnt start radiotherapy at 0.2..

.during my last consultation the oncologist did mention he;s seen some men whose psa rise towards 0,2 then stabilise.guess im one of those..cant infer to anybody else's results,or tothe future,,but maybe food for thought towards the debate

,wishing all a canny christmas,

User

Posted 20 Dec 2022 at 11:04

Great news! Has it gone down or stabilised at this time of year before??

Mine has been stable / gone down a bit over the autumn/ winter for the last 2 years and seems to go up in the spring..

User

Posted 20 Dec 2022 at 14:12

thank you for reply francij1,

thats interesting that your psa growth rate is seasonal;

for the 5 years up to this summer my psa was slowly accelerating from 0.03 post op to a high 0f 0.21 in june,,i was offered salvage radiotherapy but also the possibility to wait,until psa reached 0.4,since then my psa has fluctuated around 0.18...im hopeful now of it never reaching 0.4,,but as doris day sang que sera sera..have a lovely christmas.

User

Posted 20 Dec 2022 at 16:10

John's is consistently higher in August / Sept than the rest of the year - we assume the rise is caused by 6 weeks in France each summer cycling, drinking red wine and eating cheese. Numbers are very low though ... often <0.1 the rest of the year and then 0.1 or 0.11 in September

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

User

Posted 16 May 2023 at 12:04

my latest psa is 0.204,so just bouncing along,feel very fortunate

,more interestingly ive been diagnosed as being deficient in vitamin d,

"its cold up here in summer",ive read bits and pieces linking vitamin d deficiency to a greater risk of developing prostate cancer,but im wondering if it may account for apparent seasonality of fluctuating psa..anyhow off to catch some sun,the best of luck to you all

User

Posted 17 Jan 2025 at 08:39

Well 2.5 years later and my psa went from 0.363 in September 2024to 0.507 in January 2025.ive got 3 weeks to wait for telephone consultation with urologist, then guessing be referred for a scan then radiotherapy if I'm lucky and cancer hasn't spread away from prostate bed. Can't regret my previous decisions, but I do wonder if salvage radiotherapy at 0.2 psa may have been wiser. Wishing you all a blooming canny spring

User

Posted 17 Jan 2025 at 21:08

Good luck Wellyeknaa. There is no point regretting a previous decision made in good faith, but I think most would agree you should act now. I experienced the same frustrating period when values hovered around 0.18/0.17/0.19 before continuing their upward trajectory. I eventually had SRT.

The good news is that your doubling time is quite long, probably about a year if you tried to fit a line to your numbers. Your prospects for successful radiotherapy are good.

Que sera, sera is a good approach for avoiding undue anxiety from small things, but you should respond as necessary to the bigger ones.

User

Posted 18 Jan 2025 at 17:29

Thanks jb, I've a frustrating 3 week wait before a telephone consultation with urologist, but I imagine from then I be sent for a scan then probable salvage radiotherapy ASAP. 7 years between treatments is a canny result. Thank you for replying, and the information.

User

Posted 21 Jan 2025 at 02:16

Half of my career was as a chemical analyst, and my training included how to consider variability when interpreting test results. For all the discussions on PSA I have not seen any information on how variable the nature of the test is.

Although results might be reported to three decimal places this is an indication of how sensitive the test is but does not indicate how much fluctuation the nature of the test might introduce.

This variation is statistically determined by doing multiple tests on the same sample, then working out the statistical standard deviation of the results. Normally we report the results to the 3 standard deviation level, so a result would formally look like:
0.245 +/- 0.x at the 99.7 confidence level, where x is the variability caused by the test and which we do not know. If it was something like 0.05 then we would say we are 99.7% confident that the result would lie somewhere between 0.195 and 0.295 ug/l .

So when we compare two results without knowing how variable the test is you should be cautious about drawing too many conclusions especially for results close to the detection level. This concern can be ignored though for higher levels of PSA and for sets of results that are hugely different in value.

This situation becomes even more complex because (as far as I know) we do not have a good handle on how much natural variation of PSA level there is with an individual after radical prostatectomy caused by natural/environmental factors.

If you want more of an eye-opener, have a look at lab to lab variations reported in Australia by this article:

https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/psa-testing-dilemma-a-pathologist-s-perspective

Edited by member 21 Jan 2025 at 21:51 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 21 Jan 2025 at 08:16

Kiwi, thank you for your post, in a very uncontrolled manner I had a blood test that involved the drawn blood being put into two separate vials. My two vials went off to the same lab at the same time, one came back a 0.2 the other 0.21.

Out if interest is the psa evenly distributed in the blood. My oncologist once said something along the lines of the machines are reliable its your blood that isn't.

Might pay to edit your post and put a return /carriage return after the link.

Thanks Chris

Edited by member 21 Jan 2025 at 10:12 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 21 Jan 2025 at 12:20

It is difficult to know what margins of error to expect. Not only can there be errors in the test equipment, but also variation in how much PSA the prostate (or other organs) is producing that day. I have friends on AS whose PSA varies between about 7 and 17. I doubt that is a variation in the test equipment, but it is the variation in PSA from a prostate (with insignificant cancer).

My view is that if you have ever had a fall in PSA in consecutive tests, treat this as the margin of error, and if you get a rise of that amount do not worry. My PSA post treatment is nearly always 0.1 it has been as high as 0.2 but fallen back to 0.1 I view ±0.1 as the margin of error in my PSA results.

Dave

User

Posted 30 May 2025 at 17:08

im having my first of 20 sessions of radiotherapy on thursday,my psa is 0.63.are there any tips to coping with side effects and fatigue that i may encounter,wishing all a canny summer.

User

Posted 30 May 2025 at 20:03

W, I had salvage RT without any HT and I did not get too much in the way of tiredness, certainly didn't get any fatigue. Make sure you get the bladder filled to the correct level. Hope goes well for you.

Thanks Chris

User

Posted 30 May 2025 at 20:46

thanks chris,im not on HT either,ive got my nhs bottle already packed,ive got a 2 hour round trip so ive got plenty of time for pelvic floor exercises en route.cant say im not nervous with my higher than optimum psa.thanks again.

User

Posted 30 May 2025 at 21:52

Hi, I had SRT without HT and didn't notice any real fatigue. Although there was just the driving, hanging around the treatment centre and water intake to contend with.

With a long drive home it's handy scouting out likely toilet stops such as supermarkets, pubs etc. I think it's also worth taking spare pants and trousers in the car in the unlikely event of a mishap.

I developed more of an urge to pee as my treatment progressed, and I learned not to trust a fart.

Good luck,

Kev.

User

Posted 30 May 2025 at 22:05

W, quite a few guys have said as time goes on, don't trust a fart, I did suffer with mucus farts. The hot weather can affect how water gets into the bladder but I think the modern RT machines scan a lot better than when I had my treatment. Find the nearest toilet to your treatment room and find a back up toilet just in case. The staff said I could use a urine bottle in the treatment room if really needed. I took a waterproof cover for the car journey and a urine bottle and towel just in case, don't think I needed them. I did have 33 sessions, with 20 sessions the effects may be slower to happen. Also know where toilets are in the journey to and from the hospital.

I always checked that the appointment was on time before drinking the required amount of water. I drank water on the way to hospital, if the appointment was on time I emptied the bladder then drank the required amount of water.

Thanks Chris

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