Hi all
Thought I'd share my recent post RARP PSA blood test experience with you, as some may find it helpful and not make the same mistake I did.
I had RARP in November last year privately through my work health care plan. My first post-surgery PSA blood test was due in February and being nervous about it I opted to pay to have it done privately in London as that’s where I had my surgery. I was desperate to feel like I had some sort of control over the situation and wanted the results quickly. It went well, I had the test, the following day I got the result of <0.03.
My next test was due in May. I live in Brighton and wondered if I could get the test done privately locally to save the trip up to London again.. I had a PSA test in Hove with onedaytests.com and actually got the result back the same day. It came back as 0.05. Cue some panic and worry, emails to my surgeon and to onedaytests to find out if I should be worrying. My surgeon explained that results can vary between different labs, and that I should get it done again at the London lab I went to previously. I did so, had the test redone there and it came back as <0.03, which was a relief.
I asked onedaytests about their assay/methodology and what their lowest reporting levels were etc, and it took them some weeks to come back to me. Their answer was a little ambiguous, though I didn’t really expect them to say their testing wasn’t as good as others or as accurate. I’ve since looked into it, and it seems that ultra-low PSA testing is far from an exact science, and different labs can report different results. My surgeon said he was not concerned at all after the <0.03 again from the original lab, and suggested I now use the same lab all the time.
With hindsight that seems a very sensible and obvious thing to do, and I could have saved myself a week of stress and a worry. I guess I’m posting this to let anyone people know that you can get varying results with different labs, which perhaps a little naively, I wasn’t really aware that that could be the case.
Stick with one lab and hopefully continue to see <0.03 results for years to come. 😊
Cheers
Gus