RE: What a Bummer for IP

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Denny D - 14 May 2005 17:12 GMT

>Pops wrote:

>I am also getting one more PSA test just before radiation starts.
>If itcomes down, I may opt to wait a while. My oncologist says
> that it's notlikely but he agrees with my plan.

Just a suggestion for Pops... You might want to hold off a bit longer
on the salvage radiation if your next PSA reading isn't higher than
your last value (0.24). There are a small percentage of men,
following radical prostatectomy, who have a small constant level of
detectable PSA (in the 0.1-0.3 range). I recall one fellow who posts
here who has a steady 0.2 ng/mL PSA reading post surgery. I myself
have a small constant value 20 months post RRP: it's probably 0.15 or
so because my test results fluctuate between 0.1 and 0.2 .

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Alan Meyer - 16 May 2005 21:12 GMT

>>Pops wrote:
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> have a small constant value 20 months post RRP: it's probably 0.15 or
> so because my test results fluctuate between 0.1 and 0.2 .

Denny,

Do your doctors have a theory about where that PSA is
coming from?

It is my understanding that PSA can only come from prostate
tissue. If that's true then I would think that either:

1. You've got some prostate tissue outside the prostate, i.e.,
a metastasis somewhere, or

2. Your surgeon didn't get all of the prostate tissue out. This
is apparently more common than some surgeons will admit.

Is there a third option? If not, which of the above two does
your doctor think applies?

This is not to say that you're facing a serious problem. As long
as the PSA stays low, then no matter what the cause, you don't
have advanced, life threatening disease. I would speculate (and
a doctor's speculation would be worth much more than mine here)
that as long as the PSA stays low, you may get more harm than
benefit from trying further treatment.

Alan

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