On March 14, Shorty inquired:

Different lab? Different test protocol? Different chemicals?

Generally, any test result <0.05 is considered undetectable.

Recently, my monthly ultrasensitive test went from >a year at <0.01 ng/ml
to 0.03. Even though I knew, intellectually, that it is meaningless (only
two hundredths of a nanogram, after all, and only one test), I still got
twitchy. It's
difficult to be objective and philosophical when *I'm* the patient :-)

Next test = <0.01. All's well, and that's probably Shorty's situation as well.

Relax.

Regards,

Steve J

--

Hank,

Unless you have misplaced a decimal point, a 0.010 is worthy of elation!

PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins
PSA  .1  .1  .1  .27  .37  .75
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA  .34 .22 .15 .21 .32
Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05, 5/05, 10/05,
2/06
PSA  .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132
Non Illegitimi Carborundum

From: hankmack@gmail.com (Shorty)
After having undetectable readings for over 2 years since the RP it has
come up as .01. Doctor has ordered a retest.   Is this common?
=========

hi hank - PCa recurrence happens on average after the 18th month after
the RP.

this is a critical point - if you want to call it that - as far as being
able to pinpoint a problem in post op RP operations.

i have an idea that they are just wanting to make double sure that the
reading is really what it says it is.....  

congrats on the number...... and may you have many, many more.

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional    
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc