 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / April 2007Need Info
Howdy. You folks may recall that I posted about 4 months ago. I was concerned about my suddenly rising PSA numbers. I am 60 years old. Here is the data: 11/6 3.1 7/6 2.67 2-05 2.2 3-04 2.15 2-03 2.0 11-01 2.1 10-00 2 10-99 1.7 10-98 1.6 10-97 1.5 10-96 1.3 6-95 1.2 At that time, 3 different doctors (all of whose opinions I respect) told me not to be concerned as I do have BPH and it could well be that. Well, what I did do is move up my annual physical and also my doctor did order a Free and Total PSA test. I gave the blood last week and my physical is Thursday so I will get the results then. My question: Does this blood test give me the usual PSA that I can compare with the other figures? Also, am I correct that it gives me some other information? If so, what numbers are good/bad/grey areas/etc. I did a bit of googling but some of the articles are very technical/confusing. Hopefully the news will not be bad but I've been concerned. Mel On April 24, Mel wrote: > Howdy. You folks may recall that I posted about 4 months ago. I was > concerned about my suddenly rising PSA numbers. I am 60 years old. Here is > the data: (snip) > At that time, 3 different doctors (all of whose opinions I respect) told me > not to be concerned as I do have BPH and it could well be that. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > with the other figures? Also, am I correct that it gives me some other > information? If so, what numbers are good/bad/grey areas/etc. It depends upon which PSA test was ordered, and especially on whether it's at the same lab with the same test protocol as previously. Results from the variious test protocols are not interchangeable. In addition, one should be sure that the blood draw is not taken after certain activities that can stress the gland. These include: Ejaculation within 48 hours A DRE (digital rectal examination) Even riding a bicycle. Other conditions that can increase PSA are infections and prostatitis. The giveaway is that such would cause a sudden rise. BPH is indeed also one of the conditions that can increase PSA expression by the prostate gland. A simple way to calculate the "benign" PSA expressed by the gland is this: gland volume x 0.066 = benign PSA. Frex, say a gland is very large, 70 grams. Then 70 x 0.066 = 4.62 ng/mL of "benign" PSA. If the free PSA (fPSA) percent is <15% (some use a slightly different standard) then the patient is at risk of PCa. But it is not diagnostic of PCa. Only the biopsy can do that. And so on. I recommend taking one step at a time. See the authoritative website of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute (PCRI) at: http://prostate-cancer.org/index.html ...and go to the section "Undiagnosed" for further information. Regards, Steve J > Does this blood test give me the usual PSA Yes: total PSA. > am I correct that it gives me some other > information? If so, what numbers are good/bad/grey areas/etc. > I did a bit of googling but some of the articles are very > technical/confusing. Googling words like blood test norms will give you a long list of plain-language numbers and ranges for all the dozens of numbers you may see in your results. I.P. > Howdy. You folks may recall that I posted about 4 months ago. I was > concerned about my suddenly rising PSA numbers. I am 60 years old. Here is [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Hopefully the news will not be bad but I've been concerned. The ordinary PSA test gives total PSA of which Free PSA is a part. The ratio of Free PSA to Total PSA can be used as a diagnostic. For example, if your Free PSA were 1 and your Total PSA were 4 then your Free PSA would be 25% of the total. To interpret this 25% figure see the Australian PSA brochure mentioned later. Regarding your data, your PSA is doubling every 10 years (actually just a bit under 10 years). Based on just the last 3 readings it is doubling every 4 years; however, that may be due to random variation, not necessarily a speeding up of PSA progression -- need more readings to really know. The PCRI recommends further investigation if your PSA doubling time drops below 10 years. Links to a PCRI 2 pager on prevention and the PSA brochure from Australia are here: http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com/2007/04/free-downloadable-brochuresflyersp amphl.html If you want to find out more about PSA doubling times (PSADT) there is a four part series on PSA doubling times at the following link. Part 1 discusses PSADT and Parts 2, 3 and 4 discuss various tools and methods you can use to calculate your PSADT and graph the results: http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com/2007/03/psa-doubling-time-psadt-part-1.html --- The Palpable Prostate http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com My PSA dropped to 2.72; free PSA 31%. First drop ever. DRE was normal. My doc says that is looking more and more like BPH. >> Howdy. You folks may recall that I posted about 4 months ago. I was >> concerned about my suddenly rising PSA numbers. I am 60 years old. Here [quoted text clipped - 67 lines] > The Palpable Prostate > http://palpable-prostate.blogspot.com > My PSA dropped to 2.72; free PSA 31%. > > First drop ever. > DRE was normal. > My doc says that is looking more and more like BPH. Hello, Mel: I'm glad to hear that's it's looking more like BPH -- although one of my colleagues here has BPH, too, and it's no picnic for him. Do not get me wrong; I would much rather have had BPH than PCa. But I can do without the emergency catheterizations that he's had to endure. I hope your situation never gets anywhere near that stage. --charlie > My PSA dropped to 2.72; free PSA 31%. > > First drop ever. > DRE was normal. > My doc says that is looking more and more like BPH. I am very happy to revoke your temporary membership to the club. From now on, you will considered a guest. I'll be happy to accept my guest status. Next physical in one year. Mel >> My PSA dropped to 2.72; free PSA 31%. >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I am very happy to revoke your temporary membership to the club. From now > on, you will considered a guest. Do not trust your PSA score - get a Digital Rectal Exam and then a biopsy....my PSA never went above 3.15 and I was discovered to have an aggressive prostate cancer!! The biopsy came back with all 12 samples showing cancer and a gleason score of 9; I then had surgery (to remove cancerous prostate) and then chemo and now radiation. BTW, my cancer was discovered at my age 55 More details on http://prostate-cancer-log.blogspot.com Doctors have read it and said it was compelling and well done. Joe >Howdy. You folks may recall that I posted about 4 months ago. I was >concerned about my suddenly rising PSA numbers. I am 60 years old. Here is [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > >Mel I read your blog with interest. It is horrible what you've gone thru and are still going thru. Even before this last PSA/PSA-Free test, I was thinking of getting a biopsy. Howver, THREE doctors that I respect a lot (including a Univ. of Mich urologist) have said that they believed it was my BPH and that a biopsy was not called for at that time. They did agree to doing another PSA and a PSA Free test in April, which is what I've done. Obviously, given this latest result, their opinions would be to continue to monitor the situation and have another PSA in one year. I realize your experience was exceptional and we all deal with probabilities and try and make the best decisions. Mel > Do not trust your PSA score - get a Digital Rectal Exam and then a > biopsy....my PSA never went above 3.15 and I was discovered to [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] >> >>Mel |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.