Highest non-cancerous PSA reading

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Ray K - 20 Oct 2007 17:04 GMT

Anyone have an idea how high the reading can go without cancer, as
confirmed by biopsies, being the cause?

My "normal" PSA has been about 9.5 for the past couple of years. Twelve
biopsies in 2005 were benign, with a couple showing chronic inflammation.

My latest reading was 40.6. (Free PSA not measured.) Urine analysis
showed a high white blood count. After three weeks on 500mg of Levaquin,
the reading dropped to 15, indicating that the high reading was caused
by an infection. The uro extended the Levaquin for another four weeks,
at which time my PSA will be checked and hopefully be back around 9.5.
Even if it is, I'm guessing he'll want to do the biopsies again.

Reply to this Message

Peter - 20 Oct 2007 22:09 GMT

> Anyone have an idea how high the reading can go without cancer, as
> confirmed by biopsies, being the cause?
>
> My "normal" PSA has been about 9.5 for the past couple of years.
> Twelve biopsies in 2005 were benign, with a couple showing chronic
> inflammation.

Ray...why so many biopsies? Thats about one a month for 12 months - wow!

> My latest reading was 40.6. (Free PSA not measured.) Urine analysis
> showed a high white blood count. After three weeks on 500mg of
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> back around 9.5. Even if it is, I'm guessing he'll want to do the
> biopsies again.

Reply to this Message

Ray K - 21 Oct 2007 02:04 GMT

>> Anyone have an idea how high the reading can go without cancer, as
>> confirmed by biopsies, being the cause?
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Ray...why so many biopsies? Thats about one a month for 12 months - wow!

Sloppy wording on my part. Twelve samples were taken in one office
visit, in 2005. None taken since.

>> My latest reading was 40.6. (Free PSA not measured.) Urine analysis
>> showed a high white blood count. After three weeks on 500mg of
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>> back around 9.5. Even if it is, I'm guessing he'll want to do the
>> biopsies again.

Reply to this Message

Ed - 21 Oct 2007 05:01 GMT

>Anyone have an idea how high the reading can go without cancer, as
>confirmed by biopsies, being the cause?
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>at which time my PSA will be checked and hopefully be back around 9.5.
>Even if it is, I'm guessing he'll want to do the biopsies again.

My uro says that the important thing is PSA density. This is PSA
divided by the prostate volume (or weight). What seems to happen is
that PSA just goes up as the prostate grows. That's not suspicious.
But if the pattern changes (PSA density shoots up), that could mean
cancer or prostatitis.

My PSA was around 26 a couple of years ago before I took Proscar. They
stopped doing biopsies though because the PSA density was stable.

I wouldn't do a biopsy unless necessary, because they carry a risk
(mainly infection).

Ed

Reply to this Message

Michael - 23 Oct 2007 22:50 GMT

> >Anyone have an idea how high the reading can go without cancer, as
> >confirmed by biopsies, being the cause?
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Ed

Hi Ed and Others:

In other Threads I noted that my PSA was in the teens, spiked to over
20 leading to an eventual BENIGN retropubic prostatectomy. Annual
biopsies from the time my PSA> 8.

While biopsies were negative they did not rule out cancer totally (as
I learned) until after they removed most of my prostate in the surgery
and (having oodles of tissue to then biopsy) came in to say that the
removed tissue was biopsied and I did not have cancer. I had ASSUMED
the many previous bipsies (10-12 snips) had lowered the risk. I
consider myself fortunate (obviously).

I don't know anything about PSA density but I know above a certain
PSA score a Free PSA test is useless for diagnostic purposes.

Reply to this Message

Ed - 24 Oct 2007 01:04 GMT

>Hi Ed and Others:
>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> I don't know anything about PSA density but I know above a certain
>PSA score a Free PSA test is useless for diagnostic purposes.

Hi, Michael! Nice to hear from you. How are things? I thought you'd
passed away from that cough!

Ed

Reply to this Message

Peter - 24 Oct 2007 01:10 GMT

>>> Anyone have an idea how high the reading can go without cancer, as
>>> confirmed by biopsies, being the cause?
[quoted text clipped - 41 lines]
> I don't know anything about PSA density but I know above a certain
> PSA score a Free PSA test is useless for diagnostic purposes.

Michael...you forgot to tell us how you are doing/recovering from your
recent prostatectomy. Are you peeing okay now :-) . You had us all worried
there for a while (with all the previous mishaps etc.). Let us know how you
are doing...Pete

Reply to this Message

Michael - 28 Oct 2007 22:16 GMT

> >>> Anyone have an idea how high the reading can go without cancer, as
> >>> confirmed by biopsies, being the cause?
[quoted text clipped - 46 lines]
> there for a while (with all the previous mishaps etc.). Let us know how you
> are doing...Pete

Pete, Ed:

Though the cough still lingers it is getting less bothersome every
day. It will be 7 weeks since I contracted it inb the hospital. Chest
X-rays about 2 weeks ago showed my lungs/heart to be clear (again,
Thank G-d). So I caught either (I'm speculating) viral or bacterial
bronchitis while I was hospitalized.

Peeing (I REFUSE to type the words "racehorse" OR "19 year old") but
I'm peeing great. It was a very scary time during many of my first
voiding trials (including one on discharge day in the hospital) when I
could not pee at all (post surgery) when everyone assured me I should
be able to do so.

I'm about 95% pain free too in the area of the surgery (and
surrounding neighborhoods)!! Other than remnants of the cough still a
bit of incontinence (which probably would lessen if I did the Kegel
exercises more often). All in all feeling noticeably better than even
2 weeks ago (and Ed I'm sorry I made you think I had expired!!!).

Stay/be well..all of you on this Board. You were a great source of
information AND comfort to me at a very precarious time in my life. I
hope to be able to give back as/if needed.

Michael "Secretariat"

PS---A friend of a friend has been diagnosed (tragically) with
prostate cancer and has chosen the robotic-type surgery for his
January prostatectomy. Age 50-something in otherwise decent health.
Anything you folks can post here about the pros/cons of that type of
surgery for his prostate cancer will be related to him.

Reply to this Message

Rich256 - 28 Oct 2007 23:51 GMT

> > >>> Anyone have an idea how high the reading can go without cancer, as
> > >>> confirmed by biopsies, being the cause?
[quoted text clipped - 80 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

A neighbor had the daVinci robot surgery about six months ago. Very
successful.

I posted this URL before. A picture of my URO operating on someone.

Reply to this Message

Ed - 29 Oct 2007 16:52 GMT

>PS---A friend of a friend has been diagnosed (tragically) with
>prostate cancer and has chosen the robotic-type surgery for his
>January prostatectomy. Age 50-something in otherwise decent health.
>Anything you folks can post here about the pros/cons of that type of
>surgery for his prostate cancer will be related to him.

Michael,

Cross-posted to alt.med.prostate.cancer.

Ed

Reply to this Message

Michael - 31 Oct 2007 22:44 GMT

> >PS---A friend of a friend has been diagnosed (tragically) with
> >prostate cancer and has chosen the robotic-type surgery for his
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Ed

Ed, Rich:

Thank you. I'll monitor feedback on the other Board and pass it along
to my friend.

PS--(You know me I must always ask one last annoying question)

What are the parameters of cross-posting (i.e., when is it permitted,
when or to what extent is it not?...Not that I would know how to do it
anyway!!.). Stay well all....

Reply to this Message

Peter - 31 Oct 2007 23:59 GMT

>>> PS---A friend of a friend has been diagnosed (tragically) with
>>> prostate cancer and has chosen the robotic-type surgery for his
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> What are the parameters of cross-posting (i.e., when is it permitted,
> when or to what extent is it not?

Don't ask...ng etiquette fanatics go crazy on this kind of stuff (just as in
top/middle/bottom posting). Try googling it and see what you get :-) . I
have read unbelievable flaming go on about cross posting inappropriately,
and a lot of it is differences in opinions, but there are basic guidelines
you can find by googling it...Pete

...Not that I would know how to do it

> anyway!!.). Stay well all....

Reply to this Message

Ed - 01 Nov 2007 06:26 GMT

>> >PS---A friend of a friend has been diagnosed (tragically) with
>> >prostate cancer and has chosen the robotic-type surgery for his
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>when or to what extent is it not?...Not that I would know how to do it
>anyway!!.). Stay well all....

Cross-posting means posting one message to more than one NG. When you
cross-post, the message gets stored once but all the cross-posted NGs
can access it. That is an efficient way to handle a post. It is better
than posting a message separately to more than one NG.

Cross-posting gets a bad name from excessive cross-posting, for
instance to more than 5 NGs, or to NGs where the message is off-topic.
Hmm, I think we are off-topic.

Ed

Reply to this Message