Quizzes & Puzzles0 min ago
Psa 13.7
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Had a blood test yesterday for PSA. Just before lockdown I had a very painful night when I couldn't empty my bladder. I got an emergency appointment but did manage to go the loo before I got there. I kept the appointment, digital exam showed large prostate, PSA result 18.
A week later it was down to 12 and I've been taking medication and getting regular PSA tests which had been with normal range.
In February it was 8.26 but yesterday's result is 13.7 I feel well, I'm urinating as normally as somebody with an enlarged prostate can (stop, start, and back to the loo within a minute of leaving it) no change. Should I be concerned now?
A week later it was down to 12 and I've been taking medication and getting regular PSA tests which had been with normal range.
In February it was 8.26 but yesterday's result is 13.7 I feel well, I'm urinating as normally as somebody with an enlarged prostate can (stop, start, and back to the loo within a minute of leaving it) no change. Should I be concerned now?
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I wouldn't be panicking too much with a PSA figure of 13.7.
Having started at 135, mine was brought down to 0.4 through intensive chemo and radiotherapy but then (probably as expected) started to climb a bit over time. When it got up to 8.4, my medication was switched, in the hope that it would then go back down again.
However the most recent figure (a couple of months ago) was 27. So I've been on 'double dose' medication (with both injections and tablets) for the past two months. I've got a CT scan on Thursday, and then a blood test next week, before a telephone consultation with the consultant in a fortnight's time. Apart from some tiredness and fairly minor lymphoedema though, I've got no real symptoms from my prostate cancer. (Even my peeing is fairly normal).
So, Barry, if I'm still here 3½ years after being diagnosed with late-stage (4a), highly-aggressive (9, on a scale that goes up to 10) prostate cancer, I don't think that you need to be booking the crematorium for yourself just yet ;-)
PSA counts vary naturally across time anyway, with even something as simple as recent sexual activity (including masturbation) known to push it higher.
If you're still concerned anyway though, push for further testing.
Having started at 135, mine was brought down to 0.4 through intensive chemo and radiotherapy but then (probably as expected) started to climb a bit over time. When it got up to 8.4, my medication was switched, in the hope that it would then go back down again.
However the most recent figure (a couple of months ago) was 27. So I've been on 'double dose' medication (with both injections and tablets) for the past two months. I've got a CT scan on Thursday, and then a blood test next week, before a telephone consultation with the consultant in a fortnight's time. Apart from some tiredness and fairly minor lymphoedema though, I've got no real symptoms from my prostate cancer. (Even my peeing is fairly normal).
So, Barry, if I'm still here 3½ years after being diagnosed with late-stage (4a), highly-aggressive (9, on a scale that goes up to 10) prostate cancer, I don't think that you need to be booking the crematorium for yourself just yet ;-)
PSA counts vary naturally across time anyway, with even something as simple as recent sexual activity (including masturbation) known to push it higher.
If you're still concerned anyway though, push for further testing.
It boils down to personal choice - my choice would be to get an MRI.
My father-in-law has just finished radiotherapy for an intermediate-risk adenocarcinoma of the prostate. As it's on both his and my mother-in-law's side of the family the Doctors told FIL to tell both his sons to get tested and I'm therefore presently nagging OH to get his PSA done.
My father-in-law has just finished radiotherapy for an intermediate-risk adenocarcinoma of the prostate. As it's on both his and my mother-in-law's side of the family the Doctors told FIL to tell both his sons to get tested and I'm therefore presently nagging OH to get his PSA done.
^^^ There's some spread to my bones and lymph nodes, LCG, but I think that it was caught before it got too bad. I assume that the purpose of my CT scan on Thursday (which is the first scan since my diagnosis) is to find out how far it's progressed. I'm still feeling generally well though, which is what matters most to me.
