Radiation

[van123]

I was diagnosed with prostrate cancer end of July 2015. In October, I had a radical prostatectomy at the VA hospital. In January, I had a follow-up PSA test with a level of 0.07. The doctors told me it should be 0.00 but no more than 0.02 so I still have cancer somewhere in the tissue. My Gleason index was 4+4 after the surgery. I will start the radiation treatments in mid-April. They said I had an aggressive cancer on my prostrate. I am wondering if my PSA is high enough to warrant radiation treatments?

[Hidden]

I found a you tube video by Eugene Kwon, M.D. , urologist, mayo clinic. He said once treatment is finished you should no take action based on PSA, he continued the only way to determine if cancer is present is imaging. Specifically, he said to use imaging called C-11 Choline PET scan. Check out his video on youtube.

youtube.com/watch?v=co4FIkD...(Not working as expected?)

[WillyJ]

I would get another opinion from a well known Urologist. Radiation can bring with it lots of issues,

[JoelT]

Van123,

A PSA of 0.07 is potentially concerning, but never rely on just one test to make any decisions. With a 0.07 you have time to really confirm that this is really your PSA score. If I were you at this time I would re-do the PSA test at least once and maybe two more times prior to accepting this number.

Scans are limited in their accuracy as our contrasts are not capable of seeing microscopic or even small tumors. Dr. Kwons scans are the best that are currently FDA approved, however there are other scans that are likely to be better, but in clinical trials.

More Information About C11 Choline Scans & Some of the Other Alternative Scans Used to ID Focal Advanced Prostate Cancer Recurrences

advancedprostatecancer.net/...

PET/CT Scans More Sensitive Than CT and Bone Scans For Detecting Metastatic Prostate Cancer

advancedprostatecancer.net/...

Joel

[van123 in reply to JoelT]

Thanks for the information Joel.

[JoelT]

Today's post on the Advanced Prostate Cancer Blog should be of interest to you based upon this conversation:

Comparing (18)F-FACBC (anti1-amino-3-(18)F-fluorocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid) and (11)C-choline PET/CT in Prostate Cancer Relapse

advancedprostatecancer.net/...

Joel