Rising PSA after 7 Years

[Roadster54]

I'm new here (first post). Had radical prostectomy in October 2012. PSA at 22 when surgical procedures done. PSA's dropped initially, but started rising again shortly after surgery. Did radiation therapy for 39 treatments with great results. After radiation therapy, PSA dropped to 0.075 and have been at those levels for the last 7 years. At last Urologist appointment, PSA went up slightly to 0.08. Urologist not particularly concerned. . . Yet. While appointments have been 1 year apart, scheduled to return in 6 months for recheck of PSA levels. While a minuscule increase at this point, there is certainly still concern. Can't figure out why PSA would rise after 7 years of remaining at a steady level and thinking that PC behind me. Could rising PSA be the result of laboratory differences or should I actually be concerned about slight increase in PSA? Any reason why waiting another 5 months should be cause for concern?

[MJCA]

Hi,

Most labs go two decimal places, to go three is unusual. Your PSA only increased .005. Just keep a lookout. The important thing to be aware of is how fast your PSA doubles. Just keep that in mind.

[Tall_Allen]

After salvage RT, there is no point even looking at PSAs below 0.2

[VictoryPC in reply to Tall_Allen]

True great advice.

[Gemlin_]

It is not a rise, if you round 0.075 to two decimals it would be 0.08!

Next time ask for the 'standard PSA test' and your result will be <0.1.

The 3 decimal test just causes unnecessary anxiety and is only useful post surgery and definitely not after salvage RT.

[Magnus1964]

At those low levels I would not worry. Watch for trends, 3 rises in a row. Anything else could be due to inflammation.

[Roadster54]

That sounds encouraging. I'm certainly not panicking by any rate. While I'm old enough (65) to realize that I'm not immortal, I'm still young enough to believe that I'm invincible. We'll keep praying for those of us battling a bigger fight. Thank you for your input.

[j-o-h-n]

youtube.com/watch?v=0rEsVp5...(Not working as expected?)

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Friday 02/14/2020 2:56 PM EST

[Roadster54]

I've learned the numbers are very different than what my wife and I heard initially. They were at .75 and then rose to 1.07 over a year. 2 months later it is 1.1. Very slow progression, neither urologist is particularly alarmed at the moment. Going back in June to monitor further.