Husband was diagnosed at age 50 (2.5 years ago) with a large primary prostate tumor, and 2 suspected Mets in the pelvic bone and 20+ pelvic lymph nodes. Gleason 8. PSA was 24. He did 8 weeks of full pelvic radiation , 2 years of Lupron, and 1 year of zytiga.
We see the oncologists at OHSU in Portland, and they are fantastic.
I have done 2.5 years of my own prostate cancer research, I know the studies, I understand the basics, I ask tons of questions of our medical providers, and have been lurking here consistently and reading everyone’s postings. I know that everyone’s cancer is different.
What I really want insight on is others experience. The oncologist suggested a lupron and zytiga break starting last December when his 6 month shot wore off. His T has been at less than zero since month 3 of lupron, and PSA was undetectable. It was decided that when/if his PSA started going up enough we would get a PSMA scan and get a better idea where the cancer is.
His PSA over the last 6 months has gone from undetectable to .08 to .15. I know that because he still has a prostate his PSA is going to go up more than if he had a RP. But we just got the T results back and his T is still undetectable (<3). I figured if his PSA was going up due to healthy tissue it would mean his T would go up as well? Is that an indication that the PSA rise is not related to healthy prostate tissue creating PSA but to the cancer?
We are getting the PSMA scan on the 20th, so we will have a baseline (of maybe nothing since the PSA is so low) in not too long. Our original scans were a mess of bad information, so this is the first time we may get a better idea of what’s going on with the pelvic mets.
Thank you in advance. I read these forums because my husband doesn’t, and the information here about everyone’s experiences are things I refer back to a lot for him. All of your postings are greatly appreciated.