PSA after chemo # 4

[positive-thinking]

Hi

My husbands last chemo was # 3 and PSA was 0.14, he just got the results from Chemo # 4 and it was at 0.12. This is the slowest decline if you look in the profile Iisted all his PSA results. Should we be worried that this last one barely moved ? Or is this slower decline good news? Thanks for any info. This is all so nerve wracking .

[Tall_Allen]

It's a very good response to chemo.

[positive-thinking in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks so much for your reply it means a great deal to me, eases my mind to know a smaller decline is ok. Any decline I know is good , I'll take any of them . !

[jfoesq]

I read Tall_Allen's comment and am glad your husband is responding well to his chemo Would you mind presenting us some more details on his journey, including his age and what his PSA was at when he began chemo and also how long he has been on it? Thx and hoping his good response continues.

[positive-thinking in reply to jfoesq]

Hi, my husband is 59 and I did put all of this in the profile if you want to look. He had always low PSA until May of 2023 when it ticked over the 4 ( 4.13) he than had the highest PSA ever in October of 2023. ( this was just after they did a biopsy , so may have been partly why ) he was told a week later he had mets to bones. His PSA and other info is in his bio that I made for him. He started chemo on Jan4h of 2024. He is on nubeqa and zoladex injections every 3 months . The best to you

[jfoesq in reply to positive-thinking]

Thank you for your response. I was able to find your husband's profile after checking for it a 2nd time

[SeosamhM]

Based on this and the bio you've posted, your husband is responding very well to his suite of treatments. There isn't a definitive, magical low point (also called "nadir") for PSA during treatment - I've seen academic papers reference <0.2 mg/nL as somehow significant, and others <0.1. All I know is that 0.12 is low, and low is good.

I'm am very sorry that this is so hard, but believe me, you'll get used to it. Just remember that the theoretical "non-detect" level for PSA is really just that - theoretical. The reality is that, at some point, the PSA value is as low as its going to get for a specific fellow after initial treatment, and this can take months. Then we wait and watch, especially for the PSA trend.

You and your husband will be what I like to call "basic PCa experts" pretty soon (Tall_Allen is more the "advanced PCa expert" type.... :)...). Keep on asking those questions and advocating, Positive-thinking! You're doing great! - Joe M.

[positive-thinking in reply to SeosamhM]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and give me all this info, learning never stops with this disease. I think that's why my husband is less stressed than me as he doesn't want to look at anything and does not want to learn about any of this. Being so remote I felt I had no chose as I have caught several errors and had to advocate several times for him already. He is very easy going about everything in life , but this is certainly not the time to be that way . The very best to you . ! Lori

[SeosamhM in reply to positive-thinking]

“Learning never stops with this disease…”…. well put. And the very best to you and your husband! I understand his desire to be easy going - don’t ever let that totally slip away. There is life to live even as the storm threatens!