New PSA - 19 months after RP

[Paulo1968]

Tested today again and test showed 0.03.

Last time it was 0.02 (3,5 monts ago).

Hope these fluctuations are normal!

[Tall_Allen]

fluctuations are normal - only matters if there is a definite pattern.

[humptedumpte in reply to Tall_Allen]

How can there be daily fluctuations in PSA if the prostate has been removed?

[Tall_Allen in reply to humptedumpte]

You are talking about negligible amounts.

[LowT in reply to Tall_Allen]

Even so, where does it come from?

[Paulo1968 in reply to LowT]

I got aware that other parts of the body can produce some PSA as well and not only in the prostata. And this is not really clear how much! However Tall_Allen may say more about this.

[Tall_Allen in reply to LowT]

I'm saying it is negligible - an anomaly, possibly - not really different from zero. Ignore it until it reaches 0.03

[Dionysos]

As Tall Allen said, fluctuations are normal. As long they are limited. Hope they stay within the limits.

[Paulo1968 in reply to Dionysos]

Thanks. In April this year it was 0.03. So hope they keep this pattern. I will test again in February!

[wallygator]

My doctor considers anything less than 0.04 as "undetectable". I started IMRT when it hit 0.05. I like it better when it shows 0.00 even though I know there are limits to the accuracy of the test.

[Paulo1968 in reply to wallygator]

Hi, I read your story. Wasn’t it too early to start RT by having reached 0.05? Did you do any exam before radiation? My doctor says he doesn’t think of anything till PSA reaches 0.1.

Also in this forum I learned there has to be an increasing pattern for a while!

How are your levels of PSA now?

Thanks

[wallygator in reply to Paulo1968]

I was surprised that they wanted to start radiation at .05, but took their advice and did ADT and IMRT. It has been 18 months since I finished ADT and I am currently undetectable.

[spencoid2]

as others have said, it is the trend, not the numbers themselves. a positive trend suggests PC growth. also consider that there is variation in test results so a slight increase can mean nothing. use one of the online acceleration rate calculators to understand the trend but you need bigger changes than what can be accounted for by test variation. i am dealing with a change from 12.79 to 29.5 in three months. doubling rate of 2.5 months a lot more than can be accounted for by test variation.

[Bcgkelly]

You seem to be doing well Paulo and hopefully you will be for a long time to come.

[Paulo1968 in reply to Bcgkelly]

Thanks, hope path for definitely recovery for you too .