PSA Doubled In A Year

[tomas1]

I recently found myself in the same boat as Dave.
I decided to have the biopsies and like bldoink, didn't find the procedure all that painful.
They offered the option of a general anesthesia, but I didn't want that.
For some reason, I'm afraid I wouldn't wake up lol.

My biopsies showed Gleason 3+3 (6). Still pretty low on the scale, but I'm going to consult a radiologist.
They said one side effect to that could be ED. I told them not to worry about that.
This was with a different urologist in the same office.

I had an older cousin who went into D-day in the airborne in a glider.
He survived that, but not prostate cancer.

[bldoink]

I wasn't offered general anesthesia and in retrospect see no need for it and I'm kind of a big pussy when it comes to medical procedures. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like it at all, but it's not all that bad. I've had a number of dental and ENT procedures that made the biopsy pale dramatically in comparison. Granted, having some guy sticking stuff up my ass and taking samples is far down my list of entertainment activities.

[tomas1]

Yeah, and enemas aren't fun. That was the only one I've had.

[tomas1]

OK, I had a consult with a radiologist at a cancer center on Monday.
I was pleasantly surprised that she didn't push me for immediate action.
What kind of doctor does that?

Anyhow, the plan is to keep monitoring the PSA levels and get the digital exams every 6 months, and more biopsies in a year and a half.

I was hoping that would be the call, but needed to hear it.

[DaveKell]

I ain't skeered. I have one friend who is 2 years post RP surgery and followup radiation. He's cancer free. I had another friend who was in the ground 5 months after his diagnosis of PC. 50/50 odds are a comfortable margin to me. I've had an incredible life and would leave a phenomenal legacy if PC gets me down the line. I have 3 college educated kids married to the same and my grandkids are all in gifted and talented programs at their schools. One is a bonafide genius. I kind of regret my vasectomy given this. I often wonder how valuable my sperm would have been to couples wanting smart children!

[Artist]

My PSA number doubled from less than 1 to nearly 2 over two years. The digital exam found irregularities. Multiple night time urinations were also being experienced thus I was referred to a urologist who recommended that a needle biopsy be taken. I was assured that I was too young for Prostate cancer, being almost 51. The biopsy was NOT pleasant!!

The results proved that I was young enough to have prostate cancer, 3 of 8 samples were positive. Frustrating for me was that you are presented with treatment options and no real recommendations are presented. You are on your own regarding how to select the method of treatment. After much medical consult I had the organ removed via a radical prostectomy. I am 16 years cancer free thankfully. Sex isn’t the same but on occasion orgasims can be intense. As I age it is becoming harder to orgasim but I am alive and my wife and I are enjoying retirement.

Were I younger, better insurance and my wife was very high drive I would have gone the implant route.

[tomas1]

The radiologist my uro recommended did recommend external radiation when the time came to treat mine.
If necessary, the regimen is Mon-Fri each week for a total of 39 treatments. She said they tattoo targets where the beams would be aimed. A side effect could be ED. She said that won't be a problem for you.

She didn't recommend the radioactive seeds at all.

Granted her job is radiology but her hubby is my urologist. I guess they have all treatments covered in the family.

[Howling8]

My PSA shot up from 3.69 last year to 8.0. My urologist wants to do a rectal biopsy. What are the sexual side effects and is it the best test to get? I've read about the new urine and blood tests and the MRI guided test. Any recommendations or advice is appreciated.

Thanks

[bldoink]

From my experience the only sexual side effect was having brown cum for awhile due to blood from the prostate getting jabbed. You might want to work on clearing the pipes out so you don't freak out the wife or whoever. Might not be the right time for that facial you've been trying to talk her into for the past few years.

I thought the "MRI Guided" was just the new improved rectal biopsy. If that's the case I'd want that one over the standard biopsy.

[limpbiscuit]

Dave et al:

I feel for you, my new friend. This is a frightening thing to endure, and doesn't necessarily have a terrible outcome. I still have my prostate, orgasms, and ejaculations. My 3 biopsies were uncomfortable, but five years later I hardly remember them. Ultimately I had brachytherapy, and five years later I'm asymptomatic.

Some activities that can cause an elevated PSA include an ejaculation in the previous 2 days, activities that pressure the perineum such as bicycling, horseback riding, riding lawnmowers, BPH, prostate infection and the like. And having the PSA increase so markedly in one year is potentially troubling. Have you kept records of your PSA levels from years ago? sometimes that is helpful for doctors to put a PSA increase into context.

One of the basic questions of having prostate cancer is "is the cancer likely to kill me before I expire of natural causes." Up to the last few years medical professionals have been good at detecting all prostate cancers and treating them as if they had equal potential for lethality. They don't. Medicine is getting better at sorting out the cancers that need treatment from the ones that can be observed.

I'm posting a link to an article that I found helpful when I had been diagnosed with PCA.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4865494/. I recommend reading the article.

There is a good review of current protocols on The Prostate Health Podcast #32 which focuses on cancer screening. A newer episode of the podcast reviews a recently announced urine test that screens for prostate cancer. This test, if it detects cancer, will screen for dangerous types vs less dangerous ones. That rules out the need for treating cancers that had lower risk.

Best wishes to you. If you want to chat or email we can do so on this site.