psa 28 - increased to 30 in 6 weeks?

sherebel · New User Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 3

My husband - age 53- had a routine PSA test 6 weeks ago - the first ever, as far as we know. It was 28. He went to a urologist - recal exam indicated no abnormalities of the prostate -so he was given a six week course of bactrum. Last Monday his new PSA test reading came back at 30. A 12 sample needle biopsy was done yesterday and now we wait for the results.

I've been reading a lot about PC and what I've noticed that nearly everyone who's posted to the forums I've been reading have had PC AND their PSA was much lower than my husbands. I can only conclude that a PSA of 28 - especially with the rapid rise in 6 weeks to 30, is not a good sign such as maybe advanced stage. My husband also has RA and has had many bone scans and x-rays over the past several years, nothing has been suspicious on those. However, being already used to bone pain might make it harder to know if cancer has spread to the bones. Can anyone share with me their exepirnce or thoughts on this.

Also

leo · Contributor Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1575

Hello

A PSA of 28 or 30 is certainly concerning for prostate cancer. But there are cases when there are false positives. Regardless, you will have the answer soon with the biopsy results. As far as metastases, I think first the diagnosis of cancer has to be established to then look for signs of distant disease.

Hang in there !

best regards,
Leo
_________________
Leonardo F - Webmaster Cancer Forums
Disclaimer: this information is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice.

LindaTN · Regular Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 42

First time I have posted on this forum so hope it works. Yes you are very concerned at this time. Two years ago my husband had a psa of 60 and it was cancer. We did much research to find a cancer center who had the latest radiation treatment. He had 42 treatments and two years later psa is .07. Just check out the best treatment for his cancer. Surgery is not always the best way to go radiation seems to be just as effective in many cases. With the high psa my husband had they did not even suggest surgery. I had bc cancer three years ago, we have found that doing your own research is not a bad idea. DR do not always tell you all of the side effects so look into it yourselves. Good luck and maybe you will have good news and something else has caused the high psa it is not always cancer by any means. Linda

sherebel · New User Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 3

Thank you for your responses. It's comforting to know that someone with a psa of 60 survived. I've read many post at this and other forums and all those with posting about their PC had PSA's from 5 to 14. So my thinking has been that 28 and 30 must mean an extremely advanced cancer. LindaTN - how advanced was your husband? Had it spread or was it just in the prostate?

sherebel · New User Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 3

Thank you for your responses. It's comforting to know that someone with a psa of 60 survived. I've read many post at this and other forums and all those with posting about their PC had PSA's from 5 to 14. So my thinking has been that 28 and 30 must mean an extremely advanced cancer. LindaTN - how advanced was your husband? Had it spread or was it just in the prostate?

sherebel · New User Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 3

Thank you for your responses. It's comforting to know that someone with a psa of 60 survived. I've read many post at this and other forums and all those with posting about their PC had PSA's from 5 to 14. So my thinking has been that 28 and 30 must mean an extremely advanced cancer. LindaTN - how advanced was your husband? Had it spread or was it just in the prostate?

sherebel · New User Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 3

Thank you for your responses. It's comforting to know that someone with a psa of 60 survived. I've read many post at this and other forums and all those with posting about their PC had PSA's from 5 to 14. So my thinking has been that 28 and 30 must mean an extremely advanced cancer. LindaTN - how advanced was your husband? Had it spread or was it just in the prostate?

LindaTN · Regular Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 42

My husbands cancer had not spread to bones or organs but was a little out of the prostate so had 26 pelvic radiation and 16 to the prostate only. We did much research and discovered diet plays a major part in prostate cancer. Unfortunately diet, vitamins and herbs never make the medical profession rich so not much study done on this approach. There is some at MD Anderson and John Hopkins. We are vegetarians, plus do herbs, vitamins and never eat any sugar which by the way is hard to do. Check labels in the store and you will find you might as well just go to the fresh fruits and vegs and forget the rest including all breads! He did take Lupron during radiation and for one month after. Drs wanted him on it until it didn't work anymore. He wanted his life somewhat normal so quit it plus there is much disagreement on if it ever extends anyones life taken sooner rather then later. He knows there may be a time he will have to take it again. He plans to do herbs first if that is necessary. Our GP says his prostate is gone when he checked him. He does not go to a cancer center anymore just the GP for psa checks. Will what we are doing work I have no idea but two years ago they told him they would give him maybe ten years and only if he took the lupron we chose our own route along with a excellent ND doctor. Just do your research before you sign your name for anything. My husband is 64 so somewhat older then yours. Linda

DavidCohen · Regular Joined: 05 Mar 2005 Posts: 37

I would go on hormone therapy immediately, and stop it when the PSA goes up.

He will live longer if he cycles the hormone therapy and hit the cancer while the PSA is still low. Don't wait for it to go out of control.

I have also heard that Prostasol does actually work, in spite of the shady past of the company. I know a few men that have been on it for many years, with less side effects than Lupron. They use it when nothing else works, and they appear to be successful.

I know some people say it does not work, but I have seen otherwise. Just my 2 cents.

LindaTN · Regular Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 42

Have you read Dr Patrick Walsh book, Guide to Surviving Prostate cancer? There is nothing to prove that lupron works any better sooner then later. In the mean time on lupron you are loosing bone, hot flashes, and of course impotence to say nothing of engery and depression that seem to go with it. Husband took PC Hope at one time and his psa went down. I often wonder how many people have died of chemo, we are so fast to call ND Drs and their treatments quacks but do they do anymore harm then the cut, burn and posion we go through with modern days treatments. Having had all three I'm not sure if I had the knowledge I have today if I would of done it. Linda

DavidCohen · Regular Joined: 05 Mar 2005 Posts: 37

Yes, I read the book 4 years ago. Here are some links to explain what I was discussing:
http://psa-rising.com/med/hormonal/AR-Mohler-Roswell_2004.htm
http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/content/full/9/3/295

By the way, PC-Hope is almost identical in formulation to Prostasol. Here is some additional info you should find helpful:

Early Use Hormone treatment

Study: Prostate cancer death rates down
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) ? Earlier detection and wide use of hormone treatment have driven death rates from prostate cancer dramatically lower over the last 10 years in North America and Western Europe, new research shows.
Previous studies have demonstrated hormone treatment delays the progression of prostate cancer and makes patients feel better, but until now there has been little solid evidence that the approach can save lives.
Death rates from prostate cancer have dropped by one-third in North America and by 20% in Europe since 1990 among men aged 65 to 74, according to Sir Richard Peto, who presented findings analyzing evidence from 40 years of prostate cancer research at Europe's biggest cancer conference Monday.
Prostate cancer kills more than 200,000 men annually worldwide. About 190,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the United States every year, and about 30,000 men died of the disease in 2002, according to American Cancer Society statistics.
Earlier detection and better surgery and radiotherapy have helped reduce death rates. But Peto, a professor of medical statistics at Oxford University who has conducted many of the key studies evaluating cancer treatments and risks, said the lifesaving benefit of hormone treatment has been vastly underrated.
He reported the accumulated evidence from several studies on hormone treatment involving a total of 5,000 men. Taken separately, the studies were inconclusive, but analysis of them all together showed that when doctors gave hormone treatment immediately instead of waiting until the disease progressed, the risk of dying from the disease within 10 years dropped by one-third.
"This definitely shows that hormone treatment works," said Dr. Michael Thun, chief of epidemiology at the American Cancer Society.
"There is still debate about how much of the decline in (national) death rates is due to treatment and how much is due to earlier detection through screening, but the evidence for the importance of treatment in these declines is getting stronger," said Thun, who was not involved in the research.
The findings follow similar success reported in breast cancer, where death rates in middle age have fallen by about one-third since 1990.
Breast cancer, in most cases, is driven by the female hormone estrogen, while prostate cancer is most often driven by the male sex hormone, testosterone.
Even after successful surgery, a few cancer cells may remain undetected nearby or in distant parts of the body. Radiation therapy can kill off cancer cells near the tumor site.
Undetectable cells that have traveled elsewhere in the body can be attacked by chemotherapy in breast cancer, but not in prostate cancer. Hormone therapy prevents the fragments from being stimulated into becoming more dangerous by the body's own sex hormones.
"Hormonal treatments have been available for ages, but they've involved really unpleasant things like being castrated. For that reason, doctors have been reluctant to use it and have mostly given it only in advanced prostate cancer," Peto said.
"And the hormonal drugs that used to be available were pretty horrible. But now the drugs are a lot nicer than they were and they are getting better all the time."
The more recent drugs, such as Casodex, seem to produce the desired effect, generally without impotence, he said.
"Back in the early '80s, there was a widespread belief that hormonal treatment just didn't work for breast cancer and prostate cancer," Peto said. "There was a general feeling that it may somewhat delay recurrence but that it was going to do little or nothing for survival. It's just not true."
"Hormonal treatments for these things have probably saved more lives than any single cancer drug," Peto said.
The chances of surviving prostate cancer vary widely across regions and depend on how early the tumor is detected.

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