MY personel experience with rising PSA and Biopsy's

chrisz · Regular Joined: 09 Apr 2007 Posts: 27

My History :

June 2002 : PSA 2.6

July 2003 : PSA 2.9

Sept 2004 : PSA 4.2

Oct 2004 : 12 Core Biopsy. Results Negative for PC

April 2005 : PSA 3.0

Feb 2006 : PSA 3.5

Nov 2006 : PSA 7.8

Feb 2007 : PSA 8.4 New doctor, examines seminal fluid and finds many
white blood cells. Prescribed SulfaTrim 200mg, 2X day, 21
days. Free PSA at this time was 16% (NOT GOOD).

March 2007 : PSA dropped to 5.2, but Free PSA was worse : 12%

May 2007 : PSA 6.0 Doctor wants me to go to the hospital and let him
do a "saturation biopsy". Free PSA was worse again : 10%
The doctor told me that he thinks I have a malignancy !

June 2007 : "Saturation Biopsy done, 28 cores. Results : NEGATIVE !

Nov 2007 : PSA taken. Results : 2.5 = NORMAL for 56 year old man.

The Pdoc and the Udoc both think I had an infection or inflammation
and it has now subsided. But why so long ? "It sometimes take your
body that length of to take care of the inflammation" they both agreed.

Only one third of high PSA results in a PC findings. That means that it is
NOT an indication of Cancer 66% of the time.

All I got out of this whole deal was extreme anxiety and the physical
problems it causes. Doctors make a lot of money doing these exams,
test, and Biopsy's. They are very eager to do whatever it takes to make
money. This PSA thing has been a big money-maker for them. To bad
it's not more accurate.

My biggest mistake was not asking the Urologist to do another seminal
fluid sample after the course of SufaTrim (a antibiotic). But then again
I wonder why he did not suggest it. I have read that it is sometimes
hard to clear an infection from the Prostate. It's taught in basic medical
school classes. SOOOOOOOOOOOO.......it must have been the money.

Please be very active in your dealings with this disease. Do your home
work. Be prepared to as the doctor many questions. Note that in Feb
of 2007 I went to another doctor. The original doctor said nothing about
checking the seminal fluid. All he wanted to do is,, 'Cha-Ching' another
Biopsy. So Positive or Negative, I would seek out a second opinion if
I had ANY reservations about the treatment I was currently receiving.

I don't trust them. I have had many bad experiences with them while
taking care of my mom and my sister when they were dieing from
cancer. Tests that were not needed. And one doctor wanted to clean
out her Carotid Arteries, the other doctors said she would probably
not make it and DON'T DO IT. I guess I did make that surgeons Yatch
payment that month like he had planned. LOL

My next visit is in the fall. I hope I don't get on this PSA merry-go-round
again.

Chris

kzimm · Regular Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 14

chrisz:

Good documentation there.

I would like to relate a similarly long "hunt" for the culprit from my own experience.

When I turned 50 I had the DRE and PSA test, which came in around 9 (total). We did another PSA that showed a free/total ratio of about 11%. Since that was a troublesome number coupled with a "normal" DRE, we did an 8-core biopsy and found "atypia" in two cores. I returned for another 20-core biopsy that found nothing suspect.

We followed a year later and the DRE was normal, but PSA was still about the same as the year earlier. We scheduled a saturation biopsy and again found no positive cores.

After those results, we suspected there might be an infection, so I went on Cipro to see if we could knock the reading down. My PSA went to (I believe) 6, ratio about 12%, so we decided to check in another year.

Last spring I had the checkup with DRE (normal) and PSA test; 4.6 / 12%, and my urologist suggested the PCA3 test which harvests prostate cells from a urine sample and looks for a genetic marker for prostate cancer. That result showed a very high reading - one not seen before by the urologist and exceptional for Bostwick Labs which developed the test. After a 10-core biopsy came up positive for PCa in two cores (Gleason 3+3) I had a radical prostatectomy. The Path. report showed 15% involvement with clean margins...the 6-month PSA was below detectable limits and I'm awaiting my latest results which we expect will again be near zero.

My point is that there are many conditions that can "look like" prostate cancer; P.Cancer. may be present but not detected in biopsies; and PSA can be very low even in the presence of a P. Cancer.

Since I have a family history of this disease (my paternal Grandfather died of it, my father had his removed 8 years ago) we were vigilant, and I made sure all my brothers/cousins had tests. All are cancer-free, but they'll be watching.

You may feel you're on a PSA merry-go-round, but that comes with the turf if you're going to catch it on time. Also, PSA is not the be-all / end-all in the detection process. Be patient, get second opinions and read all you can. An educated patient is his own best ally.
_________________
Kzimm

chrisz · Regular Joined: 09 Apr 2007 Posts: 27

Man, your Prostate took a beating before they took it out.

There doesn't seem like there is any reliable test for PC.

After my second Biopsy, I ask my Udoc " So that means I definitely
do not have Cancer ?" ...... His response was "No".

My prognosis for you is "completely cured". You were right on top of
it, you got it very early !

I have an uncle (not blood uncle) that did pretty good on a new drug
for advanced cancer. You can read about it here: http://hamptonroads.com/node/273201

I don't think you will ever need it though.

My Udoc says he and his col-lees have several patients with a PSA in
the double digits. For Years !!!! Still, NO CANCER.
So I guess that's another one we can add to the list unreliable tests
or symptoms for this disease.

I hope the surgery did not effect you negatively too much.
But now, is it over ? Another " I don't know "type answer.

I will Pray for you,

Chrisz

kzimm · Regular Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 14

chrisz: Yes, it took a beating. When removed, my urologist told me it was pretty well "stuck" to the bowel from the biopsies, which made things a bit more complicated, but it was (apparently) successful. Nerve sparing was (I'm told) successful, too...but it seems v e r y slow to recover. Signs are, however, there.

Thanks for the prayers. You'll be in mine, too.

BTW, I'm told the PCA3 test might soon supplant (but not replace) the PSA test, as it shows great promise in helping to avoid unnecessary biopsies. You might ask about it. Look it up at the Bostwick Lab website (google will find it) if you'd like to know more.
_________________
Kzimm

brainman

http://www.bostwicklaboratories.com/Home/Search.aspx?searchtext=PCA3 is the link. It is a .pdf file so you need Adobe Reader to view it.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

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