chas036
Regular
Joined: 27 Oct 2007
Posts: 34
Location: Binghamton, NY
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 Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:06 am Post subject: Re: Rise in PSA after treatment |
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I had my surgery a year ago , and so far my psa has stayed at 0, and I hope it remains like that, but when here about people like you where after a few years the pas comes back again, I get scared.
I am curious about what your pathology report stated after your surgery. What was your final Gleason score, and did you have positive or negative margins on the pathology report?
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Biospy 4/2007 - 2/12 <%5 Cancer Gleason 6
RP 9/25/2007 Uni Rochester, NY
Gleason 6, Negative Margins |
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Replicant
Moderator
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Posts: 220
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| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:48 pm Post subject: Hi |
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The cancer is likely no longer local, since you had a primary treatment (surgery) followed by adjuvant or salvage radiation that should have mopped up any remaining cancer in the deep pelvis.
Of course there are no sure bets with prostate cancer, and I'm not a doctor, so take that for what it's worth.
It sounds like you're on a standard androgen deprivation treatment (ADT) protocol, which is the most reasonable course of action, since you're done with curative attempts. ADT works for the majority of men right away, knocking PSA way down. Tumors, if there are any, shrink and/or seemingly disappear when ADT is working. However, at some point, ADT no longer is effective. Men become "hormone refractory". USUALLY, this is around 2 years after the start of ADT, but it can vary widely. Some men may only see results for a matter of a few months, while others can stay on ADT for a decade or more. Depending on the man's life expectancy, this can be as good as a cure, although it is not a cure according to the usual definition.
After a man becomes hormone refractory, there is chemotherapy. The standard right now is taxotere + prednisone. Chemo can extend life, but usually only a matter of months.
However, there are new chemo drugs in development, and there are efforts to develop vaccines (Provenge, GVAX, for example) that use the body's own immune system to attack the cancer.
There is a fairly large group of men who are going through the same thing you are on the Usenet group "Prostate Cancer Support" which you can access via Google: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.cancer.prostate?lnk=
That's an UNMODERATED group, and things get a little wild and wooly on there, but the collected knowledge/wisdom of the members there makes it a good place for the man with advanced prostate cancer to go for information and support.
Best wishes.
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Replicant
Dx Feb 2006, PSA 9 @age 43
RRP Apr 2006 - Gleason 3+4, T3a, N0M0, pos margins
PSA 5/06 <0.1, 8/06 0.2, 12/06 0.6, 1/07 0.7.
Salvage radiation (IMRT) total dose 70.2 Gy, Jan-Mar 2007@ age 44
PSA 6/07 0.1, 9/07 <0.1, 12/07 <0.1, 4/08 <0.1
http://pcabefore50.blogspot.com |
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