derle45

Doctor called Valentines Day, 2002 and told me that I had Prostate
cancer, PSA of 8.2. He said that 3 of the 4 cores on the right side
had 25% cancer cells and that the left side were benign but didn't
look quit right. Gleason score of 7 and a clinical staging score of
T1C. He recommended that I have surgery. He suggested this because of
my age (45)and life expectancy. Did the research, started on Casodex
and had RP on March 28. Doctor was delighted with results. Lymph
nodes negative. Path. report - gleason 6.

April 2002 PSA - 8.4, repeated - 8.9, Saw Radiation Oncologist,
Oncologist and they recommend, wait and see, after bone scan,
Prostascint scan, Chest xray came back inconclusive. July PSA - 8.6,
October - 7.8, November - 10.3, January 2003 - 12. Completed another
Prostascint scan and CT Scan, tests inconclusive.

All the doctors I talked to told me they have never seen this before.
Decided on another Ultrasound/Biopsy in March 2003. Tumor found with a
gleason of 6.

April 2003-second opinion at Huntsman Cancer Institute with 3
different doctors. Bone Scan, Abdomen MRI, inconclusive. PSA 13.9
They recommended difinitive radiation.

Had Zoledex 3 month injection May 2003 and completed 42 IMRT
treatments August 5. Waiting until October for PSA test. Crossing my
fingers!!!

Has any one heard of a PSA never dropping after RP?

leonard evens

Some doctors think hormone therapy before surgery is a mistake because
it may given the surgeon a mistaken idea of the extent of the tumor.

If they took the prostate out in 2002, where did they find a tumor in
2003? Clearly if something was left behind, that would explain why the PSA didn't drop.

I am not a physician and at a loss as what to say. The good news is
that you don't yet have any clinical evidence of spread affecting
critical body structures. It is even possible I suppose that if what is
left is only Gleason 6, it may take a very long time to develop further
or possibly it may never do so. Yours seem to be a very unusual case,
and you should seek the best medical advice you can find to pinpoint
just what happened and what you should do next.

You might also look into available clinical trials. There are some
exciting new approaches which may provide either a cure or a better way
to control advanced prostate cancer.

The best of luck, and try not to get too discouraged.

--
Leonard Evens len@math.northwestern.edu 847-491-5537
Dept. of Mathematics, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL 60208

roachable

Yes, mine. Mine was 12.4 at first measurement after RRP. Casodex and
radiation brought it down for a while. Now I have had HT and am entering
chemotherapy.

steve kramer

PSA can go up after RRP, especially if the RRP did not get all the cancer.
But I'm surprised the ProstaScint scan didn't gind it at 13.

--
Steve Kramer
PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000
PSA .1 .1 .1 .3 .4 .8
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .3 .2 .2 .2 .3
Erection 05/12/2003 @ 48
HT 07/21&09/04/2003 @ 48

jk

I guess it's possible that your normal baseline is/was that high before
your surgery? Hopefully they'll figure it all out, and you'll report back to
us with the good news.


--
JK Sinrod NY
Sinrod Stained Glass
http://www.sinrodstudios.com
Coney Island Memories
http://www.sinrodstudios.com/coneymemories

bldn10

"started on Casodex and had RP on March 28. Doctor was delighted with
results. Lymph nodes negative. Path. report - gleason 6."

I assume negative margins? My first reaction, as has already been
noted, was that the Casodex knocked the cancer back to a point where
it looked good and gave you negative margins but in fact it was
already out on the loose. When I asked about getting a shot of Lupron
prior to surgery my doc said he wanted to see the cancer "in all its
glory." Still, one would think that removing that big ole cancerous
gland would have had some effect. Your numbers suggest that the
prostate was not producing much, if any, PSA and that certainly
doesn't seem likely. As someone who may be about to go on the hunt for
post-RP PCa, I'm not too encouraged by your experience with all those
diagnostic scans. If nothing showed up w/ a PSA of 14, there doesn't
seem like much chance of finding anything w/ a PSA of .5. Frustrating
disease, this one. So, they found a tumor in the bed? As strange as
your case is, it would not surprise me if that tumor is it, and you
will be OK.

Bill Denton
RP 2/12/02
Memphis