High PSA After Prostate Removal??

I've had my prostate out for 11 years, and I just recieved a PSA score
of 18. How is it that I can have an elevated PSA score, and yet have
no prostate??

On Feb 27, 3:44 pm, "Photavian" <plotpoi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I've had my prostate out for 11 years, and I just recieved a PSA score
> of 18. How is it that I can have an elevated PSA score, and yet have
> no prostate??

Is this your first PSA in 11 years? In how many years? Is this your
only PSA over 0.1? There are a couple of reasons, probably the most
likely is someone made a mistake. Have the PSA done again. If the
second one comes back around 18, then you may have a problem. While
it is rare, it is not impossible to get a cancer recurrence many years
later.
Dave Perry

On Feb 27, 7:24 pm, "dave perry" <jud...@aol.com> wrote:
> On Feb 27, 3:44 pm, "Photavian" <plotpoi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I've had my prostate out for 11 years, and I just recieved a PSA score
> > of 18. How is it that I can have an elevated PSA score, and yet have
> > no prostate??
>
> Is this your first PSA in 11 years? In how many years? Is this your
> only PSA over 0.1? There are a couple of reasons, probably the most
> likely is someone made a mistake. Have the PSA done again. If the
> second one comes back around 18, then you may have a problem. While
> it is rare, it is not impossible to get a cancer recurrence many years
> later.
> Dave Perry

I get a PSA done every 6 months, and I'm typically between 0 - 5.
This time I was 18, so I'm getting another. I just don't see how my
PSA is high without having a prostate.

"Photavian" <plotpoint1@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1172622758.815359.249720@k78g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> On Feb 27, 7:24 pm, "dave perry" <jud...@aol.com> wrote:
>> On Feb 27, 3:44 pm, "Photavian" <plotpoi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > I've had my prostate out for 11 years, and I just recieved a PSA score
>> > of 18. How is it that I can have an elevated PSA score, and yet have
>> > no prostate??
>>
>> Is this your first PSA in 11 years? In how many years? Is this your
>> only PSA over 0.1? There are a couple of reasons, probably the most
>> likely is someone made a mistake. Have the PSA done again. If the
>> second one comes back around 18, then you may have a problem. While
>> it is rare, it is not impossible to get a cancer recurrence many years
>> later.
>> Dave Perry
>
> I get a PSA done every 6 months, and I'm typically between 0 - 5.
> This time I was 18, so I'm getting another. I just don't see how my
> PSA is high without having a prostate.
>

Prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, and although not
feeding on the prostate anymore, it's still PSA, and thus shows up in the
test. My guess is that in your case it's almost impossible for it to go up
that quickly in 6 months.


--
JK Sinrod
www.SinrodStudios.com
www.MyConeyIslandMemories.com

> I get a PSA done every 6 months, and I'm typically between 0 - 5.
> This time I was 18, so I'm getting another. *I just don't see how my
> PSA is high without having a prostate.

I don't think it's reasonably possible to have post-prostatectomy PSAs
bouncing around between 0 - 5. Nor is it likely to go from 5 to 18 in
six months.

Are you sure you're reading the decimal points correctly? Is your
latest PSA 18 or .18? And were your previous PSAs between 0 and .05?

If there is a steady increase in PSA over a period of months or years,
there's a good chance you have a recurrence. As noted by others,
unfortunately prostate cancer can spread to other organs, but
biologically it's still prostate cancer,and that's why if you have a
recurrence your PSA begins to climb again.

Good idea to get another test. But be sure to get your previous PSA
results stated accurately and see what the long term trend is.

Good luck!

Fred

"Photavian" <plotpoint1@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1172622758.815359.249720@k78g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
> On Feb 27, 7:24 pm, "dave perry" <jud...@aol.com> wrote:
>> On Feb 27, 3:44 pm, "Photavian" <plotpoi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > I've had my prostate out for 11 years, and I just recieved a PSA score
>> > of 18. How is it that I can have an elevated PSA score, and yet have
>> > no prostate??
>>
>> Is this your first PSA in 11 years? In how many years? Is this your
>> only PSA over 0.1? There are a couple of reasons, probably the most
>> likely is someone made a mistake. Have the PSA done again. If the
>> second one comes back around 18, then you may have a problem. While
>> it is rare, it is not impossible to get a cancer recurrence many years
>> later.
>> Dave Perry
>
> I get a PSA done every 6 months, and I'm typically between 0 - 5.
> This time I was 18, so I'm getting another. I just don't see how my
> PSA is high without having a prostate.

You probably should have done something by the time it was over 2.0.

Did you experience a slow rise from 0 to 5, or did it fluctuate?


--
PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins
PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32
Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05, 5/05, 10/05,
2/06, 6/06
PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145
Casodex added daily 07/06
PSA <0.04, <0.05
Non Illegitimi Carborundum

"Photavian" <plotpoint1@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1172619867.562662.203590@a75g2000cwd.googlegr oups.com...
> I've had my prostate out for 11 years, and I just recieved a PSA score
> of 18. How is it that I can have an elevated PSA score, and yet have
> no prostate??

How? You obviously had some PCa cells left in your body. I have to admit,
while we know there are some who go more than 15 years and still suddenly
have detectable cancer, it is the first I have heard of 11 years later.

If you can remember, what was your PSA at diagnosis? What was your Stage
and your Gleason?

Have you been getting periodic PSA tests?

Did you get another blood pull, just in case of a mistake?


--
PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46
Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c
RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins
PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32
Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05, 5/05, 10/05,
2/06, 6/06
PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145
Casodex added daily 07/06
PSA <0.04, <0.05
Non Illegitimi Carborundum

On February 28, Steve Kramer replied to "Photavian" (what does that mean?):

(snip)

> Have you been getting periodic PSA tests?

Never act upon just one PSA test result!

> Did you get another blood pull, just in case of a mistake?

Steve K is exactly right: get another test. Preferably on the same
specimen if at all possible.

Mistakes are made, by the lab and by the medic's clerks and by the
patient. Is that 18 certain?? What was the time interval since the
previous test?

I don't think much of anecdotes, but here's one that might actually be
illustrative: About a year and a half ago, my monthly ultra-sensitive
PSA results of 0.01 ng/mL were disrupted by a report of 4.87 ng/mL -- an
increase in just 28 days. So my PSA appeared to have increased by a
factor of 487 from the previous test. My med onc was mumbling about
immediately reporting for chemotherapy. Instead, I ordered that a
confirming test be done. It came in at 0.01, as it should be. Someone
had screwed up. I tried to encourage the lab to determine who was the
poor slob with a 4.87 PSA who received a report of 0.01. Don't know how
it came out.

Take-home lesson: When a test result is substantially different from its
history, retest to confirm.

Then, if the tests confirm possible treatment failure, the picture
becomes: What to do? I recommend consulting

(1) A medical oncologist who will order tests that the urologist may
never have heard of, and
(2) The authoritative website of the Prostate Cancer Research Institute
(PCRI) at:
http://prostate-cancer.org/index.html
.....and searching on topics of interest.

Regards,

Steve J

"'MD' does not mean 'Medical Deity.'"
-- Stephen B. Strum, MD

On Feb 27, 3:44 pm, "Photavian" wrote and asked:

> I've had my prostate out for 11 years, and I just recieved a PSA score
> of 18. How is it that I can have an elevated PSA score, and yet have
> no prostate??

Did someone misplace a decimal point?

What were your previous scores?

Did you know that other organs produce PSA?

Have you already requested another test?

I know those are a lot of questions to your one, but we/I really
didn't have much to go on.