OK now I'm worried.

I just got back from my urologist yesterday with some not so
encouraging news. I am an otherwise healthy and fit 52 year old and
have had a series of PSA tests in the last two years. They seemed to
go up and down randomly untill the last two. the one I had three
months ago was at 7.02 and my latest results came back as 9.14 with a
free of 0.33 giving a ratio of 0.04. To ad to this, I have a smaller
than normal prostate, and he found nothing During the DRE (not unusual
in itself) and he had tried to get me in for a TRUS and biopsy, but I
had begged off settling for a "confirmation" blood test first. Well,
the test came back at 3.2 so he just shook his head and told me to
wait three weeks and go for another one to confirm the normal reading.
Thats when it jumped to 7.02 then 9.14 with the scary ratio. I'm not
scheduled till July 31st ( he can't be that concerned! ) and it takes
a week for him to get the results. We live in the boonies where a
urologist is scarce. If the numbers mean nothing to you it is because
we (Canadians) use the same system as the commonwealth. The American
scale seems easier to understand, but I do not know how to translate
the figures. I will keep you informed of what transpires if I don't
crash from stress first. I just wish my prostate was swollen so I
could rationalize my way out of this "oh it;s just BPH or Prostatitus
and few meds and right as rain!" I have all the classic symptoms of
Prostatitus and was really hoping that was it. I'll keep you posted.
Any positive comments or info is welcome. BTW, when one of my tests
was high, I quit all caffine and booze for two weeks and my numbers
dropped like a stone. When I told him this he said there could still
be cancer in there and diet has no bearing on it. Things that make you
go hmmmmm.

On June 20, johnstone wrote:

> I just got back from my urologist yesterday with some not so
> encouraging news. I am an otherwise healthy and fit 52 year old and
> have had a series of PSA tests in the last two years. They seemed to
> go up and down randomly untill the last two. the one I had three
> months ago was at 7.02 and my latest results came back as 9.14 with a
> free of 0.33 giving a ratio of 0.04.

This does sound somewhat like prostatitis or infection. Has an
antibiotic such as Cipro been tried? It could resolve at least some of
the excess PSA.

What are the test units? Nmol or ng/mL? The calculation factor is 28.82.
That is, nmol x 28.82 = ng.

The only definitive test is the biopsy. Demand anesthesia.

I recommend referral to the objective and authoritative website of the
Prostate Cancer Research Institute (PCRI) at
http://prostate-cancer.org/index.html and studying the section
"Undiagnosed."

Regards,

Steve J

"Empowerment: taking responsibility for and authority over one's own
outcomes based on education and knowledge of the consequences and
contingencies involved in one's own decisions. This focus provides the
uplifting energy that can sustain in the face of crisis."
--Donna Pogliano, co-author of _A Primer on Prostate Cancer_, subtitled
"The Empowered Patient's Guide."

johnstone.dw@gmail.com wrote:
> I just got back from my urologist yesterday with some not so
> encouraging news.. . . I will keep you informed of what transpires if I don't
> crash from stress first.

Repeat the PSA checks until they show a repeatable trend (no orgasms or
bike rides before the blood draws). If that trend is "high", get a
biopsy. Most men hardly notice it. If it's positive, THEN you worry.

But not much. You're young, your cancer, if any, is young, so it should
be curable.

Your numbers are the same as ours (U.S.), and the rate of climb is
probably more important than the level if the climb is real and not
caused by BPH or infection.

I.P.

Steve J. and I.P. are right on the money.

If the PSA remains up there...get the biopsy.

You may demand (or ask) for anesthesia and it will be no problem.

I had mine several years ago and as promised...after a few tiny needles
to numb the area (MUCH less painful than a dental shot)...the biopsy
wasn't a problem.

I could leave right away and drive home with no further discomfort.

The only comments were that there would be a little blood in the urine
for a few days...and blood in the semen...(which gets darker and darker
as time goes on) for a few weeks.

We all wish you the very best.

Ron B.

Chicago

<johnstone.dw@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1182361399.015079.122650@i13g2000prf.googlegr oups.com...

>I just got back from my urologist yesterday with some not so
> encouraging news.

You probably have something wrong with your prostate, but from my
experience, your symptoms and PSA are not acting like prostate cancer.



--
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 PSAD 0.19 years
EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47
PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 PSAD .056 years
Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 and every 4 months there after
PSA .07 .05 .06 .09 .08 .132 .145 PSAD 1.4 years
Casodex added daily 07/06
PSA <0.04, <0.05, <0.04 (06/12/2007)
Non Illegitimi Carborundum

I suggest you Google anesthesia's side effects if you're considering
general anesthesia for a prostate biopsy. Yes, some men feel pain with
prostate biopsy (bx), but that's not common. But you'll quickly see that
anesthesia has a small but still significant risk of days of
debilitation, important enough that the UK bans it for routine dental
work. With my colonoscopies, I have the anesthesiologist plumb me for
instant IV anesthesia in case they or I need it. I haven't needed it
yet, because the intestine cannot perceive cuts. If you're worried that
you may feel more pain than most men, you might try that.

I.P.

johnstone.dw@gmail.com wrote:

> ... the one I had three
> months ago was at 7.02 and my latest results came back as 9.14 with a
> free of 0.33 giving a ratio of 0.04.

I thought I had posted to you before, but it hasn't shown up.

I only have one thing to add to the good advice you've gotten from the
others. Please check the following:

Your total PSA in your latest test was 9.14 ng/ml.
Your free PSA in your latest test was 0.33 ng/ml, and not 0.33 %fPSA.

If the 0.33 unit is ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter), then you are correct
to do the division 0.33/9.14 to get the %fPSA (percentage of free PSA) of
about 0.04 = 4%.

But if the 0.33 is already %fPSA, and if that should be read as 33%, then
your conclusion would be very different (and perhaps more consistent with
your other symptoms and numbers?).

I only bring this up because I think it's common practice to report the
results of the free PSA test in the units %fPSA.

I hope this isn't insulting to you; it's just the math teacher in me...

--charlie

--
6/2006 PSA 5.2
DRE suspicious
7/2006 Biopsy
2 of 10 positive
Gleason 7(3+4)
11/2006 LRP
Clear margins
1/2007 PSA < 0.01
3/2007 PSA < 0.01
6/2007 PSA < 0.01
so far, so good