Thomas asks…

Prostate Cancer — PSA Relapse — Help Defining?

I want to know the definition of “PSA relapse”. I”m reading through mulitple clinical studies on PSA doubling times (PSA-DT) and their relationship to overall survival, etc.

All reference and use this term, but none define it. Is it simply that point at which PSAs start to rise, after having reaching the nadir?

My husband has advanced, metastatic prostate cancer and is on hormone therapy. His PSAs have started to rise. As close as I can tell (from calculators on the web), his PSADT is ~65 days, and had a “nadir” of 0.2.

All of the articles talk about survivial at the point of “PSA relapse”. What is it and, more importantly, has he reached that?

Please only answer if you know what you’re talking about…

Thanks in advance.

rob answers:

A PSA relapse is when a man’s PSA begins to rise after a period of being stable not necessarily nadir. When a man undergoes hormone therapy his PSA is often not a true reading for up to a few months afterward and during this time it may rise to a point where it stables out. You should also know a relapse is not based on a single PSA alone. Hope this helps. Best wishes to you both.

Daniel asks…

Possible Prostate cancer at age 15? Please help!?

Hey, today It’s now 9:46 A.M. and earlier at 4 I woke up and needed a drink and to go to the bathroom. I did just that (drank a whole bottle of gatorade in like 6 seconds) went back to sleep and woke up at a normal time for me at 7 and peed again. Than I had to a little later. And a little more after a while. I have been drinking these little juice pouches (about half of two) but I feel like theres a little just.. there waiting to be let out. What could this be? No other things like pain or blood I just need to go and It’s only been this morning. I’m worried it could be prostate cancer or an infection but I’m only 15!!! I don’t need cancer at age 15!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I’m a worry wart! (Hypochondriac)

rob answers:

15 year olds do not get prostate cancer.
Hypochondriacs have fears that minor bodily symptoms may indicate a serious illness,

Steven asks…

Stage 4 prostate cancer? Treatment possibilities?

Hello, my grandfather had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and has been battling the cancer for the past few years, unfortunately, the radiation and chemo only worked for a limited while. At this point the cancer has metastasized, and his PSA is 4700 (stage 4 cancer).. I know it his survival chances are slim, nonetheless I am looking at alternate medicine, or treatments which could help him. I have heard about a possible Vitamin C treatment which involves IV injections of large amounts of Vitamin C which can possibly help. I am willing to try anything to help my grandfather, so please if you know of any treatments which have helped, do share! It means alot..

thank you!

rob answers:

Stage is not determined by the PSA and I don’t know why any doctor would treat him with chemo.
It is usually treated with hormone therapy and radiation to individual bone mets.

Paul asks…

Prostate cancer help?

ok so my dad is 65 and he has very aggressive prostate cancer. he has had it for 3 years and in those 3 years he first had sergry, then radiation in seattle, then a hormone treatment, then more radiation in seattle, and hes back on the hormone treatment. the doctor says the only other option is chemo which is supposed to start this month. no one in my family wants tht. chemo is long and exsausting. i am only 14 years old and its horrible wat i see. the current medicen makes him moody and we fight all the time. my mom says with chemo his mood could get worse. he could get more tiered. he could die. pls. i dont want to end it like this. if ther is anyother option then chemo PLEASE TELL ME!!! i really nees help. the doctor he has is not a good one so its not like we can count on him for support. my dad is a veteran so he goes with the V.A. pls any suggestions on medcen or treatment other thn chemo!! we really need this. also his PSA last i heard was in the 30s which i kno is not good. what are the chances of his survival?? any alterntive medicen?? hospitals recommened?? anything??

rob answers:

As a cancer survivor myself, I can tell you that #1, I think they have exhausted all their other options. And #2 I know for a fact that Chemo works. It the last 2 years I have watch a woman at my grandchildren’s school go through it and she is now cancer free, I have watched my granddaughter’s physical therapist go through chemo and radiation and she is cancer free, and I watched my daughter go through it and now she is also healthy and back at work and raising her 4 young children.

Now let me give you a little information. NO 2 chemo treatments are the same. They are called cocktails and they are mixed and made for each individual person. His oncologist will come up with the recipe that he feels will best fit your dad. Not everyone who gets chemo treatments lose all their hair. It all has to do with the combination of drugs that his oncologist decides to come up with. Some make you crabby while you are on them, some make you sleepy and yes, some could make you hurt and ache. But I would trade chemo that would have helped my dad to survive, for anything in the world.

So remind yourself whenever he gets angry with you that he is probably in a lot of pain, so don’t hold it against him.

I will keep you in my prayers.

Mark asks…

question about prostate cancer?

My grandpa has prostate cancer and the doctor told my grandma its in stage D3 and something like PSM or PSD 500? Does anyone know what this means? My aunt was there and swore she hear something about 3-6 months left??? Is he in his last stages? please any info about prostate and stages will help. I just want to understand exactly whats happening!
thank u michelle that was very helpful– hes already did a bone scan and all the other test that you mentioned- yesterday he had a surgery– removed his testicles from what i understood- it just scared us to hear 3-6 months and that D3 meant it was in this last stage!
yes it is in his bones…is that really bad?
Denisedds’s- thank you i want to believe what u say but dont understand why youve never heard of D3 bc im certain thats what the doc said and ive looked it up and serveral sites about prostate cancer mention it. the PSA i was incorrect about so thank you for that.

rob answers:

The doctor said PSA prostate specific antigen which is present in the blood. 500 is a high number for a PSA test. The good thing about prostate cancer is that it is usually very slow growing especially in older men. The food for prostate cancer is testosterone and older men don’t have quite asmuch. A lot of older men die of other causes and during autopsy are also found to have prostate cancer, but that wasn’t what killed them.
There are many things that can be done for prostate cancer. He needs to go to a urologist and also have a bone scan which will let you know if it is in the bones or not.
The urologist will usually do a prostate biopsy.
They can do a prostatectomy which they remove the prostate or they can do a prostate seeding which isnt any where near as invasive a a prostatectomy, they place radioactive seed in the prostate which seems to work well.
A lot of times a doctor will do what is known as whatchful waiting with older men, since it is so slow growing.
Just keep an eye on him and do a PSA test every couple of months.
If you are not satisfied with the Dr and he talks too much medical jargon without explaining himself then find a new doctor.
Don’t fret. If a male is going to be diagnosed with cancer this would be the one to be diagnosed with as it is so slow growing.
Good luck!

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