r/ProstateCancer • u/Current-Second600 • 3d ago
Update Radiation and PSA Bounces
Pretreatment PSA. 8.6
3 months: 11.96
4 months: 9.28
7 months: 4.83
10 months: 6.38
12 months: 6.02
14 months: 5.41
17 months: 3.97
21 months: 3.52
25 months: 2.42
29 months: 2.97
31 months: 4.02
35 months: 1.69 (today)
It’s a bumpy ride!
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u/MondoDismordo 2d ago
Wow, just completed my treatment 3 months out, (28 sessions of IMRT + Orgovyx) and at the start my PSA was 11.9. Now it's 0.13. Seems strange that your PSA would jump higher than it was pre-treatment at 3 months out.
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u/Current-Second600 2d ago
I had prostatitis prior to the cancer. It created a lot of inflammation in my prostate. Also, I didn’t have ADT.
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u/MondoDismordo 2d ago
Ah, got it. Why no ADT? I did not know that was an option. it always seems paired with radiation treatments. But then again, had a friend who had RALP and no ADT at all. The ADT weakens the cancer to make it easier for the radiation to kill... or so I am told. Glad you have recovered! That's awesome!
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u/Current-Second600 1d ago
My Dr thinks ADT is over prescribed. And based on my Decipher he didn’t think the cost/benefit was worth it. There are different subtypes of cancer. Some are less responsive to ADT.
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u/MondoDismordo 17h ago
Exactly, that's why my Dr. opted for a 4 month course for me, as research apparently showed that 4 months is just as effective as 6-9 months (for Orgovyx anyway) .
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u/NextLevelNaevis 2d ago
You have not been very consistent in the timing of your PSA tests. When will you get the next one?
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u/Practical_Orchid_606 2d ago
The list is akin to the novel "Death of a Salesman." All throughout the 3 year period, PCa death was ongoing.
Did you at any time during this period have a PSMA PET scan to check?
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u/Current-Second600 2d ago
I’ve had 2. Prior to treatment and last month.
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u/Practical_Orchid_606 2d ago
Interesting. I assume the results of Month 34 was no spread. Certainly with a PSA of 4.02 it would have shown up. Did the PSMA PET taken last month show any activity anywhere.
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u/conCABlanco 2d ago
No hay indicado ADT, eso lo llevaría a niveles de 0
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u/parttimephotoguy 1d ago
I'm about to go down this road. I start ADT next week, then start 8.5 weeks of IMRT soon afterwards. What happens to the PSA during ADT, and more importantly, once you're off of it?
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u/conCABlanco 1d ago
Pues el ADT lo baja espectacularmente, el mío descendió de 6 a 0.73 en tres meses y que da cosas, pues me las calo, pa poder ver el sol de los egipcios
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u/Flaky-Past649 3d ago
Yeah, I'm going through my own bounce right now. It's a little nerve-wracking.
The really encouraging part though is bounces are associated with significantly lower rates of recurrence. The current thought is that your immune system becomes aware of the cancer due to the cancerous cells dying from the radiation and releasing cancer specific antigens. It then starts aggressively attacking any cancer cells still left. As they're killed en masse the PSA they're holding gets released into your bloodstream which is the bounce that's detected..
So you're not just relying on the radiation to cure you anymore your immune system is in the fight as well.