Ol_Rancher
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
- Messages
- 188
I am 60 years old and have an enlarged prostate. I get a PSA test and a DRE (digital rectal exam) yearly each December.
My PSAs are well below the levels that were used in the past to indicate a concern. Now however the recent news about the 'PSA Velocity' has me concerned.
My past yearly PSA results in one year increments:
0.2
0.5
1.2
Although the levels are quite low the rate of change seems to be expotential. Tumor growth is also expotential.
this year's test is about 6 weeks away. The past DREs indicated that my prostate was enlarged but 'smooth'
According to my net searches -
In individuals with pre-clinical prostate cancer, there is an accelerated increase in serum PSA levels, beginning 7 to 9 years prior to diagnosis
Men with prostate cancer whose PSA level increased by more than 2.0 ng per milliliter during the year before the diagnosis of prostate cancer have a higher risk of death from prostate cancer
PSA velocity 10 to 15 years before a cancer was diagnosed was linked to survival 25 years later. Specifically, patients with a lower PSA velocity had a 92 percent survival rate, but patients with a higher PSA velocity had a 54 percent survival rate
.A man can have prostate cancer and still have a PSA level in the “normal” range. Approximately 25% of men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have a PSA level below 4.0. In addition, only 25% of men with a PSA level of 4–10 are found to have prostate cancer. With a PSA level exceeding 10, this rate jumps to approximately 65%.
The physician will be checking for hardness of the prostate or for irregular shapes or bumps extending from the prostate – all of which may indicate a problem. The DRE is particularly useful because the PSA test may miss up to 25% of cancers, and the DRE may catch some of these.
PSA tests are used to screen men for prostate cancer, but they're imprecise. Too much PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, in a man's blood can indicate that he has either a benign enlarged prostate or cancer. Only a biopsy can tell the difference.
It's not even clear when is the best time to do a biopsy.
Some men have cancer despite a "normal" PSA count of 4 or below. Yet routinely biopsying men with low PSA would worsen another problem, overdiagnosis. Many specialists say too many men today are undergoing side effect-prone treatment for tumors too small and slow-growing to ever threaten their lives.
I plan to hve my next exam after the holidays to avoid having my concern become a distraction. I will post my next PSA results.
My PSAs are well below the levels that were used in the past to indicate a concern. Now however the recent news about the 'PSA Velocity' has me concerned.
My past yearly PSA results in one year increments:
0.2
0.5
1.2
Although the levels are quite low the rate of change seems to be expotential. Tumor growth is also expotential.
this year's test is about 6 weeks away. The past DREs indicated that my prostate was enlarged but 'smooth'
According to my net searches -
In individuals with pre-clinical prostate cancer, there is an accelerated increase in serum PSA levels, beginning 7 to 9 years prior to diagnosis
Men with prostate cancer whose PSA level increased by more than 2.0 ng per milliliter during the year before the diagnosis of prostate cancer have a higher risk of death from prostate cancer
PSA velocity 10 to 15 years before a cancer was diagnosed was linked to survival 25 years later. Specifically, patients with a lower PSA velocity had a 92 percent survival rate, but patients with a higher PSA velocity had a 54 percent survival rate
.A man can have prostate cancer and still have a PSA level in the “normal” range. Approximately 25% of men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have a PSA level below 4.0. In addition, only 25% of men with a PSA level of 4–10 are found to have prostate cancer. With a PSA level exceeding 10, this rate jumps to approximately 65%.
The physician will be checking for hardness of the prostate or for irregular shapes or bumps extending from the prostate – all of which may indicate a problem. The DRE is particularly useful because the PSA test may miss up to 25% of cancers, and the DRE may catch some of these.
PSA tests are used to screen men for prostate cancer, but they're imprecise. Too much PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, in a man's blood can indicate that he has either a benign enlarged prostate or cancer. Only a biopsy can tell the difference.
It's not even clear when is the best time to do a biopsy.
Some men have cancer despite a "normal" PSA count of 4 or below. Yet routinely biopsying men with low PSA would worsen another problem, overdiagnosis. Many specialists say too many men today are undergoing side effect-prone treatment for tumors too small and slow-growing to ever threaten their lives.
I plan to hve my next exam after the holidays to avoid having my concern become a distraction. I will post my next PSA results.