First, quit posting here and get active on:
https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35
I AM A SURVIVOR. A doubling is troubling but you should compare rises over time. If it goes up fast over a year or two that's called "Velocity" and is a bad sign. All tests must be done at the
SAME LAB to compare results with any meaning. That's very important.
Yes there is non-invasive imaging you can utilize but they can miss the tumor(s) and also most all insurance companies won't pay for them unless you had the biopsy first. They are trying to reduce the expense of an MRI by weeding out those who don't have to have it.
The biopsy is a series of probes, guided by an MRI, towards what looks to be the tumor(s) and hurts like hell so demand a painkiller. It is the best way to tell if there is cancer and what level of aggressiveness it is, although even their probes may miss it. There are different levels of aggressiveness of PC, called the Gleason Score, and the biopsy tells them what Gleason Level you are and if the tumors are close or far from the prostate's outer wall. Men with a low Gleason Score are assigned Watchful Waiting, sometimes for many years and the doctors hope you'll get so old you'll die of something else. The higher the Gleason Score and the closer it is to the outer wall of the prostate, the more aggressive the intervention. The Gleason Score is different than your PSA score, which is controversial because it does not tell aggressiveness.
The biopsy said mine was a Gleason 7 but after surgery it turned out to be an 8! The most aggressive, worst kind. Had I not had the needle biopsy they may have waited and it
would have spread. Remember this: the initial tumor won't necessarily kill you but once it leaves the prostate, often through the lymphatic system, it can become a number of other cancers and then they play Whack-A-Mole. So don't fret
yet, but this single doubling is how I started, and the digital exams said my prostate was large, and over a year it kept rising so fast, a "Velocity" that led to more digital exams, and then the biopsy, then the MRIs, then Davinci surgery. My tumor was so large I was not a candidate for radiation. You will find, once you do a deep dive, there are two camps among patients: Anti-Surgery and Anti-Radiation, but listen only to the cancer specialists in white coats.
Some people are candidates for radiation, others surgery, others through hormone treatment. However, I'd strongly suggest staying away from those free standing, individually owned by urologists and radiologists, Prostate Cancer Clinics because they have a very strong economic incentive, especially if they have an MRI machine or are partners in one, to steer you to radiation. They advertise aggressively, have slick videos, but they are selling you on their treatment because they make money. I knew that I was not a candidate for radiation but went to hear their approach anyway, and invariably they tried to sell me on radiation even though my tumor was too large, so beware of them. Doctors who are on staff at a hospital get the same paycheck not matter how they treat you.
Once I realized I had Gleason 7, the kind that can kill you fast if it becomes an 8, I ditched my local hospital and "went downtown" to a large teaching research hospital specializing in cancers.
So in sum, don't worry too much
just yet but be very concerned if over several months the results keep rising
at the same lab. Remember not to ejaculate or bicycle a day or so before the tests. If the results are rising then go to the largest teaching hospital in your area, get the biopsy done and see what that says. If it's indecisive or bad news, meaning a higher Gleason Score, then you'll get the MRI. You
must know your Gleason Score, that tells you how much you have to worry, how fast it will grow and the biopsy tells you how close to the prostate's outer wall it is. You don't want the horse to leave the barn.
Lastly, PC is one of those conditions where everyone will tell you anecdotes that are meaningless. PC is a
very individualized cancer, every man's PC is unique, but once you're diagnosed with a higher Gleason score, then it's deadly serious (no pun intended). I've heard a million times: "My grandfather had PC and he lived to 90 something." Visit the main informational website, I volunteer at the annual 5K:
Us Too - International Prostate Cancer Education & Support Network - Us TOO
Good luck! Don't fear the finger!
