Prostate question/opinion

[Draco]

I had my physical at the first of the year. My doctor sent a letter to me saying my PSA was 26.8, moving up from a previous 5. Said he had me an appointment with a urologist as 26.5 would almost certainly be cancer. I went to the urologist and first thing he did was take blood and check PSA with his own people doing the test. It came back at 3.5. Got the big finger and he said prostate was both normal in size and shape. He said there was no reason to look further.

How could a test be that far off?

[ctom87]

Man I hear that it happens sometimes. Maybe the test was not sterile or something. Maybe a 3rd opinion to double triple check everything?

Edit...

[bboswell]

Mixed up labs. Get blood work done again for pease of mind.

[tps7742]

If you are questioning it here it very obvious you are still very concerned and I would be also. I would seek another opinion just to check given such a large discrepancy.

[Frederick D. Be]

Originally Posted by Draco

I had my physical at the first of the year. My doctor sent a letter to me saying my PSA was 26.8, moving up from a previous 5. Said he had me an appointment with a urologist as 26.5 would almost certainly be cancer. I went to the urologist and first thing he did was take blood and check PSA with his own people doing the test. It came back at 3.5. Got the big finger and he said prostate was both normal in size and shape. He said there was no reason to look further.

How could a test be that far off?

Well....that is a good thing so why complain? It happens sometimes but be glad you checked.

[tvc184]

Originally Posted by bboswell

Mixed up labs. Get blood work done again for pease of mind.

My mother was in the hospital about seven years ago. The doctors thought she had a stroke but it turned out to be a type of seizure (not discovered until they brought another neurologist and several weeks later). In fact I had to cut a Javelina hunt in South Texas short to return home when they didn’t think she was going to make it.

They ran some test on her and when they came back with the results fortunately my sister-in-law was with her in the room. They ran an (I think) EEG to check her brain function. They started talking about the medicine she was on and how bad the EEG was and blah blah blah.

Like I said, fortunately my sister-in-law was in the room. She told the medical staff that my mother did not take those kinds of medicines and had not been diagnosed previously with what they were saying. They were adamant that they had the information that my mother had to go immediately for some treatment and whatever. My sister-in-law pretty much drew a line in the sand and said you’re not taking her anywhere. My mother was not fully conscious at the time.
Apparently the staff was not too happy about my sister-in-law but they said they would check again.

Oops!!! Someone placed another woman’s chart with my mother’s. Yep, someone in the hospital mixed up their results.

I’m sure most of us have read about how many people die every year for medical mistakes. They were about to do some serious treatment on my mother for something that she did not have and when they found her actual EEG, it was completely different and almost normal. When the other neurologist was brought in, he correctly made the diagnosis and put her on anti-seizure medicine. She passed away three years later from kidney failure but had no other incidents due to seizures.

Thank goodness my sister-in-law was in the room but yes, they obviously can make mistakes; contaminate the specimens and so on.

[ttaxidermy]

How long was it between the PSA tests.. A few days? A couple weeks?

[MadHatter]

Your worth more if you have cancer.
Imagine how many people wouldn't have had a 2nd test done, just took the doc at his word....

[myway]

Originally Posted by MadHatter

Your worth more if you have cancer.
Imagine how many people wouldn't have had a 2nd test done, just took the doc at his word....

Just Because I’m curious.
“Your worth more if you have cancer”
To whom? The urologist? How doe this benefit the initial doc or initial lab that did blood work? Any urologist would have completed a prostate exam and a colonoscopy for a diagnosis right?

“Imagine how many people wouldn't have had a 2nd test done, just took the doc at his word”
Most people I speak with get a second opinion on any serious diagnosis I cannot imagine someone not getting additional input on a cancer diagnosis.


He (OP) did not request the additional bloodwork the doctor did. I would say he does this for a reason. Do you agree?

[MadHatter]

Originally Posted by myway

Just Because I’m curious.
“Your worth more if you have cancer”
To whom? The urologist? How doe this benefit the initial doc or initial lab that did blood work? Any urologist would have completed a prostate exam and a colonoscopy for a diagnosis right?

“Imagine how many people wouldn't have had a 2nd test done, just took the doc at his word”
Most people I speak with get a second opinion on any serious diagnosis I cannot imagine someone not getting additional input on a cancer diagnosis.


He (OP) did not request the additional bloodwork the doctor did. I would say he does this for a reason. Do you agree?

Yeah you're right, I read that wrong .
Just speaking to a personal case.
They told my grandmother in law 2 yrs ago she had breast cancer, which was the cause of her arm pain.
Treated her for almost a yr for breast cancer, before another doctor told her it was carpal tunnel.
And this lady already had a full mastectomy years ago because of breast cancer.
They did surgery on her left arm, and she still has pain, but nothing like it was while they were treating her for cancer.

[Quackerbox]

Someone cab read.

That's essentially what happened to results my dad got while in the hospital. One day numbers are through the roof and they're prepping for surgery. Ran test the next day and numbers are normal.

I blow a gasket and basically told human error and not a big deal. Seriously?

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[Leverhunter]

Get another blood test. If blood test and finger wave we're good you're most likely ok but another test would help confirm. If you don't do another blood test now definitely do it in 3-6 months.

[Tmag]

Lab mistake more than likely by the person entering the information on the report. I would schedule another PSA for peace of mind.

[Drycreek3189]

Hell, my next to next to last PSA was >.6 as were the next two. You read it right, a negative point six and three in a row over a two week span. Nobody has explained that to me yet. That’s a reading you would get if you had had your prostate removed, which I’m pretty sure I haven’t. So I had a scan of my nether regions and it’s still there and the size it should be. Who knows ?

[gingib]

Originally Posted by MadHatter

Yeah you're right, I read that wrong .
Just speaking to a personal case.
They told my grandmother in law 2 yrs ago she had breast cancer, which was the cause of her arm pain.
Treated her for almost a yr for breast cancer, before another doctor told her it was carpal tunnel.
And this lady already had a full mastectomy years ago because of breast cancer.
They did surgery on her left arm, and she still has pain, but nothing like it was while they were treating her for cancer.

Sounds like **** poor job on yalls part of not confirming thru tests/scans

[Maddox]

https://www.privatemdlabs.com/

Order your own PSA test for peace of mind.

[MadHatter]

Originally Posted by gingib

Sounds like **** poor job on yalls part of not confirming thru tests/scans

I was in no way involved .
Definitely a **** poor job on Christus medicals part .
What's the point of paying ten of thousands of dollars to these "highly educated" idiots, if the uneducated have to double check their work

[Cantcatch5]

I believe normal range is 0.4-4 ng/ml and anything over 3 should be watched so you are doing the correct thing staying on it. The 5 and 3.5 results should have perked ears up as well.

I am not a doctor so my opinion is just that.

[eastover53]

Originally Posted by MadHatter

Yeah you're right, I read that wrong .
Just speaking to a personal case.
They told my grandmother in law 2 yrs ago she had breast cancer, which was the cause of her arm pain.
Treated her for almost a yr for breast cancer, before another doctor told her it was carpal tunnel.
And this lady already had a full mastectomy years ago because of breast cancer.
They did surgery on her left arm, and she still has pain, but nothing like it was while they were treating her for cancer.

Are you saying that she did not actually have cancer?? And they did a mastectomy because of arm pain?

[DUKFVR]

Originally Posted by Tmag

Lab mistake more than likely by the person entering the information on the report. I would schedule another PSA for peace of mind.

This & Glad to hear it looks like you are OK!

[muzzlebrake]

The bigger question is when the doctor examined your prostate did he place both hands on your shoulders?

[MadHatter]

Originally Posted by eastover53

Are you saying that she did not actually have cancer?? And they did a mastectomy because of arm pain?

They did the mastectomy years ago when she had breast cancer the first time.
80 yr old woman, started having severe pain in her left arm, and they told her the breast cancer came back...

[txchuck]

You can get a test at an independent lab to confirm 3.5. It's not too expensive.

[Arrowsmith]

It can be confusing. I have prostate cancer. Lesions verified by MRI and positive biopsy on said lesions, but my PSA has been going down. I have another MRI scheduled for Jan. 31 at University of Iowa medical center. My PSA going down might be attributed to the alternative treatment (Fenben) that I have been taking. We will see.

I would get one more PSA done to verify the numbers. Two out of three should give you a more accurate baseline.

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[jaime1982]

Originally Posted by muzzlebrake

The bigger question is when the doctor examined your prostate did he place both hands on your shoulders?

Wait, there is another way? I was ASSured that this was standard.

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[LWC]

Originally Posted by jaime1982

Wait, there is another way? I was ASSured that this was standard.

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Doc asked me to get undressed. I asked "where do I throw my drawers"? I was a little shocked when he said "over there by mine will be fine".

[Burnadell]

Originally Posted by Arrowsmith

It can be confusing. I have prostate cancer. Lesions verified by MRI and positive biopsy on said lesions, but my PSA has been going down. I have another MRI scheduled for Jan. 31 at University of Iowa medical center. My PSA going down might be attributed to the alternative treatment (Fenben) that I have been taking. We will see.

I would get one more PSA done to verify the numbers. Two out of three should give you a more accurate baseline.

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This ^^^. Draco, I would have my PSA checked again soon. Early detection is important.

[SaintBlaise]

Concerning your PSA numbers. Some medicines can have a multiplier effect on the number. It's essential to disclose every thing you are taking, then they can factor it into your real prostate score.

[Leverhunter]

Originally Posted by Arrowsmith

It can be confusing. I have prostate cancer. Lesions verified by MRI and positive biopsy on said lesions, but my PSA has been going down. I have another MRI scheduled for Jan. 31 at University of Iowa medical center. My PSA going down might be attributed to the alternative treatment (Fenben) that I have been taking. We will see.

I would get one more PSA done to verify the numbers. Two out of three should give you a more accurate baseline.

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Are you taking any treatment besides the fenben ?

[1riot1ranger]

I would want another blood test. That's an outrageous swing in PSA numbers. Also, pay attention to activities before getting your PSA test. There is also a list of things to not do a day or two before the test including riding a bicycle, getting a DRE prior to test, sex, and basically anything that would stimulate your prostate.

If you decide to have a biopsy, check into the Transperineal Biopsy. It doesn't go through your rectum. Lots of good information on this site: ProtonBob.com

Good luck, early detection is key - don't mess around with resolving the high PSA swings.

[Arrowsmith]

Originally Posted by Leverhunter

Are you taking any treatment besides the fenben ?

No. I am on Active Surveillance protocol. PSA every three months. MRI and possibly biopsy based on PSA results.

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[1riot1ranger]

Originally Posted by Arrowsmith

No. I am on Active Surveillance protocol. PSA every three months. MRI and possibly biopsy based on PSA results.

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Interesting about the Fenben. Don't know if it has the same effect on testostorne as Lupron. I did four months of Lupron and PSA went to 0.1. Three months after last lupron injection PSA was 1.0 and testostorne was coming back up. We will see what next checkup in six-months shows.

[Leverhunter]

Originally Posted by 1riot1ranger

Interesting about the Fenben. Don't know if it has the same effect on testostorne as Lupron. I did four months of Lupron and PSA went to 0.1. Three months after last lupron injection PSA was 1.0 and testostorne was coming back up. We will see what next checkup in six-months shows.

Yeah very interesting. I had surgery in 2017 and radiation in 2019. Recently psa started rising and lupron pushed psa to less than .02 but would rather not stay on it. Before going on lupron I let the psa rise planning to let it increase until the source was found and and do a spot radiation treatment which is also starting soon. If fenben alone is reducing psa that may be the best course.

[Leverhunter]

Originally Posted by Arrowsmith

It can be confusing. I have prostate cancer. Lesions verified by MRI and positive biopsy on said lesions, but my PSA has been going down. I have another MRI scheduled for Jan. 31 at University of Iowa medical center. My PSA going down might be attributed to the alternative treatment (Fenben) that I have been taking. We will see.

I would get one more PSA done to verify the numbers. Two out of three should give you a more accurate baseline.

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Keep us updated on your progress. I just went on the lupron but would rather not stay on. Fenben may be the best course.
Good Luck !

[stevieray54]

Wait three months and go get a second opinion. If they were concerned they would of done a biopsy. Not uncommon to get false numbers. Any type of sexual activity prior to testing can cause it to rise.get yourself a book called “100 guestions and answers about Prostate cancer by Pamela Ellsworth MD.

[Draco]

Thanks guys. I've set up another test with a completely different testing facility so should be able to figure it out.