psa count

[morrowavenue]

my husband had a psa count of 24 6 years ago and was told he had prostate cancer after a biopsy.he was given hormone tablets and had 40 doses of radio therapy.the psa went down to 0.1.since then in the last 5 years the psa has gone up to 0.6.he sees a consultant every year for a psa check up and the consultant says he is happy with the 0.6.he will not discharge him and says its a grey area and still needs to be checked every year.he said that if the psa doubles over a 6 month period then its not good.what i wont to know is what should a good psa be and what should a bad psa be.also if my husband only has a psa done every year how would the consultant know if the psa has doubled in 6 month.i know that the psa does not stay the same constantly and can go up and down on a daily bases but i just worry that this cancer might come back.hope you can put my mind at rest with kind regards from mrs s

[morrowavenue]

HI THANKS FOR THE ADVICE.YES MY HUSBAND WAS GIVEN CASODEX WITH THE RADIO THERAPY BUT ONLY FOR A YEAR .THAT WAS IN SPAIN.WE WENT TO LIVE THERE FOR 5 YEARS WHEN WE RETIRED HAVING WORKED ALL OUR LIFES AS I COULD NEVER HAVE CHILDREN BECAUSE OF TERRIBLE ENDREOMETRIOSIS . THE TUMA WAS FOUND JUST A MONTH BEFORE WE WERE TO LEAVE ENGLAND.HIS CONSULTANT AT ST JAMES IN LEEDS YKS WAS QUITE HAPPY FOR HIM TO HAVE THE TREATMENT IN SPAIN AND GAVE US ALL HIS FILE TO GIVE TO THE CONSULTANT IN SPAIN.THEY WERE WONDERFUL WITH HIM.THE ONLY THING THAT UPSET MY HUSBAND WITH TAKING THE CASODEX WAS HE GREW MAN BOOBS.FOR HIS AGE THEN (63) HE HAD A FAB BODY AND USED TO BOX AND WAITE TRAIN IN HIS YOUTH.SO SINCE THE GROWTH HE HAS NEVER BEEN IN PUBLIC WITH HIS TOP OFF NOT EVEN ON OVERSEAS HOLIDAYS.HE KNOWS ITS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY FOR PROBABLY GETTING HIS LIFE BACK AT LEAST HE STILL HAS ALL HIS BITS IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.TO PUT MY MIND AT REST I THNK I WILL ASK OUR DOCTOR TO TAKE A PSA AFTER 6 MONTHS(JULY).I SEEM TO WORRY MORE ABOUT IT THAN MY HUSBAND DOES LIKE WHEN HE JUST STOPPED WALKING ON HOLIDAY AND COULD NOT MOVE HIS RIGHT LEG.HE WAS TOLD HE HAD TO HAVE THE MAIN ARTERY OPERATED ON AND HE COULD END UP WITH HALF HIS LEG OFF IF IT WENT WRONG.ALL HE SAID WAS "IF IT DOES THEN AT LEAST YOU CAN PUT A FOLSE ONE THERE SO I CAN WALK" HOW LAID BACK IS THAT.HE IS A REALLY POSITIVE THINKER THANK GOD.PROBABLY BECAUSE HE NEARLY DIED FROM MENENGA COCAL MENANGITUS ? WHEN HE WAS 2 AND LEFT HIM  STONE DEAF IN ONE EAR AND ONLY 60% IN THE OTHER.SO HE HAS HAD A BIT OF A RAW DEAL DONT YOU THINK? BUT HE IS STILL HERE TO TELL THE TALE AND I STILL LOVE HIM AS MUCH AS I DID WHEN I FIRST MET HIM 37 YEARS AGO.HE IS 7 YEARS OLDER THAN ME AT 68 .BUT HE STILL GOES OUT SNOOKER WITH THE LADS IN HS ELVIS PRESLEY SHIRTS.THATS ENOUGH OF ME.GOOD LOOK WITH YOUR DADS PSA MY DAD DIED 14 YEARS AGO AND I STILL GET FULL UP JUST THINKING ABOUT HIM .DADS ARE EXTRA SPECIAL PEOPLE . NICE TO TALK TO YOU TAKE CARE FROM SYLVI .......    

[Encephalomalcia]

My dad has the beginning stages of prostate cancer.  His brother had advanced prostate cancer and had surgery.  My dad's father passed away from prostate cancer that spread to the back bone and blood.  My dad is on Avodart and his PSA is 1.5 which the doctor is very happy with.  His doctor, who is a specialist, said that if the PSA does not go up in 6 months and continues to decrease, then he may not need another biopsy after the 6 months unless the PSA goes back up.  My dad is in a study and is being evaluated every 4 to 6 months.  He has been getting his PSA checked and has had two biopsies to check for prostate cancer.  Your husband's PSA is very low.  PSA goes up when there is cancer.  Women also have PSA.  You may want to ask his doctor if he should get his PSA done in 6 months for evaluation.  I am not sure why his doctor recommended a recheck in a year (a year seems like a long time).  I suppose the doctor thinks even if it were to double, it still would not be that high.  Is your husband on any hormone medication such as Avodart?  The medication really drops the PSA level.