Rising PSA, no cancer detected (yet) – seeking shared experiences
Dear community,
I'm a 52-year-old male (born 1973) with no family history of prostate cancer. Over the past two years, my PSA levels have been rising:
April 2023: PSA total 1.03 ng/mL
April 2024: PSA 1.36 ng/mL
May 2025: PSA 3.96 ng/mL, free PSA 0.538 ng/mL (ratio 13.6%)
June 2025: PSA 4.16 ng/mL (confirmed), free PSA 0.565 ng/mL
Parallel test (other lab): PSA 3.91 ng/mL, free PSA 0.92 ng/mL (ratio 24%) → methodologically inconsistent
I had an mpMRI (May 2025): PI-RADS 2, no suspicious lesion but signs of past prostatitis.
A PSMA PET/CT (June 2025) also came back negative: no suspicious uptake in prostate, lymph nodes, or skeleton.
Vitamin D was low but is now in normal range (47.3 ng/mL 25-OH and 47.3 ng/L 1,25-OH). CRP stable around 0.6 mg/L. Testosterone levels are normal. No urinary or erectile issues.
Relevant history: severe Stevens-Johnson syndrome mid-2024 (due to NSAIDs), COVID in Sep 2024, brief corticosteroid therapy Oct 2024.
Important note: My PSA increased by 2.8 ng/mL over 13 months – which translates to an average rise of ~0.22 ng/mL per 28 days. This exceeds the threshold sometimes cited for “biological activity” and might indicate an active process in the prostate.
I'm currently pursuing a conservative, supplement-based approach:
Sulforaphane (broccoli extract)
Omega-3 fatty acids (high EPA/DHA)
Astaxanthin
Quercetin
Vitamin D
Zinc
No antibiotics or alpha-blockers so far.
My urologist is cautious but not alarmed. Next PSA and free PSA check is planned for late August or early September 2025 – along with a follow-up mpMRI.
Has anyone here experienced a steadily rising PSA with negative imaging and no symptoms? How did you proceed? Did a biopsy eventually become necessary? I'm weighing the risk of overdiagnosis vs. delayed action.
Thank you for reading – any shared experience or advice is appreciated.
Hi
. Your concern with the velocity or percentage rise in the PSA is certainly understandable. I can't personally speak to this issue, but I want to share with you this article from Bobby on also having a low PSA, but high velocity increase: https://prostatecancer.net/living/psa-test-role. His urologist said something really interesting about paying attention to PSA over 2.5 if the man is under 60. That said, it certainly sounds like your doctor is being thorough and a PSMA PET scan should find prostate cancer even if it is still contained in the prostate. Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences. Wishing you the best and please feel free to keep us posted on how the upcoming tests go. Best, Richard (Team Member) I am 48 years old; father had prostrate cancer at 69 U(died at 89)and brother has it now at 51. My PSA was 5.4 (taking testosterone shot biweekly) Nov 2025, then 3.6 Dec 2025. Every 6 months was checked and it bounced from 3.6, 2.7, 3.3 and 3.6 again in July. My GP was not concerned but I asked to be sent to urologist. Digital rectum exam was normal. Scheduled for biopsy this month and it came back positive for cancer. Gleason score was 7 (4+3); 5 out of 12 positive, T1C. I’m scheduling a scan next week but I am sure glad I had the biopsy sooner than later. Hope this helps and God Bless!
I meet with the dr Monday. Not sure yet, trying to research all the info that was told to me I’m a Gleason 7 (3+4) 3 out of 12 were positive. Wanted to have surgery. Decided to get a second opinion. I met with another Surgeon, Oncologist and Radiation Oncologist. They changed my numbers after they revised biopsy slides from other hospital to a 4+3. All 3 doctors were honest and said with my numbers I could go either way on treatment. I decided to have 28 radiation treatments (IMRT)
with the SpaceOar device. At the end of the day both procedures are equally effective with cancer that is contained in the prostate. It’s a matter of what side effect you want to deal with during the journey! For now because they changed my numbers they put me on 2 months of Lupron. Having SpaceOar and Markers on Dec 4 then a week later my trial run in the machine. Hoping to start radiation in late Dec. I did a lot of research and one guy I found on YouTube was Dr Mark Scholz out of CA. He is very informative. I Got educated then met with other Doctors. I was diagnosed in July so really want to get going and get this behind me. Good luck!
I also had ZERO symptoms
Sorry it should reflect November 2023 and December 2023
