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Naive about my PSA

Understanding PSA

I have always had an annual physical that included testing of my PSA. In 2019 (I was 62) I had my physical and my PSA was 3.9. My PCP never expressed concern and to be honest I was quite naive about PSA levels. Well after my 2020 physical, my PCP said depending on your PSA we may have to send you to a urologist. I thought what the hell are you talking about! Well, the test showed it was now 4.9. So I met with the urologist, did the digital examination, and didn’t find any ”spots”, so the next step MRI. That came back showing signs of cancer. The next step is the unforgettable experience of “the biopsy”. Since I have a high tolerance to lidocaine I started feeling the sample taking! More juice please, again I felt the injection, but it kicked in and I was finally numb.

Advice for early diagnosis

Well, my Gleason score varies from 3/3, 3/4, and 4/3. Had to wait 6 weeks to heal and then opted for the RP. After the surgery I was relieved to hear that I had clean margins, however one lymph node had cancer. Well, that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. First PSA <0.01. The second is 0.01. So what does that mean? Well remembering that lymph node. Well for the next year's tests all came back 0.01, until February 2022, <0.02; my annual came back <0.04! Now I am freaking out. So I had my 2-year test this June. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to view my results and should wait for my doctor's appointment the next week. Well I couldn’t wait, so I checked and to my great surprise it came back <0.01! WTH. So the doctor explained it this way. Depending on which lab is doing the test, their test may only read to those levels. So be cautious and curious about these tests and results. If I had been aware of my PSA when it was 3.9 and what that meant, I would have found cancer one year earlier.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The ProstateCancer.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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