So I met with the urologist to get the results of the repeat PSA. The first test was 4.4 and I was hoping for some decrease in that number in line with an infection that is clearing out from the antibiotics I took. The repeat test showed PSA of 6.6! I almost fell out of the chair. I had my wife with me this time and she was helping me to keep it together. The doctor said he really doesn't think it is prostate cancer despite the elevated PSA. He said he was actually happier to see it go up then stay at the same level. He said if it had stayed at 4.4 he would have done a biopsy but because of the increase he is thinking it may be something else. He said that with Prostate cancer there is a steady trend up. He said a jump from 4.4 to 6.6 in 4 weeks is not something you would see with cancer. He said this is more in line with what you see with infection. However he said if it was an infection then the antibiotic he gave me should have cleared it out and my urinalysis does not show any infection (they are going to send out for more thorough cultures). I also asked if the jump could indicate a cancer that had spread outside the prostate and he said in that case he would expect to see the PSA "in the hundreds". The doctor said based on these results he wants to move to imaging to explore any "anatomical issues" So I am going for an MRI tomorrow. I will get the results of the imaging on Monday and we'll decide what to do next.
I feel both better and worse at the same time. I had actually said to my wife half joking on the way to the appointment "now don't freak out if it jumps up, that could actually be a good sign because it might mean there is an infection". Still, I wasn't expecting it and while it seems like this is better it still doesn't feel good. He also pointed to the fact I have a lot of pain which is more indicative of prostatitis. I'm still really freaked out. 2 years ago I went for a physical and my blood count was elevated. They had me come back and the number jumped up higher and that was cancer. I know these two situations are not comparable, but it still feels similar. Of course in that case no one was telling me they didn't think it was cancer, in fact everyone was telling me it was almost certainly cancer and the only question was what type. In this case they are saying probably not, so I am trying to find some hope in that. Of course now I am worried about what they are going to find on the MRI. The worrying never stops.
On a side note I saw my onc last week and made the decision to change TKI drugs. I am going to switch to dasatinib 100mg in November. I am going on vacation at the beginning of Novemeber and I didn't want to switch before hand in case I had any problems. I am also going to come off Gleevec while on vacation to get it out of my system before I start the new drug, who knows maybe I will get some relief when I stop taking Gleevec.
