Is a PSA reading of 4.8 High???

maverick2112

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My friend got a PSA test done and it was 4.8.......his doctor wants to do a biopsy. He is 42 years old and the kind of guys who really worries. I am kind of concerned because his Dad was just diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. His appointment is Thursday. Any opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks
 

SixFive

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0 to 2.5 ng/ml is low
2.6 to 10 ng/ml is slightly to moderately elevated
10 to 19.9 ng/ml is moderately elevated
20 ng/ml or more is significantly elevated

Not too high of a level, but certainly higher than normal. I have seen them 40-50 before. The biopsy is a needle biopsy, and it's not too bad of a test. Other doctors will wait 6 weeks and retest. If he worries, then he should keep that appt. and get the biopsy so he will know what he is dealing with. Sometimes, the PSA will not be too high and the person can have cancer. PSA is a great screening tool, but it sounds like he definitely needs further testing. Hope he has a good result!
 

DOGS THAT BARK

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Was wondering what you thought of reliabilty of PSA tests Clint?

Reason I ask have had several clients lab test come back with very high levels only to come back in norm range when retested a week or so later.
 

SixFive

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DOGS THAT BARK said:
Was wondering what you thought of reliabilty of PSA tests Clint?

Reason I ask have had several clients lab test come back with very high levels only to come back in norm range when retested a week or so later.

That's the reason a lot of doctors will retest in a month to 6 weeks. I know that ejaculation history is thought to haves some effect on the results. It's not 100% reliable, but I think it's a great screen for men. I wish we had something similar for women for breast/ovarian cancer.
 

shamrock

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my dad had deadly terminal cancer & is psa was under 10, there is also something called the Gleason score, this gauges how aggressive the cancer is, his was a 10 on a 1-10 scale. From this they conclude the cancer was already outside the prostate, which it was.
 

dr. freeze

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shamrock said:
my dad had deadly terminal cancer & is psa was under 10, there is also something called the Gleason score, this gauges how aggressive the cancer is, his was a 10 on a 1-10 scale. From this they conclude the cancer was already outside the prostate, which it was.

uh, no

Gleason tells you how differentiated it is

7 or more and it is getting poorly differentiated

You can have a Grade 10 Gleason be confined to the prostate and a Grade 5 Gleason be in the bones

The grade DOES however correlate well to the behavior, but there is still plenty of room for variance even after excluding interobserver variability

PSA test is a good screening test but not the best in specificity as it can be elevated in a number of other conditions including Prostatitis and/or time spent from ejaculation including other things

However, PSA is not always elevated in a tumor so it is not 100% sensitive nor does the degree of elevation say what one may think it says in all cases

Consult with a good urologist regarding this issue is recommended.
 

shamrock

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don't tell me no freeze you fuking idiot, my dad goes for chemotherapy every Monday at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (one of the best cancer hospitals in the world), and has had prostate cancer for over 5 years. He has had radiation, and almost every trial therapy FDA approved over the years, and all that is left now is conventional chemotherapy.

When he went for his yearly physical his psa was slightly high, his primary sent him to a urologist, this doctor instead of taking 12 biopsy like you are supposed to took only 4, he missed the tumor. Next year he went for yearly physical psa was significantly higher, went to Dana Farber, surgery was not a option, as they assessed cancer was already out of prostate and spread. He had forty something treatments of radiation. This worked for couple years, then hormone shots, then 4 or 5 clinical trials, one of which was the morning after pill. Now conventional chemotherapy is all that is left as treatment.

Don't tell me about prostate cancer freeze, my family has lived it the last several years watching my dad whither away and he is only 61, he has also had radiation for "hotspots", in both hips, cervical vertebrate, and ischial bone. Your starting a argument with the wrong person, I live quarter mile from Dad and see him every day, I've gone to Dana Farber more times than you can count. Both my brother & sister in law are Harvard educated doctors and follow his care and explain anything doesn't understand. If there is something we have lived last several years it's prostate cancer, so go bark up a different tree.
 

Mjolnir

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shamrock said:
my dad had deadly terminal cancer & is psa was under 10, there is also something called the Gleason score, this gauges how aggressive the cancer is, his was a 10 on a 1-10 scale. From this they conclude the cancer was already outside the prostate, which it was.


sorry to hear of this. prayers for you & your family
 

dr. freeze

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shamrock said:
don't tell me no freeze you fuking idiot, my dad goes for chemotherapy every Monday at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (one of the best cancer hospitals in the world), and has had prostate cancer for over 5 years. He has had radiation, and almost every trial therapy FDA approved over the years, and all that is left now is conventional chemotherapy.

When he went for his yearly physical his psa was slightly high, his primary sent him to a urologist, this doctor instead of taking 12 biopsy like you are supposed to took only 4, he missed the tumor. Next year he went for yearly physical psa was significantly higher, went to Dana Farber, surgery was not a option, as they assessed cancer was already out of prostate and spread. He had forty something treatments of radiation. This worked for couple years, then hormone shots, then 4 or 5 clinical trials, one of which was the morning after pill. Now conventional chemotherapy is all that is left as treatment.

Don't tell me about prostate cancer freeze, my family has lived it the last several years watching my dad whither away and he is only 61, he has also had radiation for "hotspots", in both hips, cervical vertebrate, and ischial bone. Your starting a argument with the wrong person, I live quarter mile from Dad and see him every day, I've gone to Dana Farber more times than you can count. Both my brother & sister in law are Harvard educated doctors and follow his care and explain anything doesn't understand. If there is something we have lived last several years it's prostate cancer, so go bark up a different tree.

I have gone to MD Anderson more times than you can count but that doesn't make what I say right

I told you that the Gleason score grades tumors according to how they are differentiated and it is NOT a staging system

Tumor grade and stage are 2 different things and the layman such as yourself is easily confused so I tried to correct you.

Take a deep breath and in your next post maybe a thank you could be sent my way after you realize that I am correct after you talk to a pathologist or someone who knows what they are talking about.
 

shamrock

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ok freeze, what exactly are you taking issue with? I stated my Dad had terminal prostate cancer his psa was under 10, but there was also something called Gleason score and his was 10 on a scale from 1-10, this told the doctors how aggressive the cancer was, and they assessed it was probably outside the prostate.

That was my post, what exactly are you taking issue with you pompous know it all??

HERE FREEZE, READ YOUR OWN LINK YOU POSTED, IN IT, ACTUALLY THE FIRST SENTENCE, YOU WILL SEE IT SAYS (IE, HOW AGGRESSIVE THE TUMOR IS.)

http://www.cancer.prostate-help.org/cagleas.htm
THEN SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE, AND YOU WILL SEE A GLEASON OF 5 + 5 = 10, IS THE WORST, AND PROBABLY HAS SPREAD OUTSIDE PROSTATE.

so what exactly is your argument? Like I told you go bark up a different tree, and if anyone owes anyone a apology, you 0we me one.


Thank you 6-5 for your thoughts
 

shamrock

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Maverick, with all the B S ASIDE, your friend should treat it seriously. It could be nothing, but it is a small price to pay. My Dad went to the urologist, he did a unsatisfactory biopsy (only 4 samples), by the time my father went for his next physical (16 months or so) it was to late. Prostate cancer is (opposed to other cancer s), very beatable if caught early, and you have your prostate removed, and the cancer is confined to the prostate gland. Once it spreads out, it can definitely be fatal.

Good luck
 

VaNurse

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The good doctor once again displays why a good education is sooooooooooo much more valuable than a good bedside manner! :nono:

Freeze, I sincerely hope your specialty is surgery. You won't be able to piss so many people off if they're unconscious! Then again, there's always protology. You'd probably do well with other assholes! :moon:

P.S. Shamrock, sorry to hear about your dad. I'll keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.
 

dr. freeze

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VaNurse said:
The good doctor once again displays why a good education is sooooooooooo much more valuable than a good bedside manner! :nono:

Freeze, I sincerely hope your specialty is surgery. You won't be able to piss so many people off if they're unconscious! Then again, there's always protology. You'd probably do well with other assholes! :moon:

P.S. Shamrock, sorry to hear about your dad. I'll keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.

Well, consider yourself an addition to those who find it easy to hurl personal insults. What that says about you is for yourself to judge I guess.

So until you can take care of your own problems, I advise you to refrain from attacking another's personality -- especially someone who you do not know. One would assume that that is not good form for a nurse.

Not too sure what I said that brings about people flying off the handle or the attack dogs to come out, other than offering accurate, precise information.

Any other questions about the Gleason grading system and what exactly it is, I would be glad to be helpful.
 

VaNurse

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Freeze, it's not a matter of firing off personal insults. Perhaps you have a way of bringing out the worst in people. I'm sure your family and friends love you very much and you may not really be an asshole but it is absolutely the way you come across in this forum.

I've read many quite opinionated posts you've made and I have a perception of the persona you have created on this forum. I may be completely offbase but I can only judge what has been presented to me and, sadly, it doesn't give me the "warm and fuzzies". Perhaps the attitude you project is what makes you the target of the "attack dogs". There is a nature of arrogance that often comes across whether or not it's what you intended to convey. It's not just what you say to people that communicates your point, sometimes it's also how you say it.

In this case, I don't think anyone (other than you) looked at shamrock's post as an attempt to be the AMA authority on this subject. He gave us his perception as a layman of what Hell he and his family have been through and offered his response to the original question. He may have not done this in the exactly proper terminology but your response came across as technically callous and impersonal.

I have my problems as do all of the rest of us. I'm not sure just what I need to take care of, or for that matter, why it needs to be done before I comment. My thoughts of you are simple. If you are the person you project on this site, I don't like you very much. If that doesn't fit into your definition of what is or isn't good form for a nurse so be it. Let's just both be thankful that we don't work together.
 

new redneck

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shamrock,i have been following and investing in a biotech co for years, geron. you might want to look into it, as they have had , for the past few years, very successful results for terminal prostate cancer pts in phase 111 trials at duke university.since then, they have expanded to many other trials, now ongoing. many believe that geron might have the cure for cancer, all cancer!! go to thier website, and read about the duke results. mindblowing !perhaps, this new approach could help your dad.... strange that this is posted on father,s day, you are a good son to him, god bless both of you... look into it !!!!
 

gardenweasel

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very sorry to hear about your dad,brother....

i`ll pray for him...god bless him....

try and hang in there,pard...i know it`s tough....
 

shamrock

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Mjolnir, Va nurse, and my friend Garden, thank you for the thoughts.

New Redneck, thank you very much for the information, that's after all what this site is about,I think. Happy fathers Day.
 
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