Hi
Ive recently completed all treatment for my prostate cancer diagnosis which consisted of hormone therapy and radiotherapy. I am now awaiting a PSA test which I've been told will be 6-9 months after my treatment finished. I have 3 questions:
1. Why do I have to wait so long for a PSA test?
2 If I get a low PSA result do I consider myself to be cured.
3 Will I be offered a further MRI scan?
Hi sezlez,
Thanks for getting in touch. This is just a quick message to let you know that I have moved your post from the Ask an Information and Support Adviser forum, over to our Ask a Nurse forum.
A member of our medically-qualified Cancer Information Nurse Specialist team will be best positioned to answer your testing and treatment-related questions, and so a member of that team will be along as soon as they are next free.
All the best,
Matthew
Macmillan Online Community Team
Dear sezlez
Thank you for getting in touch with the Macmillan online community, my name is Pauline and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support line.
I am pleased to hear that you have now completed your treatment for prostate cancer. When cancer treatment is finished, it can often be a time of uncertainty. It is normal to have lots of questions and so I am glad that you have got in touch.
The PSA is a blood test that measures a protein which is produced by both healthy and cancerous prostate cells, it is released into the blood when something is damaging the prostate. This can be something like vigorous exercise or even smoking.
Measuring the PSA can be helpful because it can give the medical team an indication of how the prostate is recovering following treatment. We look at the direction the PSA numbers are going in. So if the number is going down, we know things are settling, if it goes up, we can see something is affecting the prostate cells. Although it is a useful tool, it is limited in its use because it does not tell us much more than that.
After radiotherapy, there can be a lot of inflammation around the area of the prostate, therefore if we were to measure the PSA at that time, we would most likely find it is a high number, due to the inflammation effecting the cells, that is why we need to wait until the inflammation has reduced somewhat, so that we can get a more accurate picture of how the cells are recovering.
The PSA is only one tool that is used in monitoring a patient with a prostate cancer diagnosis, depending upon the diagnosis and the specific needs of the patient. Your medical team will be able to let you know how successful your treatment has been, however they may not be able to use the word cured. This is because they have no way of knowing if the cancer will return. They may however say that your cancer is in remission.
You will have follow up appointments which usually start around three months after your treatment. The specific investigations and monitoring will be dependent upon what your team feel you need. MRI could be considered if your doctor is concerned or if your PSA begins to rise again. Please note that a rise in PSA does not in itself mean that you have a recurrence, as mentioned before, the PSA can have lots of reasons for increasing.
It is important that you report any changes to your healthcare team. So, if you are having new or worsening symptoms you should not wait until your routine follow up appointment, you should contact the team sooner. Have a look at this booklet, which can be downloaded or ordered in paper copy. The booklet talks through what happens following prostate cancer treatment in more detail.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions please get in touch by email or phone. The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks* on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.
Ref PG/SMG
Best wishes,
