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Hello. I Am A 62 Year Old Male In Excellent
Question: hello. I am a 62 year old male in excellent health taking no medication with no symtoms.
2 years ago my PSA was 3
1 year ago it was 4
A reading this week was 8.
A rectal exam appeared normal.
A course of 3 weeks of antibiotics was prescribed since the oncologist suspeceted prostatius, with another psa in 3 weeks time.
My question is
(a) I have read that almost all cases of asymptomatic prostatitis are not caused by a bacteria and therefore the antibiotics are pointless (and struggle to reach the prostate anyway). Should I take the antibiotics or just wait 3 weeks and recheck the PSA in the hope that it was a spike.
(b) if I have prostate cancer, is it likely to be very early stage with this PSA and a normal examination?
(c) on balance of probabilty, can I afford to take my time (ie not worry about a couple of months delay) when making decisions, or should I be acting quickly because this may very well be an agressive cancer?
Thanks
2 years ago my PSA was 3
1 year ago it was 4
A reading this week was 8.
A rectal exam appeared normal.
A course of 3 weeks of antibiotics was prescribed since the oncologist suspeceted prostatius, with another psa in 3 weeks time.
My question is
(a) I have read that almost all cases of asymptomatic prostatitis are not caused by a bacteria and therefore the antibiotics are pointless (and struggle to reach the prostate anyway). Should I take the antibiotics or just wait 3 weeks and recheck the PSA in the hope that it was a spike.
(b) if I have prostate cancer, is it likely to be very early stage with this PSA and a normal examination?
(c) on balance of probabilty, can I afford to take my time (ie not worry about a couple of months delay) when making decisions, or should I be acting quickly because this may very well be an agressive cancer?
Thanks
Other History - I am on no medication.
I am fit and healthy.
I have had a full check up (stool, urine and blood) all clear.
My collestrol is very slightly higher than normal.
I am fit and healthy.
I have had a full check up (stool, urine and blood) all clear.
My collestrol is very slightly higher than normal.
Brief Answer:
yes there is no urgency
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.
It appears that you are a healthy individual and this PSA is just for screening.
This doubling of PSA in 1 yr is of concern but prostatitis is a definite possibility. You are right in a way that antibiotics don't help much in prostatitis but a short course won't do much harm and better to follow your doctor's advice regarding that.
Considering normal rectal exam, even if this is cancer, it's likely to be quite early stage.
Hence, delay of 1-2 months is not likely to cause any harm, provided you are on proper followup, like PSA trend monitoring. Many times we also see PSA trend over 1-2 months before biopsy in such patients.
Hope this helps.
Regards
yes there is no urgency
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.
It appears that you are a healthy individual and this PSA is just for screening.
This doubling of PSA in 1 yr is of concern but prostatitis is a definite possibility. You are right in a way that antibiotics don't help much in prostatitis but a short course won't do much harm and better to follow your doctor's advice regarding that.
Considering normal rectal exam, even if this is cancer, it's likely to be quite early stage.
Hence, delay of 1-2 months is not likely to cause any harm, provided you are on proper followup, like PSA trend monitoring. Many times we also see PSA trend over 1-2 months before biopsy in such patients.
Hope this helps.
Regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Answered by
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