Your PSA Is Rising After Initial Treatment

The wide variety of approaches to prostate cancer makes it difficult to find the best treatment path. Obtaining answers to key questions is an important step in learning about prostate cancer, and can help guide the decision-making process.

Below is a list of questions to ask when your PSA is rising after initial treatment.

• What does it mean that my PSA level is rising again?
• What is my PSA level now and how will we monitor changes over time?
• Can we (should we) chart the velocity or doubling time of my PSA? What can this tell us about my prognosis?
• Am I a candidate for local "salvage" prostatectomy or radiation? Why or why not?
• Should I get a bone scan to see if the cancer has spread to my bones?
• If you recommend that I initiate androgen deprivation therapy ("hormone therapy"), how will this benefit me and slow down the growth of the cancer cells? Is this the optimal time to initiate this treatment?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks/side effects of hormone therapy? Are there things that I can do to minimize the side effects?
• If I initiate hormone therapy, will this make my PSA drop back to zero? Will we monitor my PSA over time to see if it’s working?
• How long do the treatment effects of hormone therapy last?
• If the hormone therapy stops working, what treatment options remain?
• Are there dietary changes that I could or should make to optimize my treatment?
• Should we add a medical oncologist to my treatment team to gain an additional perspective on treating my disease?
• Should I consider joining a clinical trial?