Re: Hey, MelroseHawkins.
Unless I miss my guess, he probably has a high enough PSA level that it is called having prostate cancer, but it is still so low that it only merited watching until it got to a significantly higher level. That explains why it wasn't a problem to wait until now for treatment.
Unless I am way off base here, this is a blip on the radar. While technically it might be cancer, it is the sort of thing they are not too concerned about because when the PSA scores are discovered elevated ever so slightly, it should almost not even be referred to as cancer because there is no real life-threatening issue at the point in time it is discovered. In some cases they watch them to see if they get higher, and when they do then they act on it with treatment. Correct?
I am not in the medical field, but I believe this is what we will hear as the story unfolds. Since you work in the field, MelroseHawkins, maybe you can address my comments a little further than your previous comments went. I think you said the same thing and I just used more words that might make sense to more people, provided I am correct in my interpretations of this story.
PSA is a very arbritrary test depending a lot of the age of a Pt. Many lab tests are pos or neg within a range no matter what the age of the Pt is. PSA is a little different & can fluctuate up & down. It is not an exact science & is not a sole indication of cancer if elevated. PSA can be elevated for a number of reasons including benign conditions such as benign prostatic hypertrophy which prob affects 50% or more of the population of men over age 55.
Anyway, a typical "negative" lab range for PSA is level 0-4. But this is very deceiving because if a Pt has a value of 7 or so & is elderly (80yrs or so), the physician may not be so worried. But, vise versa, if a Pt is say 50 yrs old & has a value of 3, the physician may be worried & Bx the Pt, especially if the Pt doesn't really have an enlarged prostate or been Dx'ed with BPH. So, even though it is within range, the young age of the Pt with a PSA of 3 could be a bit disconcerting to the urologist. They may watch a bit or run a seriel PSA later & if still elevated go to Bx. A jump in PSA in a fairly short time may also worry the physician. So, if a young Pt was checked & it was 1.4 & checked again in a year & was up to 3.5, even though it is "neg" or within range, is still worrisome. So, again, PSA really depends on the interpretation of the physician on a case-by-case situation.
What's interesting about PSA is that, as mentioned above, it can fluctuate be a number of reasons, so it is not an exact science but guides the physician. For example. A PSA should not be drawn right after a rectal exam for a period of time because the exam alone most likely will cause an elevated PSA which could be a false pos. This is why a Dx of CA will usually not be based on PSA alone, especially if not way out of whack with benign feeling prostate. Anyway, prob getting too deep here.
Since it is in the paper, I suspect that Lavin had a Bx to confirm. You are correct, that many times a Pt can wait for treatment especially if the CA is a lower grade. This is often the case with older men. But, younger men & Lavin is 46 I believe they wouldn't wait as long as time. But, the physician looks a a number of criteria to make the decision if the Pt can wait a bit & I'm sure they determined they could wait until after the season. Prostate CA is a disease that can be treated with hormones & responds to hormones. So, some can take a hormones until more definitive treatment is performed. Only speculation, but this may be what they did until after the b-ball season.
This is getting too long.
