CA-125 stalled?

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Hodgkins1982
Hodgkins1982 Member Posts: 10
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Mom had 3 carbo/taxil treatments and they did a cat scan and physical exam and determined tumor had not shrunk enough for surgery. Now she's had another 3 chemos (3rd one today).

CA-125 went from 700 down to around 150 quickly, but now the trend has really slowed down (127, 116, 114). In two weeks she is due for another exam and tests to determine if tumor has now shrunk enough for an optimal surgical outcome.

She is getting anxious about the slowed drop in her CA-125 marker. Doctor mentioned today switching drugs to get more movement.

Have any of the women on the board experienced or heard of a similar situation? How did it play out (i.e. delayed surgery, different drugs, etc)?

Thanks.

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  • sargardan
    sargardan Member Posts: 1
    #2
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    Fairly similar ...
    My wife (age 49) was diagnosed with 3C OVCA (in the UK) and told to have 3 rounds of Carbo/Taxol chemo with a view to reducing the tumors prior to surgery. CA125 was 500+ before chemo and went down to 65 after 3 rounds. However, it was suggested that another 3 rounds would be the best path forward with possible surgery afterwards. CA 125 plateaued and to her disappointment after 6 rounds of chemo surgeon still wouldn't operate as para-aortic nodes were involved. She was effectively told to wait and see pending further chemo. This was an extremely hard time and we insisted on a second opinion hoping for further chemo. However, the second opinion, to our surprise, was that another surgeon had considered surgery "routine" and had regularly performed procedures addressing cases like hers. So we jumped at the chance and, as expected, the full debulking was successful. Unfortunately following surgery further node was involved and further chemo (Caelyx/Carbo) has ensued. The moral of the story is that you should seek a second opinion at the FIRST opportunity. One surgeon's challenge is another's child's play.

    PS As a matter of interest, the 6 cycles chemo and then surgery is quite rare and, as we surmised, is best avoided. Of course it is easier said than done as surgeons skills and opinions can vary wildly.

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