Sky high CEA

Varmint5
Varmint5 Member Posts: 384 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hello again. Has anybody here had a sky high CEA with fluctuations during chemo? I mean sky high as in the thousands. And... if you had HAI or SIRT or RFA, was it done during Folfox chemo or after? Thanks so much.

Comments

  • janie1
    janie1 Member Posts: 753 Member
    #2
    yes
    People can have that high of cea, not uncommon. It will come down with chemo and surgeries. Takes time. Fluctuations are normal.
    I saw that you said you were in the "middle of the country". I tried researching how many centers use the HAI therapy. Sloan, for sure.
    And looks like University of Pittsburgh. Maybe University of Wisconsin (at Madison).....i thought i read an old post on another site, where someone had that treatment in Wisconsin. I'm also looking into .... if this is done in San Diego, however, that isn't so close to you. As you can see, very few oncologists use HAI therapy. I don't know if that is because of how closely it needs to be monitored. Many doctors probably just don't want to deal with it. Don't know much about SIRT. Was wondering if she could have liver sections taken out. Doesn't seem like 4 lesions would necessarily make her inoperable. Some people start with having chemo first. (This is just a quick answer, others will chime in, too)
  • Varmint5
    Varmint5 Member Posts: 384 Member
    #3
    janie1 said:

    yes
    People can have that high of cea, not uncommon. It will come down with chemo and surgeries. Takes time. Fluctuations are normal.
    I saw that you said you were in the "middle of the country". I tried researching how many centers use the HAI therapy. Sloan, for sure.
    And looks like University of Pittsburgh. Maybe University of Wisconsin (at Madison).....i thought i read an old post on another site, where someone had that treatment in Wisconsin. I'm also looking into .... if this is done in San Diego, however, that isn't so close to you. As you can see, very few oncologists use HAI therapy. I don't know if that is because of how closely it needs to be monitored. Many doctors probably just don't want to deal with it. Don't know much about SIRT. Was wondering if she could have liver sections taken out. Doesn't seem like 4 lesions would necessarily make her inoperable. Some people start with having chemo first. (This is just a quick answer, others will chime in, too)

    Thanks, Janie...
    She has "many" liver spots, two larger ones which were approx 6-7cm in the beginning, now less than half that. Some of the smaller liver spots appear to be gone. All have shrunk to less than half and the radiation oncologist said, from CT scan, "appear to be dying." She started immediately on Folfox, then 28 rad treatments after two doses of Folfox. Are fluctuations of 300 points normal?
  • janie1
    janie1 Member Posts: 753 Member
    #4
    Varmint5 said:

    Thanks, Janie...
    She has "many" liver spots, two larger ones which were approx 6-7cm in the beginning, now less than half that. Some of the smaller liver spots appear to be gone. All have shrunk to less than half and the radiation oncologist said, from CT scan, "appear to be dying." She started immediately on Folfox, then 28 rad treatments after two doses of Folfox. Are fluctuations of 300 points normal?

    Scans are better to go by
    Scans are better to go by anyway, especially this early, and with having radiation....cea probably doesn't mean much, but it's good to have it. Good... tumors are shrinking a lot. No doubt about it, it's a long, slow, one-day-at-a-time process. Wish we could speed it up, but just have to settle-in. In the meantime, everyone enjoy the times when you are not at appointments.
  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    #5
    CEA
    counts can fluctuate. Generally, during chemo, they go down. My hubby started out in the 900's and we are now 3 years into it and he hovers around 14, lowest it has ever been. CEA is not a good marker for some people but for us and most, it is a marker to follow.

    I'm not completely sure but I think she needs to finish her chemo treatments, see where you are at, and then go from there. In order to do some procedures, you need to stop chemo and stopping mid-stream is not a good idea. Chemo needs time to work, it is not instant or overnight but cumulative.

    Take care - Tina

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