Can bowel inflamation cause your cea to rise

cheeks964
cheeks964 Member Posts: 54
edited April 2013 in Colorectal Cancer #1

Had a illiostomy reversal in jan 2013. Before surgery my cea was 2.1 in January . Now in April it is 5.7. Can inflamation for multiple trips to the bathroom cause the cea to rise? Has this happened to anyone???  I did have my cea go up during chemo and my onc said it was due to inflamation. Diarea from the chemo.

Thank you

carolyn

Comments

  • PatchAdams
    PatchAdams Member Posts: 271
    #2
    yes

    IBS, Diverticulitis, polyps, etc can cause an elevated CEA. 

  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    #3
    Carolyn –

    1st….. It’s not a good idea to post your email address to any forum. If I were you, I would delete it ASAP (although once it’s “out there”, it’s a usually a done deal for the reception of a flood of spam and scam).

     

    2nd….. Most physicians don’t bother with CEA counts unless it’s part of the overall diagnostic process. The CEA by itself, doesn’t mean much. The CEA count can go up and down to reflect almost any inflammation or ailment; for many of us, CEA never reflected the incidence of cancer.

     

    By the way… your comment:
    “I did have my cea go up during chemo and my onc said it was due to inflamation.”

     

    Studies have proved (and there’s plenty of documentation to support the studies), that dying cancer cells can elevate the CEA count. Physicians have been cautioned –not- to stop chemotherapy due to a rise in CEA, since it can be proof that the chemicals are doing their job.

     

    The problem was noted, that many cancer patients lost the benefit of the chemotherapy they had been prescribed, due to the physician stopping the treatments with the assumption that it was “not working, when indeed it had been, and likely better than expected.

     

    But your oncologist is correct, that inflammation can cause a rise in CEA.

     

    Best wishes to you,

     

    John

     

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