CEA BLOOD TEST

TeriK

Hi Everyone,

I would really appreciate if ANYONE can answer this post.  This is my first time posting.  I am 59 and have lost 40 lobs in 10 months.  I now weigh 95 lbs.  My thyroid, kidney, bladder, liver, (cant remember them all) blood tests within normal range with the exception of the CEA which is 14.  My neighbor had a CEA of 14 then resection and chemo now her number less than 2.  I am wiaitng to get colonoscopy.  From everything I read this means Cancer somewhere which is what I suspected for along time.  I think my Primary Care Dr. did not want to scare me too much.  He ssaved this test reult til last,  I have no children and am divorced.  Care taker for my 86 year old mother.  Can anyone tell me if it looks like what I think.  Also have no gallblader.   PLEASE ANYONE.

abrub

CEA

Hi Teri.

Yes, the CEA can be an indicator of cancer, but it can also be an indicator of other inflammation.  Your CEA, while higher that "Normal" is not extremely high.  It can soar much higher.  That said, they'll want to repeat that test.  Yes, ask for a colonscopy.  If you haven't had one yet, you are past-due.  Ask your dr about CT/PET scans as well.  Catch your breath. You won't know what it is until there is further testing done. 

Yes, it could be cancer.  It could also be other things that are less frightening.

Alice

 

John23

CEA Rise Due to Death of Cancer Cells

CEA Rise Due to Death of Cancer Cells

This is the original post from Thu, 09/05/2013 - 9:25am:
 

"I had posted this in a personal message, and felt it should be
posted where it might be of help to others as well:"
__________________________________________________

The CEA count is nearly meaningless without other tests; the CEA
is only one marker out of many, that is evaluated for health concerns
and/or the presence of cancer.

The “CEA” count can go up or down for many reasons, including
(but not limited to) dietary changes. It’s for that reason, that changes
in the CEA should not be taken too seriously if one ignores all
the other markers that the presence of cancer can change.

Another thing that should be kept in mind (and remind the physician
of as well), is the fact that dying cancer cells will emit
chemicals that will be reflected as a change in the CEA count.
Dying cancer cells will equate to a noticeable rise on CEA!

I had posted periodically that fact (and links to the medical
Journals that support it) on this website. It’ been noted that
many Oncologists had been taking patients off their specific
chemical treatment due to a rise in CEA, feeling that the rise
was an indication that the treatments were not working. The
abandonment of the treatment was causing the loss of patients,
since those treatments were actually working better than expected!

It’s that kind of misinterpretation of diagnostics that is most harmful !!

So….. not only can the dietary matter of herbal remedies change
CEA, but so can an herb’s ability to kill cancer cells. The rise
in CEA - if attributable to the death of cancer cells – could
very well be a sign that the herbal remedy is working!

Cancer cells are not complicated, they are a one cell life form
that began as a normal cell gone bad. They began their new life
using the fermentation process, and continue to survive using
that process. A cancer cell isn’t that much different than an
amoeba or a mold spore as far as it’s simple and basic life
support system; it is not complicated, it is very basic. The only thing
complicated, are the methods used to isolate the single cell and
remove it; our immune system is to date, the only method that works
for that isolation process.

The “complicated cancer cell” notion is brought forth by the
industry alone; the speculation of it's reasons are left to one's
own reasoning.

Here’s a copy of one post I made regarding CEA and dying cancer cells:
____________________________________________________

"Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can cause a temporary rise in
CEA due to the death of tumor cells and release of CEA into the
blood stream. Benign disease does not usually cause an increase
above 10 ng/ml."
From: http://www.medicinenet.com/carcinoembryonic_antigen/article.htm

---------------
"The data presented in this study support both lines of
thought concerning CEA production; however, these results
strongly uphold the theory of CEA release by dying cells."
From: http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/

--------------
"recent observations of CEA upregulation in CRC cell lines by cellular stressors such as
hypoxia9 or exposure to cytotoxic drugs such as 5-fluorouracil.10,11 Moreover, it is plausible
that apoptotic release of CEA from dying cells could trigger transient increases"
From: http://cigjournals.metapress.com/index/8278xq0v077w2166.pdf

-------------
"One possible explanation for the rise in marker levels among
patients with regressing tumor is that the dying cells may
release large amounts of marker into the blood."
From: http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Health/Tumor-marker

------------
"Colorectal cancer patients whose CEA blood tests rise at the
beginning of chemotherapy and then fall (CEA flare) do better
than patients with a consistently rising CEA. CEA flares don’t
necessarily predict worsening cancer.

Compared to patients with consistently rising carcinoembryonic
antigen (CEA), patients who had a CEA flare had more tumor
shrinkage, longer time before their cancer got worse, and longer
survival time."
From: http://fightcolorectalcancer.org/research_news/2009/

------------
"If we had followed this ASCO guideline of measurement of CEA
level every second month, one of the surge patients would have
been incorrectly interpreted as having experienced treatment
failure, and therapy would have stopped. The patient would have
been incorrectly removed from the treatment, giving her a time to
progression of 11.2 months and 27.3-month survival. To avoid
inappropriate therapy changes based on clinical misinterpretation
of a CEA surge as an impending disease progression, we suggest
that future ASCO guidelines should mention the possibility of CEA
surge. Furthermore, we suggest that no therapy changes should be
based on CEA levels alone at all during the first 6 months of therapy.

An initial rise in CEA level during effective chemotherapy in
colorectal cancer patients may not always indicate progression of
disease but may be a transient CEA surge in patients responding
to chemotherapy. In monitoring tumor responses and in future
guidelines for the use of tumor markers, the possibility of a
surge phenomenon should be taken into account. This will
especially be important if a new, more effective treatment with
high response rates or rapid tumor destruction is introduced. "
From: http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/21/23/4466.full

___________________________________________________

I hope that’s of some help to you (and the physician) !

Stay well,
John

 

JanJan63

Yoor CEA is still not that

Yoor CEA is still not that high at 14. It's really not a reliable indicator of anything. Mine has been low the entire time through diagnosis and treatment. It's now consistently less than 1. So I had cancer but it wasn't elevated. And people can have the reverse with higher numbers but no cancer. I think it's only an indicator for colon and lung cancers, but I'm not positive.

I had no weight loss at all. It's possible you do have colon cancer but it's also possible it's something else entirely. I wish you luck and that it's not the big C like the rest of us have had to contend with.

Jan 

TeriK

abrub said:

CEA

Hi Teri.

Yes, the CEA can be an indicator of cancer, but it can also be an indicator of other inflammation.  Your CEA, while higher that "Normal" is not extremely high.  It can soar much higher.  That said, they'll want to repeat that test.  Yes, ask for a colonscopy.  If you haven't had one yet, you are past-due.  Ask your dr about CT/PET scans as well.  Catch your breath. You won't know what it is until there is further testing done. 

Yes, it could be cancer.  It could also be other things that are less frightening.

Alice

 

CEA

Thanks so much.  Waiting to get in for the colonoscopy.  Drs overbooked.  Appreciate you taking time to answer.

TeriK

JanJan63 said:

Yoor CEA is still not that

Yoor CEA is still not that high at 14. It's really not a reliable indicator of anything. Mine has been low the entire time through diagnosis and treatment. It's now consistently less than 1. So I had cancer but it wasn't elevated. And people can have the reverse with higher numbers but no cancer. I think it's only an indicator for colon and lung cancers, but I'm not positive.

I had no weight loss at all. It's possible you do have colon cancer but it's also possible it's something else entirely. I wish you luck and that it's not the big C like the rest of us have had to contend with.

Jan 

CEA

Thanks evryone.  I appreciate your time and info.

TeriK

Thanks tp al who have replied

Thanks tp al who have replied so far.  I really appreciate the info and your time.  Take Care

harleywiz

stage 4 3 1/2 years

stage 4 for  3 1/2 years still never had a cea over  0.4

Jeff's mom

High CEA

I have a CEA of 375.6.  The doctor thinks I am actively dying from signet ring cell colon cancer.  I feel great.  I would love to prove him wrong!