Hi I'm new to this site

PhillieG said:

Welcome Aboard
As with everyone who joins this site, I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis (DX). I was DX in Feb 2004 with stage IV colon cancer. I had mets to my liver and my lungs. It's not uncommon for it to take that path when it's caught late as was my case and it seems to be yours too.

CEA can be a reliable tool but it's not always accurate as to what is going on inside of us. For some, it's natural for it to vary. If you happen to smoke, that can raise it. For others, a rise in CEA does mean growth but that again, is not always the case.

I suppose it could be atelectasis (which I had to look up!) or something that is nothing (if that makes sense) or it could be something that is something. Like I mentioned before, it's not uncommon for there to be mets in the lungs and liver. IF that is the case and they are mets (which I hope they're not), they can be treated a variety of ways. If you're sticking with the chemo route, there is Erbitux which is one of the "newer" targeted chemo's and sort of a "chemo-lite" compared to other chemo protocols. I have been on that for 4+ years and it's kept the majority of the spots I had in my lungs from growing or from growing fast. I had my last RFA in Dec 2009 on my left lung(?) and there was another questionable spot that they weren't sure of. I went back on Erbitux (or that and irinotecan) and the small spot grew ever so slightly. I've always gotten CT scans every 3 months. Now that spot is on the radar and will soon be taken out via RFA. I'll go back on Erbitux and wait and see.

While some spots can be located in areas that are hard to get to, others can be removed using a technique called RFA (Radio Frequency Ablation) where they stick the tumor with a needle and heat it up and that dissolves it. I've had that done 3 times in the past 4-5 years and 2 out of the three times I went home the same day. The first time I had it done I stayed overnight just for observation. If it is something and can't be removed via RFA, they can often do wedge resections which takes out a wedge of the lung. That's an operation, the RFA is a procedure.

I'm not sure if I'd call it a recurrence. I had the colon cancer plus liver mets plus lung mets all at the same time which is very common, but I'm not your oncologist and I'm not you. I would certainly make sure that you and your Onc keep and eye on the spots. Hopefully it is only atelectasis and nothing serious to worry about.

I certainly remember how frightening this all was at first. It still can be years later. For me, after a while you take things in stride and as they come. There can be so many "what if's" with cancer but I've found it easiest to deal with the "what is" instead.

I hope this was helpful.
I'm certainly not trying to frighten you but you don't want to blow it off.
-phil

fisherwoman said:

Hi,my name is Verna.

Hi,my name is Verna.

Hart1212 said:

Hi and welcome to the site
I recently joined the site also, and my first question was the same as yours. What to do when you have a rising CEA, but NED on the scans. I am currently in the same situation as you waiting for the cancer to grow big enough so they can see where it is. I have also been told that my cancer is back, but they can't treat a number...so we are waiting...I am having a hard time with the not knowing.


I was DX with stage III in November 2009 and after a right heicolectomy and 12 treatments of Folxfox my CEA was normal. Since stopping the chemo meds (but still on Avastin) my CEA has been steadily raising (it is now at 61). My pet scans and a recent MRI have been clear (except for my ovaries, which they attribute activity to my pre menapausal age). The next step for me will be a laproscopic look. I'm scheduled for that this week. My oncologist thinks the cancer may have spread to the peritoneum and has sent me for a consultation with a surgical oncologist that specialized in the HIPEC procedure. I am going to meet with 2 of these specialist and see what they have to say. One ordered a high contrast CT and the other a high contrast MRI. It sounds like you already had the CT sca. Was it done with contrast?

I wish I could give you some answers...I am in the process of finding them out myself so I will update you as I find things out. Maybe someone can shed some light on our situations. I can tell you that I know what you are going through. Maybe you could ask if it is time for someone to go in with a scope.

Anyway, I wish you the best. Hang in there, you are not alone.