One more thing for today..

alexinlv
alexinlv Member Posts: 194 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
Has anyhone ever experienced their cea numbers not showing anything and then being dx stage iv? the onc said this is not too unusual. tony's blood work never showed anything out of the ordinary in 18 months before recurrance.

Comments

  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #2
    CEA is a problematic
    It can be a good marker, but there are lots of cases where it either does not go up, or it is up and there is no cancer. It is one of the reasons it is not used as a diagnostic tool for someone with no history of CRC.
  • buckeye2
    buckeye2 Member Posts: 428 Member
    #3
    My husband also is stage
    My husband also is stage four without elevated CEA numbers. Our onc. says not everyone's CEA numbers elevate when tumors are present. Lisa
  • emrose
    emrose Member Posts: 136
    #4
    Same here
    My husband showed great (low) CEA the same day his PET showed a recurrence in his lung....

    So, bloodwork doesn't mean a lot to us anymore. It's the scans we hold our breath for
  • buckeye2
    buckeye2 Member Posts: 428 Member
    #5
    Repeat post.
  • alexinlv
    alexinlv Member Posts: 194 Member
    #6
    Ok, I'm glad to know it does
    Ok, I'm glad to know it does not have to be elevated. Of course my mind was thinking, "well, maybe this is all some big mistake if his numbers aren't elevated!"
  • dmdwins
    dmdwins Member Posts: 454 Member
    #7
    alexinlv said:

    Ok, I'm glad to know it does
    Ok, I'm glad to know it does not have to be elevated. Of course my mind was thinking, "well, maybe this is all some big mistake if his numbers aren't elevated!"

    CEA
    Some colorectal tumors produce CEA and some do not. That is why it is a good indicator for some for reoccurence and not reliable for others. Mine was normal at diagnosis(Stage 4)and has range from 1.7-6.5 over the past 4 years while having clean scans. It sure can drive you nuts!
  • johnnybegood
    johnnybegood Member Posts: 1,117 Member
    #8
    dmdwins said:

    CEA
    Some colorectal tumors produce CEA and some do not. That is why it is a good indicator for some for reoccurence and not reliable for others. Mine was normal at diagnosis(Stage 4)and has range from 1.7-6.5 over the past 4 years while having clean scans. It sure can drive you nuts!

    yes
    i believe there are many here with cea numbers not used as a good marker.i am one of them.i had blood work done aug.2010 and it was 1.8 then i had my yearly cat scan jan.2011 with blood work and cea was 1.5.cat scan showed recurrence in my liver and right lung...Godbless...johnnybegood

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