Should I be concerned?

keystone
keystone Member Posts: 134 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
Sitting in physicians office waiting on surgical clearance papers for iliostomy reversal Friday. Tomorrow PET scan and other tests for surgery. Phils only had 2 CEA tests since diagnoses and both were very low ( .7 and .9) today his CEA is 1.1 which I know is still very low but it has changed. He finished chemo almost 4 weeks ago. Just nervous because his oncologist does not scan regularly. We will probably change oncologist soon. He did have a CT after his liver enzymes were up a month ago it, along with the chest x-Ray was fine. Oh dear I just wish I could calm down! Thanks fir listening I appreciate it!! Stephanie

Comments

  • tommycat
    tommycat Member Posts: 790 Member
    #2
    Your feelings are completely
    Your feelings are completely normal. Your husband will get complete labs done before the reversal and if anything looks iffy, the surgeon will reconsider the reversal for now.
    Try to think good thoughts and do what you can to relax yourself. When I was feeling anxious I would tell myself "months for years," meaning that the trade-off in having a couple crummy months was worth it, to have many more glorious years ahead of me.
    Thinking of you~
  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #3
    I've done a bit of research on CEA...
    and from what I remember, a post-chemo increase in CEA is not uncommon. As the cancerous cells die off, they dump the substance that is being measured by the CEA test (a protein? I think-not sure thanks to chemo brain!) into the blood stream, causing numbers to go up for a period of time after chemo is done. Hopefully, this will be the case for your husband, and it's a sign that the chemo has done its job! Take care, Ann
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    #4
    CEA
    It can be alarming but that is just a very minor jump and chemo can do that or a lot of factors for that matter. Everyone's CEA rises, you can take it at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and it will be different. If your oncologist isn't concerned, then that small jump shouldn't be so alarming. Focus on the reversal - that is a good thing :)

    Kim
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #5
    Stephanie I wouldn't be too much concern with this excelent
    CEA levels ! Just stay calm don't see any major problem on the results to be concern about!.
    Hugs and keep calm everything is going to be fine!
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #6
    Stephanie,
    Here is a good link for information on CEA levels:

    CEA Explanation

    A quick synopsis:

    Normal for a non-smoker is about 2.5, so your hubby is still well in the normal range. Generally, when there is no visible metastasis, anything below 10 is first considered to be caused by something benign, such as irritable bowel or inflammation. Above 10 there is concern about cancer and above 20 cancer is the most likely cause.

    Results can change for various reasons, including who ran the test, and what protocol they use. I remember reading somewhere that several labs switched from one protocol to another, without informing their clients (the oncologist). It led to more than a few misinterpretations of the data.

    My personal thought is you have no reason to be concerned, but you should mention it to his oncologist just to help ease your nerves (and because I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on these forums).

    Hope this helps,

    Blake
  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    #7
    Stephanie:
    Don't let your nerves get the best of you. As a caregiver myself, I know it is difficult, you mind goes in so many directions. A CEA of 1.1 is really quite low.

    Please give Ray our best wishes for a successful surgical outcome.

    Take care = Tina

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