Mixed results

jana11
jana11 Member Posts: 705
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi all. I am another stage 4 survivor.. diagnosed 10/02 at stage 3. First lung mets, now lung, bone and possible liver. Still on chemo, but doing OK.

Just had scans done at MD Anderson. The CT looks stable.. good news. BUT, my CEA rose from 11 to 34. I did have a terrible flu just prior to scans and illness can cause a CEA increase.. but I HATE that it rose!! Over the past 3 months, my CEA has dropped each time it was checked, every 3 weeks. Sigh.

Hope everyone else is doing well. jana

Comments

  • levensweg
    levensweg Member Posts: 55
    #2
    Jana,
    I'm so impressed with your attitude and cheering you on to stay positive! I hear good thing about MD Anderson.I'm a stage four survivor, currently NED. I was diagnosed when I was 33 just two years ago. I've never heard of cc mets to bone. How the heck did they find that?..PET scan? You must have some good doc's to be so on top of it.

    Anyway, just wanted to cheer you on and give you support.

    Lev
  • Jnet
    Jnet Member Posts: 14
    #3
    Hi Jana,
    Sorry to hear about you CEA. Just keep hanging on, and I know you do, because of your attitude. I am stage 3 last January 2006 first Diagnosed and now since Jan. 2007 re diagnosed at stage 4 with mets to liver and bone, (vertebrae). I am 36 now. My Doctor can't understand it too on how it is in my bone when he says in his 30 yrs. of experience he never see colon Ca mets to the bone. Well, I guess we are unique. I just pray all the time that we get to post here like some of the stage 4's and say NED. I started back on chemo last thursday. I had to get a leave of absence from work for now, because of the feeling like I have the flu and nausea was bad for 4 days. I will be back to work once I get the side effect in control and know how long it takes me to get better that way I don't have to call in sick all the time. Well, you take care and everyone thank you all so much for your help and very encouraging words. I don't post much here but I am here to read the posts everyday and you are all became my support family here. Thank you all so much and You are all are in my prayers.
    God Bless
    Jeannette
  • nanuk
    nanuk Member Posts: 1,358 Member
    #4
    Jana: your CT at MDA is stable, and the CEA is up;
    in your case CEA stands for Colossal Enthusiastic
    Attitude, so do the math; if it rose to 34 in three weeks,it will be down below 9 on your next labs. (your attitude + my math..)
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    #5
    Hi Jana,
    You have been on my mind -- so glad to hear from you. Great news about the CT results - that is good news. I'm sure it's a little discouraging to see a rise in the CEA but as you say it could be the flu -- and we all know CEA isn't the best indicator --
    Thinking of you and sending all good wishes your way
    Tara
  • jerseysue
    jerseysue Member Posts: 624 Member
    #6
    I think about you every day and I love your attitude. I try to keep myself positive it's hard with a husband who has depression sometimes I feel so bad for him. I pray more for him to keep his wits about him then I pray for myself. I'll let you know how everything goes for me. I had my last chemo on Tuesday and I get my pack off Thursday. I have a CT scan scheduled for the 27th and I'll get my results on the 3rd. My doctor doesn't think that the cancer will be gone but I told him I thought it would. I want my reversal done so bad he said we'll talk about that on the 3rd. He also mentioned another surgery to remove something in my stomach but I wasn't sure what he meant. I figured I'd wait until the 3rd. I'm staying positive that your CEA rise is due from your cold. Keep in touch Sue.
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #7
    Jana,

    I wish you well. This beast is a terribly dirty fighter, but with your strength of character, I KNOW you will deliver the 1-2 punch!

    I never had high CEA, and so it is not a good indicator for me, but it DOES sound like you had other things going on when it was tested.

    Sending BIG HUGS!

    Hugs, kathi
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #8
    Jnet said:

    Hi Jana,
    Sorry to hear about you CEA. Just keep hanging on, and I know you do, because of your attitude. I am stage 3 last January 2006 first Diagnosed and now since Jan. 2007 re diagnosed at stage 4 with mets to liver and bone, (vertebrae). I am 36 now. My Doctor can't understand it too on how it is in my bone when he says in his 30 yrs. of experience he never see colon Ca mets to the bone. Well, I guess we are unique. I just pray all the time that we get to post here like some of the stage 4's and say NED. I started back on chemo last thursday. I had to get a leave of absence from work for now, because of the feeling like I have the flu and nausea was bad for 4 days. I will be back to work once I get the side effect in control and know how long it takes me to get better that way I don't have to call in sick all the time. Well, you take care and everyone thank you all so much for your help and very encouraging words. I don't post much here but I am here to read the posts everyday and you are all became my support family here. Thank you all so much and You are all are in my prayers.
    God Bless
    Jeannette

    Emend and Decadron combo will take care of the nausea beast amazingly well! I didn't have a lot of problems initially, nausea controlled with others like Phenergan, Zofran, etc. However, once it got bad, we changed to the Emend and Decadron and I never had nausea again! It did make me eat like a mad beast, but better than not being hungry and throwing everything up that I did manage to ingest!
  • Betsydoglover
    Betsydoglover Member Posts: 1,248 Member
    #9
    Jana -

    I am happy to hear about your stable CT scan. Hopefully the CEA is just an aritfact of the flu - and since you get it taken every 3 weeks, you will know soon (good news, I am sure).

    I'm a believer in great attitude and yours is great and I try and model mine after yours - it's worked so far!

    Best wishes,
    Betsy
  • hopefulone
    hopefulone Member Posts: 1,043 Member
    #10
    Jana. Good news on the CT. Sorry about the CEA rise.It wouldn't surprise me that the flu could influence your bloodwork. Keep that positive attitude going. Praying for a low CEA on your next test. Keep the faith. God Bless.
  • jsabol
    jsabol Member Posts: 1,145 Member
    #11
    Hi Jana,
    Good to hear from you, and also great news about the CT scan looking stable...that is awesome. I'm sorry to hear that your CEA went up; you know all the problems with CEA reliability. Hoping that it is down again at the next check.
    You are one amazing lady...stay strong, keep us posted, Judy

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