Another person freaking out over rising CEA

AllieC
AllieC Member Posts: 17
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Dad's CEA has never been low enough for comfort. T2N1M0. Stage 3A. 1/26 nodes positive.

CEA presurgery was 4.3, post surgery 4.7, now 7.1. This last CEA was taken during treatment #12, which he just finished this past week.

We don't know why it never went down after surgery, but the doctor was not worried at the time. This recent number, however, is frightening to us.

Dad has a post-chemo scan in 2.5 weeks, so we are on pins and needles until then.

Does anyone know why this might be happening? We thought his CEA would be going down, since he's been getting chemo.

Thank you for any response that you may have. I'm not a big poster (obviously), mostly because I just don't feel like I have much to contribute, but I do read often and keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. May God bless you all with a peaceful weekend.

Comments

  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #2
    A few questions....
    Does or did your dad smoke ? also the numbers you are showing are not very high at all anyway...0-3 for non smokers and 4-6 for smokers is the norm but you have to understand that CEA levels are not good indicators for all cc patients. You must take these numbers with a grain of salt and even if they are good indicators for him they are not high at all...Please , breathe and allow yourself some comfort knowing that it could be the chemo raising the numbers a bit but still with that the numbers are not very high...let the chemo disapate out of the system for a while and then see where the numbers go...I would really be comfortable with them even at 7 or 8 as long as they are not jumping up like doubling or tripling fast. You still though have to be aware that not everyone goes by this...to many variables...
  • AllieC
    AllieC Member Posts: 17
    #3
    Buzzard said:

    A few questions....
    Does or did your dad smoke ? also the numbers you are showing are not very high at all anyway...0-3 for non smokers and 4-6 for smokers is the norm but you have to understand that CEA levels are not good indicators for all cc patients. You must take these numbers with a grain of salt and even if they are good indicators for him they are not high at all...Please , breathe and allow yourself some comfort knowing that it could be the chemo raising the numbers a bit but still with that the numbers are not very high...let the chemo disapate out of the system for a while and then see where the numbers go...I would really be comfortable with them even at 7 or 8 as long as they are not jumping up like doubling or tripling fast. You still though have to be aware that not everyone goes by this...to many variables...

    Thank you
    Buzzard, thank you so much for your kind and comforting words. You have made me feel so, so much better. No, he does not smoke. I will definitely ask them to retest in a few weeks when the chemo has had a chance to leave the system a little.
  • thready
    thready Member Posts: 474
    #4
    Rise in CEA
    The rise in CEA can be caused from chemo. A lot of doctors won't even draw a CEA level until chemo is stopped for a few weeks. There reasoning is that chemo can raise the CEA and so it can be false indicator of what is going on. Also elevated CEA levels post surgery can be from all the inflammation that was caused from surgery trama.

    I do hope the scans all come back clear!
    Jan
  • AllieC
    AllieC Member Posts: 17
    #5
    thready said:

    Rise in CEA
    The rise in CEA can be caused from chemo. A lot of doctors won't even draw a CEA level until chemo is stopped for a few weeks. There reasoning is that chemo can raise the CEA and so it can be false indicator of what is going on. Also elevated CEA levels post surgery can be from all the inflammation that was caused from surgery trama.

    I do hope the scans all come back clear!
    Jan

    Thanks Jan
    Thanks Jan for your insight and for your well wishes. I hope your scans in May come back all clear as well!

    I have been reading these boards and haven't really come across another stage 3 person with CEA that high at the END of chemo. I think someone was around that number at the beginning or toward the middle of chemo.

    Maybe someone did and will post.
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #6
    AllieC said:

    Thanks Jan
    Thanks Jan for your insight and for your well wishes. I hope your scans in May come back all clear as well!

    I have been reading these boards and haven't really come across another stage 3 person with CEA that high at the END of chemo. I think someone was around that number at the beginning or toward the middle of chemo.

    Maybe someone did and will post.

    AllieC........
    This whole cancer journey is a pins and needles situation for everyone concerned....Everytime I coughed at first it was OMG its back....every time I farted it was OMG its back...what we have to do is know that we are still going to hack , cough, fart, spit, and blink and if we do thats not cancer making it happen...The mention of the "C" word gets way to much attention. It should be left as it is, just another step in the ladder of life we must climb. You will learn as you go that we do not look for bad things to happen, they do that enough on their own. What we do look for in this journey are the smallest of victories, such as during my chemo a cup of coffee enjoyed without barfing was a major milestone to me. Through this journey it is completely easy to become a raging maniac, but we must consume our fears so that others don't feed off of our reactions to things that may not go well. Strive to really celebrate the smallest victories in this fight you will go through with Dad because normally there are not very many large ones to celebrate, so to get through we make big deals out of the small ones because in this journey they are large...and very soon they will be a memory. Your job, as a caregiver for Dad is to make sure that he sees that you are ok with him having cancer. He is a dominant figure in the household and for us (men) or most of us to have something like this pop up is to feel like a failure in thinking that by being sick we can't be the "rock" we need to be for our families. Stand completely behind him and laugh and share stories and love him and try to keep life as normal as possible for you, him, and everyone else involved and life will get better sooner or later. Just forget the bad news that we get along the way and celebrate the small victories. Will your glass be half full for your dad or half empty ? Love to you and Dad and family...your friend, Buzz

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