HELP with my CEA value

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griniou
griniou Member Posts: 5
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi there,
I would like to ask you if you can give me some information regarding my cea value.It came at 4.94 (upper limit of 5 for non smokers, 10 for smokers). I am not a smoker,though I smoked lightly for 3 years but I quit 16 months ago. However I do have a small lung problem, i.e. spastic bronchitis. I have no symptoms or nothing wehatsoever, but my doctor decided I have the cea test along with a general blood count test, "just in case". I got really scared and depressed, to me it seemed (and it still seems) that sooner or later I will encounter problems since the value is very close to exceeding the threshold of 5. So I decided to have the test again 13 days later exactly, and It came slightly lower, at 4.33. Of course, I'm still very worried.

Is there anyone who can make anything out of these numbers?
Any comments welcome, thanks in advance for your valuable insight

Comments

  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #2
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    rinoui -

    I would certainly not get worried and definitely not get depressed over your CEA. The CEA test is very unreliable and is used in conjunction with other tests to determine your at-risk status. Many of us here had normal CEA levels at the same time we had active cancer. Others have elevated CEA levels and no cancer evident.

    I can't tell from your post if you are a survivor or not, but if you are concerned that you may have something going on, I suggest you check with your doctor about getting a colonoscopy. That will give our doc a chance to take a look around, identify anything that might be there and put your mind to rest.

    Cheers

    - SpongeBob
  • griniou
    griniou Member Posts: 5
    #3
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    spongebob said:

    rinoui -

    I would certainly not get worried and definitely not get depressed over your CEA. The CEA test is very unreliable and is used in conjunction with other tests to determine your at-risk status. Many of us here had normal CEA levels at the same time we had active cancer. Others have elevated CEA levels and no cancer evident.

    I can't tell from your post if you are a survivor or not, but if you are concerned that you may have something going on, I suggest you check with your doctor about getting a colonoscopy. That will give our doc a chance to take a look around, identify anything that might be there and put your mind to rest.

    Cheers

    - SpongeBob

    Thank toy for your response.
    No, I don't have cancer (or at least I never had). Could that mean anything?
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #4
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    griniou said:

    Thank toy for your response.
    No, I don't have cancer (or at least I never had). Could that mean anything?

    Hi. I would suggest you have a more in depth discussion with your doctor. You say you have no symptoms apart from already knowing about your lung problem. Unless cancer is a concern due to it being present within your family I wonder why you are showing alarming concerns. If the test for CEA levels was done primarily due to the lung problem I would have thought your doctor would have given a clear explanation?
    As Bob said, CEA levels are not always a good indicator nor are they considered entirely accurate.
    You say you don't have other symptoms? The way you come across I wonder if you have some sort of symptoms that you are not telling us? Sometimes bowel cancer produces no symptoms until the later stages...that is why it is necessary to catch it early. If you are concerned for any reason other than the CEA levels I would certainly ask for a colonoscopy to be done but you would need to be open with your doctor as to why you are concerned.
    regards, kanga
  • griniou
    griniou Member Posts: 5
    #5
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    kangatoo said:

    Hi. I would suggest you have a more in depth discussion with your doctor. You say you have no symptoms apart from already knowing about your lung problem. Unless cancer is a concern due to it being present within your family I wonder why you are showing alarming concerns. If the test for CEA levels was done primarily due to the lung problem I would have thought your doctor would have given a clear explanation?
    As Bob said, CEA levels are not always a good indicator nor are they considered entirely accurate.
    You say you don't have other symptoms? The way you come across I wonder if you have some sort of symptoms that you are not telling us? Sometimes bowel cancer produces no symptoms until the later stages...that is why it is necessary to catch it early. If you are concerned for any reason other than the CEA levels I would certainly ask for a colonoscopy to be done but you would need to be open with your doctor as to why you are concerned.
    regards, kanga

    thanks for your response, Kanga.

    No, I have no other symptoms, and have never been concerned with cancer before in my life (i'm 34). No cancer in my family tree, which is pretty good. But doesn't a value so close to the threshold raise legitimate concerns? It;s not that easy for someone to say that "the CEA is not so accurate, so just ignore it", you understand what I'm saying.
  • madu
    madu Member Posts: 53
    #6
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    griniou said:

    thanks for your response, Kanga.

    No, I have no other symptoms, and have never been concerned with cancer before in my life (i'm 34). No cancer in my family tree, which is pretty good. But doesn't a value so close to the threshold raise legitimate concerns? It;s not that easy for someone to say that "the CEA is not so accurate, so just ignore it", you understand what I'm saying.

    I would agree that, if you are concerned, I would explore more with your doc - maybe a gastroenterologist. My onc said it's perfectly normal for CEA to flucuate throughout the day or over time - he said even his would and he doesn't have cancer. You could always have a fecal occult test which would test for microscopic blood in the stool. I will say that I was diagnosed at age 31 at stage IV ("terminal" but I've been in remission for almost 7 years) with no family history of colon cancer. At a young age, it's not always genetic but could be a missing tumor blocker. Double check typical symptoms on this site or maybe webmd. It's true that the most common symptom of colon cancer is no symptom. I had a little blood VERY sporadically and was told it was a hemorrhoid and not to worry. So I commend you for being proactive, follow it through until you're comfortable with the answers. But just remember, there are women who carry the genetic mutation that usually causes breast cancer and they never get it.

    Heidi
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #7
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    madu said:

    I would agree that, if you are concerned, I would explore more with your doc - maybe a gastroenterologist. My onc said it's perfectly normal for CEA to flucuate throughout the day or over time - he said even his would and he doesn't have cancer. You could always have a fecal occult test which would test for microscopic blood in the stool. I will say that I was diagnosed at age 31 at stage IV ("terminal" but I've been in remission for almost 7 years) with no family history of colon cancer. At a young age, it's not always genetic but could be a missing tumor blocker. Double check typical symptoms on this site or maybe webmd. It's true that the most common symptom of colon cancer is no symptom. I had a little blood VERY sporadically and was told it was a hemorrhoid and not to worry. So I commend you for being proactive, follow it through until you're comfortable with the answers. But just remember, there are women who carry the genetic mutation that usually causes breast cancer and they never get it.

    Heidi

    Well said Heidi. And CONGRATULATIONS on beating this demon!!!!7 years!!!...WOW...now thats so inspirational for us here!
    I too was told I had haemharoids back in 97--then in 03 I get told I have cancer--go figure!
    Griniou, you need to thoroughly discuss your anxiety with your doctor. Just to put your mind at rest.
    cheers, kanga n Jen
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #8
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    griniou -

    One other point to make...

    You seem to be concerned about a lung problem but you are looking at your CEA. Now hopefully if I am wrong, one of the docs here will smack me down, but CEA is used primarily as an indicator for colon cancer. We talk about lung nodules here but primarily in terms of metastatic disease from our colon cancer (lungs and liver seem to be popular sites for colon cancer to migrate to). That would make the CEA a viable indicator - for us; colon cancer survivors.

    Given your age, the fact that you smoked (albeit lightly for 3 years), and your lung problems with no other indicators or familial history of colon cancer being reported, I just have to wonder if the CEA really has any significant bearing on your health status.

    Please don't misunderstand... I'm not saying that you are out in left field for being concerned, just wondering why your advisers (doctors) have led you down this path - especially if, as I believe, CEA isn't a great test to begin with and isn't - to the best of my knowledge (which, admittedly, ain't much) - widely used as a diagnosic tool for lung cancer.

    I would be surprised if you had colon cancer to the point of signifcicant metastatic disease in your lungs that was causing noticeable lung issues while remaining asymptomatic for colon cancer in your colon. Ask most of the folks here who have lung nodules, they had no physical indications there was evidence of disease in their lungs - no coughing, wheezing, etc.

    Talk to your doc. I'm not saying blow-off the CEA results (by the way, I've also not seen CEA values taken out to the hundredths of a % - Janna/Steve, is that typical?). What I and my fellow Semi-Colons are trying to say is, I wouldn't get too distraught over the values you have been presented with - heck, a dropping CEA level is a GOOD thing. Baselines are just that. The diagnostic value of a CEA test is in a rise from the baseline level - whatever that may be. Mine is below 1, but I still got sick. Your's is near 5 - but, aside from you spastic bronchitis (do you take steroids for that? Maybe that could affect your CEA level?), you have no evidence of disease...

    Weird world these bodies of ours.

    Stay well

    - SpongeBob
  • griniou
    griniou Member Posts: 5
    #9
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    spongebob said:

    griniou -

    One other point to make...

    You seem to be concerned about a lung problem but you are looking at your CEA. Now hopefully if I am wrong, one of the docs here will smack me down, but CEA is used primarily as an indicator for colon cancer. We talk about lung nodules here but primarily in terms of metastatic disease from our colon cancer (lungs and liver seem to be popular sites for colon cancer to migrate to). That would make the CEA a viable indicator - for us; colon cancer survivors.

    Given your age, the fact that you smoked (albeit lightly for 3 years), and your lung problems with no other indicators or familial history of colon cancer being reported, I just have to wonder if the CEA really has any significant bearing on your health status.

    Please don't misunderstand... I'm not saying that you are out in left field for being concerned, just wondering why your advisers (doctors) have led you down this path - especially if, as I believe, CEA isn't a great test to begin with and isn't - to the best of my knowledge (which, admittedly, ain't much) - widely used as a diagnosic tool for lung cancer.

    I would be surprised if you had colon cancer to the point of signifcicant metastatic disease in your lungs that was causing noticeable lung issues while remaining asymptomatic for colon cancer in your colon. Ask most of the folks here who have lung nodules, they had no physical indications there was evidence of disease in their lungs - no coughing, wheezing, etc.

    Talk to your doc. I'm not saying blow-off the CEA results (by the way, I've also not seen CEA values taken out to the hundredths of a % - Janna/Steve, is that typical?). What I and my fellow Semi-Colons are trying to say is, I wouldn't get too distraught over the values you have been presented with - heck, a dropping CEA level is a GOOD thing. Baselines are just that. The diagnostic value of a CEA test is in a rise from the baseline level - whatever that may be. Mine is below 1, but I still got sick. Your's is near 5 - but, aside from you spastic bronchitis (do you take steroids for that? Maybe that could affect your CEA level?), you have no evidence of disease...

    Weird world these bodies of ours.

    Stay well

    - SpongeBob

    cheers to all of you guys,

    Believe me, it is an honour for me to have a discussion with people born to be winners, and all of you are real winners.
    As far as my lung problem is concerned, I have follwed it meticulously over the last 3 years with x-rays sporadically , as well as with general blood count tests. Nothing of concern there, really. It looks like I'm overly concerned about an issue that might be a matter of my CEA numbers belonging to this range - every individual is different-. Form what I can infer from what you have said, there is a very small probability there is something bad going on, though you never know. thank you all for youe valuable comments and information, I really wish you the best, I'm pretty sure you will "beat this deamon" (just as Heidi and Kangatoo have done. I will try to be more realistic from know on, wish there was a test that would give me a definite answer as to whether I have cancer or not.

    Regards,

    griniou
  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #10
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    griniou said:

    cheers to all of you guys,

    Believe me, it is an honour for me to have a discussion with people born to be winners, and all of you are real winners.
    As far as my lung problem is concerned, I have follwed it meticulously over the last 3 years with x-rays sporadically , as well as with general blood count tests. Nothing of concern there, really. It looks like I'm overly concerned about an issue that might be a matter of my CEA numbers belonging to this range - every individual is different-. Form what I can infer from what you have said, there is a very small probability there is something bad going on, though you never know. thank you all for youe valuable comments and information, I really wish you the best, I'm pretty sure you will "beat this deamon" (just as Heidi and Kangatoo have done. I will try to be more realistic from know on, wish there was a test that would give me a definite answer as to whether I have cancer or not.

    Regards,

    griniou

    Any chance you could be pregnant? CEA stands for carino-embryonic antigen, which is also given off by fetuses (not only tumors).....Just a thought!
    -Susan.
  • griniou
    griniou Member Posts: 5
    #11
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    shmurciakova said:

    Any chance you could be pregnant? CEA stands for carino-embryonic antigen, which is also given off by fetuses (not only tumors).....Just a thought!
    -Susan.

    thanks Susan, this is technically impossible, see, I'm a male :)
    Come to think of it, I do cut myself when shaving, and I used to have haemorroids (last time I "saw" them was 1 year ago), and I don't know if these events could justify such a number (along with my bronchitis which is known to elevate CEA in some cases, as I have discovered in the Internet).
    Any thoughts on that? Hope I'm not being psychotic...

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