Guest guest Posted May 3, 2004 Report Share Posted May 3, 2004 I had some extra time this weekend, a rarity in and of itself ), and spent it reading some of the past posts as well as several new ones that have been added recently and I was extremely amazed and without a doubt concerned about how many posts that I read that mention recurrences without detection by either a CAT or a PET or one detects...another says its nothing? Most importantly though is that in most cases, it was slight CEA increases that alerted everyone to the possibility that something could be wrong. As most of you know, Bert and I have been dealing with an elevated CEA since January of this year. Bert's CEA was never checked prior to surgery last July 2003 however, thereafter it had been consistently at 0.9 until December when he had a severe colon infection and very, very bad diarrhea...at which point it went up to 2.2. In January, after switching oncologist, it was 5.9 and has continued to jump back and forth, taken every two weeks, between 5.9 and 8.2. Every single test possible, including recent colonoscopy while he is still on chemo has been done and results continue to be negative. Not that I'm complaining...I am truly grateful and happy for this and although his doctor continues to stay on top of everything (and he really does), he has shared with us that the only thing he can attribute it to is the chemo itself and Bert's CEA pattern is not consistent with recurrence...in other words, it's not jumping up and up by substantial amounts but rather keeps bouncing back and forth between the 5.9 and 8.2 range. We don't know what else to do and I must admit, it does continue to worry me quite a bit...not panic, like in the beginning, but worry me nevertheless. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome. As always, thanks for " listening " and being there. Hugs, Monika, caregiver to Bert diagnosed stage III July 2003, right colon resection, four nodes positive. Started chemo of 5fu/leuc August 2003; switched oncologists January 2004, and continues of 5fu/leuc/oxaliplatin and is doing very well. Hopefully will be done soon ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 Hi, Don't know if this helps, but oxaliplatin causes temporary CEA spikes I know, for a fact, at the beginning of its administration. Don't know how long the temporary spikes last or if they continue to occur with each subsequent dose. Joe > I had some extra time this weekend, a rarity in and of itself ), > and spent it reading some of the past posts as well as several new > ones that have been added recently and I was extremely amazed and > without a doubt concerned about how many posts that I read that > mention recurrences without detection by either a CAT or a PET or one > detects...another says its nothing? Most importantly though is that > in most cases, it was slight CEA increases that alerted everyone to > the possibility that something could be wrong. > > As most of you know, Bert and I have been dealing with an elevated > CEA since January of this year. Bert's CEA was never checked prior > to surgery last July 2003 however, thereafter it had been > consistently at 0.9 until December when he had a severe colon > infection and very, very bad diarrhea...at which point it went up to > 2.2. > > In January, after switching oncologist, it was 5.9 and has continued > to jump back and forth, taken every two weeks, between 5.9 and 8.2. > Every single test possible, including recent colonoscopy while he is > still on chemo has been done and results continue to be negative. > Not that I'm complaining...I am truly grateful and happy for this and > although his doctor continues to stay on top of everything (and he > really does), he has shared with us that the only thing he can > attribute it to is the chemo itself and Bert's CEA pattern is not > consistent with recurrence...in other words, it's not jumping up and > up by substantial amounts but rather keeps bouncing back and forth > between the 5.9 and 8.2 range. We don't know what else to do and I > must admit, it does continue to worry me quite a bit...not panic, > like in the beginning, but worry me nevertheless. > > Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome. As always, thanks > for " listening " and being there. > > Hugs, > Monika, caregiver to Bert diagnosed stage III July 2003, right colon > resection, four nodes positive. Started chemo of 5fu/leuc August > 2003; switched oncologists January 2004, and continues of > 5fu/leuc/oxaliplatin and is doing very well. Hopefully will be done > soon ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 Hi, Don't know if this helps, but oxaliplatin causes temporary CEA spikes I know, for a fact, at the beginning of its administration. Don't know how long the temporary spikes last or if they continue to occur with each subsequent dose. Joe > I had some extra time this weekend, a rarity in and of itself ), > and spent it reading some of the past posts as well as several new > ones that have been added recently and I was extremely amazed and > without a doubt concerned about how many posts that I read that > mention recurrences without detection by either a CAT or a PET or one > detects...another says its nothing? Most importantly though is that > in most cases, it was slight CEA increases that alerted everyone to > the possibility that something could be wrong. > > As most of you know, Bert and I have been dealing with an elevated > CEA since January of this year. Bert's CEA was never checked prior > to surgery last July 2003 however, thereafter it had been > consistently at 0.9 until December when he had a severe colon > infection and very, very bad diarrhea...at which point it went up to > 2.2. > > In January, after switching oncologist, it was 5.9 and has continued > to jump back and forth, taken every two weeks, between 5.9 and 8.2. > Every single test possible, including recent colonoscopy while he is > still on chemo has been done and results continue to be negative. > Not that I'm complaining...I am truly grateful and happy for this and > although his doctor continues to stay on top of everything (and he > really does), he has shared with us that the only thing he can > attribute it to is the chemo itself and Bert's CEA pattern is not > consistent with recurrence...in other words, it's not jumping up and > up by substantial amounts but rather keeps bouncing back and forth > between the 5.9 and 8.2 range. We don't know what else to do and I > must admit, it does continue to worry me quite a bit...not panic, > like in the beginning, but worry me nevertheless. > > Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome. As always, thanks > for " listening " and being there. > > Hugs, > Monika, caregiver to Bert diagnosed stage III July 2003, right colon > resection, four nodes positive. Started chemo of 5fu/leuc August > 2003; switched oncologists January 2004, and continues of > 5fu/leuc/oxaliplatin and is doing very well. Hopefully will be done > soon ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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