Hi my husband had a LAR in Feb this year stage 2 rectal cancer. The highest his CEA has been is 1.8 but only 0.5 approx 12 weeks ago. His latest is 14. I am absolutely petrified and although the CNS said they often see random jumps and are usually more concerned with a rising trend, this still needs checking. Is there anything at all that would likely cause a big jump like this? His ALT has also doubled but the rest of his liver results are fine.
Hello Cw1987
Thank you for getting in touch and welcome to the online community. My name is Joanne and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.
I can see that you have joined our Bowel Cancer Forum and I hope that you are finding it to be a useful source of support. You may also find the online community at Bowel Cancer UK useful.
It’s always a worrying time when you receive blood test results that are higher than they have previously been and it’s important to be reassured by what your CNS has said.
A CEA blood test detects a protein that is normally not present in the blood of a healthy person. This protein can be produced by some types of cancer cells and can also be due to non-cancerous inflammatory bowel conditions and a number of other conditions. including infections.
Not all bowel cancers produce CEA and therefore not everyone will have CEA levels measured as part of their follow up care.
For those people who are having their CEA monitored, the test can be a useful way of tracking changes to the levels of protein produced.
However, a one-off increase to the CEA level is not considered to be an indication that the cancer has recurred, and your husband’s team will organise a further blood test and will then decide if any further tests or investigations are required at that stage.
It is very normal to experience a fear of cancer returning . Worry about cancer coming back have a significant impact on both the person with cancer, and on you as their wife and supporter. These worries are very often worsened when you have had unexpected test results and are waiting for what will happen next.
It can often help to have as much information and certainty as possible about what will happen next when you are dealing with so much uncertainty. If you don’t know when his next blood test will be done, you can ask his team about when that will happen.
Please do consider giving us a call on the Support line or via our online chat. It can be useful to chat through your worries with one of our nurses.
I hope this information is useful. Let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.
Ref JH/SMc
Joanne H - Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
Remember you can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or by email.
