CEA jump , please help

Cw1987 7 days ago

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101 subscribers
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My husband had a LAR back in February no chemo, never had any above normal CEA in fact the highest has been 1.8. Last taken approx 13 weeks ago and was 0.5. Today the GP has noted it’s 14, I am absolutely terrified I can’t think of anything that would make this rise so rapidly than a recurrence or spread. Has this happened to anyone else where it’s not been anything sinister? Nothing I’m reading is giving me any comfort at all.

its 3:50 in the morning and I am struggling to deal with these thoughts again

Kareno62 7 days ago

Hi Cw1987 Sending you a big virtual hug. I’ve no personal experience but I’ve attached a link that mentions rises in CEA. I would be tempted to check with the GP that it’s not a typo and should be 1.4 and then discuss getting it checked again maybe?

Managing your follow up & CEA

Please let us know how you get on?

Take care

Karen x

Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

Margaret W 7 days ago

Good morning.

I had open surgery last November (resection) then three months of chemotherapy.

A few weeks ago I was having some worrying symptoms, so they decided to bring forward my 6 monthly CEA blood test, it has increased slightly, I am booked in for a repeat blood test on the 8th of this month.

Your spouse had a CEA test, 13 weeks after the last test?

The oncologist team told me that the CEA blood test and CT scan is normally every 6 months for five years, unless of course there are problems along the way.

I will let you know the results and what they say if it has increased further.

Warm regards.

Jules.

Cw1987 7 days ago in reply to Kareno62

Thank you Karen I feel like I’ll end up with a heart attack through stress before anything else x

Cw1987 7 days ago in reply to Margaret W

Thanks Jules, he has his every 3 months here, good luck for your results x

Kareno62 7 days ago

Cw1987 You could also post in the Ask a Nurse section?

community.macmillan.org.uk/.../ask_a_nurse

Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

Margaret W 7 days ago in reply to Cw1987

Thank you. Good luck to you both, too.

Have you help with your anxiety and stress? I have a "Ciss" therapist, working with me, she also sees patients spouses. x

court 7 days ago in reply to Cw1987

Hi Cw1987
My mum did have a few recurrences but most of them were routine scans . There was a few times her CEA spiked and the protocol was to repeat to see if it had dropped down and rescan early if not . One stayed up for four months despite a clear scan and then dropped .

Its early days and he has to get a feel for how his own CEA behaves .

I would say however the robust after care and scanning allowed anything to be picked up quickly and where possible deal with . It was upsetting to face more intervention but it let her live for 15 years after diagnosis so it’s not always the start of the end.

Take care ,

Court

Helpline Number 0808 808 0000

MicroMaster 7 days ago

Hi Cw1987 and welcome. You might find this post on controlling anxiety and panic helpful: https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_types/bowel-colon-rectum-cancer-forum/f/general/274907/controlling-anxiety-and-panic