Fluctuating tumour marker.

Hi ekimjo 

My heart goes out to you but chemo itself can cause a spike in tumour markers and becomes a bit unreliable  whilst on chemo . They get much more concerned if you were off chemo and trending upwards .

My mum had her highest ever reading on chemo which dropped back down when off chemo .

If your oncologist is not worried it’s because they have seen it all before . Plus they have scanned to be cautious. 

Hope chemo has been tolerable.

Take care ,

Court 

Thanks for your reply which has helped. I’m a born worrier, I admit that, and I’m trying to be positive again, so thanks once again.

Hi ekimjo Although the article below is quite old now and may be a little out of date, the explanation about CEA rises is pretty good?

https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_types/bowel-colon-rectum-cancer-forum/f/diagnosis/239750/managing-your-follow-up-cea

Not sure about the hospital question. I had my radiotherapy in Leeds, my operation in Huddersfield and my chemo and colonoscopy in Halifax (although the last 2 are under the same health authority)

Hi,

I’m from Hudds too, currently diagnosed with bowel cancer on neo adjuvant chemo. 

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

Hi Vanessa I’m Halifax born and bred but moved to Lincolnshire 5 years ago. Had my surgery done by Adrian Smith at Huddersfield in 2016 then chemo under the lovely Jo Dent in Halifax in 2017. 
How are you doing? It’s tough isn’t it but there’s lots of advice and support on here and if you click on peoples names then their profile page may show their journey to date?

Take care

Karen x

Hi,

Jo is my oncologist! 

I’m finding it quite tough mentally if I’m honest, after reading your journey, our starting points are similar although mine is quite low down in my sigmoid. 

 Vanessa She’s lovely isn’t she? Very down to earth and calls a spade a spade. Are you on capox? The oxaliplatin is the nasty one and I found my arm really sore after the infusion. Treatment is evolving all the time and they discovered that 3 months was just as effective as 6 months just after I’d finished grr. They’ve now found that chemo is just as effective before the op than after which would have been much better for me but hey ho I’m still ‘no evidence of disease’ so it was worth it in the end x

Hi,

Im on Folfirinox, half way through 6 circles. Hopefully finish 30th July. 
Haven’t got a date for surgery because they want to see what happens with the chemo. 
Jo said it’s unlikely I’ll have chemo afterwards but a I guess I’ll have to wait and see.
Jo, very much calls a Spade a spade! Helen is my nurse. 

X

I was prescribed 8 rounds of Capox, just started round 3. I asked sbout reducing  down to 4 rounds but was told that the research was only done on patients with 3 or less positive nodes, and since I had 5 out of 45 harvested they advise sticking to 8, but review each round. This is in Spain, where I’m getting excellent treatment with a great oncology team, who are onboard with the extra stuff I’m doing for myself with nutrition, execrcise, supplements, fasting and even 10 minute daily cold showers, so I’m happy to stick with their advice.