I posted this in the Ovarian Cancer Forum and meant to post it here. What follows is a cut and paste of that post.
Covid and False Positive CA125 for Reoccurring PPC
On my February 3 appointments for labs, doctor and Bev infusion my labs were completed an hour after I saw my oncologist. I had just tested negative for Covid after having testing Covid positive for 42 days. Having Covid and the infusion made the side effects of both almost intolerable. I have never felt more sick. I’m now back to wearing masks and maintaining Covid distancing. Having Covid gave me a sinus infection that will not go away even after 3 rounds of antibiotics. Cancer treatment causes our immune systems to be weak. My oncologist canceled my infusion today and the next one in 3 weeks to give my infection time to heal.
On February 3rd my labs were reported and before I was home from the infusion my oncologist had ordered a CT scan. I looked online at my tests and my CA 125 went up 40 points in 3 weeks. I had the surprise CT scan the next week and it was the best CT scan I’ve out of 6 in two years. Everything was perfect and unremarkable. I also learned that a rise in CA 125 could show a cancer relapse at a molecular level but may not show on CT imaging for 3 months.
I do understand that having my CA 125 rise so quickly could be an indicator that my PPC cancer was back. I googled and researched Covid and CA 125. It was then I discovered that patients with OC and PPC that had been hospitalized for Covid tested high on their CA 125 and after Covid passed their CA 125 was once again low. It was proven that Covid could cause false positives on the CA 125. Today my CA 125 was 4.0. My CA 125 had been at 4.0 at 2 months post treatment until 3 weeks ago. I was told today that other illnesses especially those that cause inflammation can cause false positives in CA 125.
I don’t spend time worrying about tests. I learned worrying can be a big waste of time for no reason at all. When we have Ovarian or Primary Peritoneal Cancer we don’t have time to waste. My infusions already steal 2 weeks out of 3 with fatigue and other side effects. I’m not giving cancer more time than that.
Hi Dow
It sounds like you've been through a lot recently! I hope you're completely recovered from Covid and I agree that we should all try and not waste time worrying. Someone once said to me that no amount of worrying will change the future but it will ruin the present.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
