My wife had a CEA of 0.6 at diagnosis - she has an MLH1/PMS mutation. Immediately after the 12 rounds of chemo, it went up to 1.1, but oncologist told me that was quite a normal occurrence after chemo.

My wife is presumed Lynch positive - she has a variant of uncertain significance. From what I understand, Lynch cancers have a significantly lower rate of recurrence in the form of distant metastases (close to 90% chance of recurrence-free survival). However, there is a high risk of recurrence (as m...

Thanks, Tammy and Michael! Yes, I know the odds are that this is just a result of the chemo. Anyway, we have an appointment with Dr Lynch at the high-risk clinic at MDA later this month for a special colonoscopy (with dye) to look for sessile polyps, etc. I will ask him about the utility of CEA trac...

So, at long last, my DW is done with her 12 rounds of chemo. No major side-effects except some nausea, mild neuropathy, mild continued thrombocytopenia (which caused two postponements, and dose reductions), and neutropenia on the last round (for which she got a shot of Neulasta today). She has a ger...

Just learnt today that my wife may have Lynch Syndrome, but with a "variant of uncertain significance." So, it appears we won;t be able to do genetic screening for the kids and her brother. Instead, we will probably have to initiate enhanced surveillance for all the family members and foll...

The tests are back in. My wife does not show evidence of a sporadic mutation (MLH1 promoter hypermethylation or BRAF v600E mutation). It appears we have a case of Lynch without any evidence of any prior generations of the family having had CRC. The interesting twist - the genetic tests show a "...

Skifletch, thanks for the advice! Yes, we are doing the tumor tests first before the full-blown blood tests. The genetic counselor said that there is a chance that the mutation is sporadic or de novo, so they are first going to look for that. I know my wife's brother will need to get tested immediat...

Thank you both for your response! We are still waiting to hear about the results from the blood work and the additional tumor marker tests. If it does turn out to be Lynch syndrome, I will get my wife seen by Dr Lynch at MD Anderson's high risk clinic and establish a surveillance protocol, after the...

My DW was diagnosed with a T3N1M0 tumor in the sigmoid colon in December. She is currently on her 4th round of FOLFOX. Meanwhile, the tumor was tested for molecular bio markers and we were told this is an MSI-h tumor with MLH1 and PMS2 deficiency. We were told this is highly likely to be a case of L...

So my wife went to the OB-Gyn on Monday, and got a scare. Doc said it is unusual to have CC at a young age (44), so perhaps she has Lynch syndrome and perhaps the bleeding is because she may also have a primary endometrial cancer. Of course, the PET-CT last month did not show anything, nor did her P...

lol@CRGuy :) I am sure my dear wife will draw comfort from the fact that cats too have this problem :) But seriously, it is useful to know that it is anatomically possible for follicular tissue to attach to any other part of the abdomen. This seems particularly plausible for my wife because she has ...

I do believe in one basic principle - the health of a nation's people is more important than the health of the bottom-line. There can be no solution that sacrifices the former at the altar of bottom-line obsession.

Actually, I think local gas prices are quite fine in terms of a free market system. The fact that two or more gas stations charge the same price does not mean collusion. It could just mean that gas stations have reached an equilibrium price - this is the price from which no one wants to deviate for ...

This is not a choice between private and government run health care. It is a choice between usurious, unconscionable billing practices and charges that are reasonable, derived from true free market competition and efficient systems. We all agree that healthcare costs are extremely high in this count...

Thanks for the comments and info. My wife is not on hormones, so I don't know why she continues to have periods. The colo-rectal surgeon did not deem it necessary to remove her uterus. It is likely that she has some remnants of ovarian tissue left behind (perhaps after her first surgery for the cyst...