Postby Lifes2short » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:38 pm
Elizabeth,
It sounds like you're next step is surgery. As others have mentioned, CEA is an indicator of metastatic disease, but it can be very unreliable. I'm personally relieved to hear other stories of CEA rising after chemo, as that's what's happened to me and I've been a bit worried.
It's worthwhile to talk with your oncologist and discuss whether you should have a CT or PET scan done. (This will likely depend on when your last one was.) Your surgeon will likely look around during surgery and be able to tell if there is advanced disease, but there are areas he won't see - specifically liver and lungs.
I asked for a CT scan prior to surgery and was told I didn't need one. I had had one about a month prior to diagnosis and the docs thought it was good enough. It wasn't. A month after surgery we found that the cancer had metastasized to my liver. It would have been nice to know this prior to surgery.
While it's unlikely that the small rise in your CEA means anything, it's always best to be thorough. Push your doctors hard if you don't feel right about something. I have learned that I must do this. I was not aggressive enough during the early part of my treatment and mistakes were made.
Better to be overly cautious than to look back with regret. You are your best advocate.
Good luck!