How are we supposed to check for recurrence!?!?!

[cancerfighterswife]

I appreciate all the responses. You all have confirmed what I have been thinking the whole time. We are going to consult with his radiation oncologist and his PCP. I just feel like the risk vs. benefit is telling me that he needs to have scans done. Thank you all so much!! I hope everyone has a great 4th!

[AJS]

I was originally diagnosed a Stage 111C, but am now a Stage IV. CEA has never been an accurate marker for me. I have a CT Scan done every 3 months. Even when I was "cancer free" for 2 years, I still got a scan every 3 months. I am thankful for the diligence of my oncologist because without those frequent scans..my first 2 recurrences would have gone unnoticed for who knows how long because I didn't have any symptoms at all. Now my 3rd recurrence I'm dealing with now did throw up a red flag before my scheduled CT Scan, but fortunately it is only cells that haven't turned into a mass.

If it were me, I would have a "come to Jesus" meeting with my current Onc and if his/her opinion still remained the same, I would get a second opinion.

Good luck
Angie

[Cured]

Cancerfighterswife, Here is a different view. My Onc has never advised CT or Pet scans. He says that I will know if something is wrong. Absolutely he samples my blood and had me visit on a regular schedule. All indicators from the blood mater- not just the CEA. These show my good health. My CEA was never high and is always low still. Only at the 1 year point did I have a CT Scan, and then only because my Surgeon insisted.

At 1 year after my surgery I had a Colonoscopy, then on a 3 year schedule.

Of course it is good to get a second opinion, and to confirm that your Onc is top notch. But scan-scan-scan does not bring health.
Even more, I avoid the scanner at the airports now when I travel.

I pray that your husband is able to cope with the miseries of the Radiation and then move on with his life.

[rp1954]

Some countries use CA19-9 more for prognosis, treatment selection and/or monitoring. However ASCO doesn't support CA19-9 for CRC because of its less general presence across stages and groups than CEA. If you are CA19-9 tissue positive, this is probably some of the most important treatment information not used in the US.

CA19-9 has more interference with inflammation, we use C-reactive protein or ESR to help normalize the results. Also CA19-9 may elevate with some other biliary diseases and pancreatitis. However, CA19-9 monitoring has made an important difference for us on some crucial decisions when CEA alone wasn't enough. The presurgical level helped a quick decision toward longer term cimetidine.

[PGLGreg]

... He doesn't want my husband to do any CT, xray, or PET scans because he says that based on his age, the risk is too high of the radiation from those scans causing cancer. So when my husband asked how we would try to detect a recurrence early, his oncologist pretty much said that we won't necessarily know until he is symptomatic. I just feel like that isn't good enough. ... He said that it typically will skip the liver and go straight to the lungs.

I question both the cancer danger of CT scans and the business about rectal cancer recurrence skipping the liver. I've had 7 followup CT scans monitoring for a recurrence after my treatment for rectal cancer 7+ years ago, which doesn't in itself make your oncologist wrong, of course. But I do have the impression that CT scans are commonly done in followup. However, I think it's true that the diagnostics do not always detect a recurrence before there are symptoms.

Possibly your husband's oncologist could say just what he thinks the cancer risk of CT scans actually is.