CEA level

[meatie]

I am looking at the results of the blood tests taken just before chemo started. One of the numbers is the CEA at 3.7 ug/L. For all you who took a blood test before starting chemo, what was your CEA?

[ANDRETEXAS]

Before I started chemo it was 1.0. It was 1.6 before my colon resection, 2.8 in the middle of chemo and my October tests, two months after chemo, shows it's now 1.3.

[cmrl]

My CEA was 20 prior to the colon resection, 2.2 at the start of chemotherapy. It bounced around during chemotherapy, going up to 3.9. My onc. Told me at the start of treatment that he didn't pay attention to CEA ,and just recently admitted how high it was at the start. It's now 3.9 again.

[GrouseMan]

Before we start another debate yet again about CEA numbers have a read using the following search results:

search.php?keywords=CEA&fid%5B0%5D=1

CEA varies a great deal from person to person and should not be compared between people. Its meaningless to do so. What is important to look at are trends. Also CEA is affected by several factors especially for those folks where its low or in the normal range to begin with as your mothers is. It may or may not be a good marker for your mom. Maybe ask her oncologist if a CA 19-9 blood test might also be included in her blood test panel.

GrouseMan

[dianetavegia]

Also, age and weight change CEA values.

Healthy people over 70 have a much higher CEA than the average person.
Obese people have a lower CEA than thin people.

[Bev G]

MEATIE!

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT ALL OF OUR CEAs WERE BEFORE AND AFTER CHEMO! Some of your friends here might get really tired of this sort of questions. Ask her onc what he thinks of her CEA, and if you REALY have to know, do a search on this board on CEA, and you will be reading forever. I noted that on your thread about "personality changes" you honed in on the response of ONE member who discussed her husband becoming violent, and then said something about "you mean my mother could become violent....should I get rid of the salad forks? (...or something like that)

You have got to get a grip on stuff. Go see someone. Get some help. I fear you are going to drive your mother insane. My son was my primary caregiver when I was very, very sick. If he had behaved like you it would have robbed me of the tiny amount of energy I had and would have quite literally driven me over the edge. I am not trying to be mean to you, butt I find myself wondering if all this stuff is attention-getting for yourself, if you are fundamentally unable to pay attention to the very kind and supportive advice you have been given, or if just perhaps you are playing with us.

GET SOME HELP! Your behavior will not help your mom, and could indeed hurt her.

With best intent,

Bev

[bitchslapped]

I caution you from expecting to be spoon fed from every person you come in contact with for fear of alienating your mother's care providers. Make those questions count. See the bigger picture . Make sure your questions will prove productive for the benefit of your mother, not a means of stress management for you. Take ownership of your own stress. Do not make your mother's cancer about you. Relinquish the need for control; turn it around into a supportive role in this cancer journey. Trust in the doctors until they prove otherwise. You have no choice.

In addition the following link may prove a helpful resource for you:[/color]
http://www.asco.org/

With all sincerity I have to present to you that your questions are not about your mother, meatie. They are about you & your ability in addressing the obvious high degree of anxiety displayed in coping with your mother's disease. Also would like to take this opportunity to remind you that in your mother's oncologist's clinic, they are required to provide information on where to find counseling services. Also at the top of the board on this site is a "sticky" thread on where to find counseling & support services across the country. We are not qualified here to address all of the issues you bring forth with apparent extreme anxiety, though many of us have tried, it is beyond the scope of this forum IMHO when counseling is clearly in order. I believe that because most of the questions you pose are easily found in the search function that apparently you hesitate to use; I'm thinking you just need people to talk to & would benefit from one on one and/or group counseling. No shame in that. Do it for your parents.

It is disrespectful to the good folks on this forum to repeatedly ask similar questions that you have not taken the time to research, that are clearly on this site compiled from its many members over time to benefit members & nonmembers. If after doing some research, you find your question has not been addressed, then there are many who can try to help, as many already have out of the goodness of their hearts. Please acknowledge to yourself that the best help for your mother may be through helping yourself first. Your mother is not "cancer on a stick" and you are not helping her, though you may think you are; you are not. Your stress is her stress. She doesn't need your stress right now.

Though we may be interested in how your mother is doing in the months ahead, I am most interested in hearing how you have managed to improve the apparent paranoia in relation to your mother's condition. At least that is my hope for you. Your mother will surely benefit by your progress in this area. I hope your next posting will be that you have sought out counseling for stress management & that you are coping much better.

Respectfully submitted by
bitchslapped

[meatie]

I feel so hopeless.

[bitchslapped]

Understood.

Bird dogging the doctors won't help with feeling hopeless. It won't fix a thing. Questioning a bazillion things a bazillion times over won't change anything.

Now look into getting some assistance in sorting through those feelings. If you feel hopeless, so does your mother. I'm telling you not everything needs to be expressed in the spoken word...it can be sensed & transferred in other ways. You stated you are a male in your thirties, however this is the internet & people can say whatever they want...doesn't make it so.

If you are in high school or college, there are counselors there...open up to them. They may be able to point you in a direction for resources. If you are an adult, your local hospital will have support groups...I don't think there is a charge. In the community, there is usually state sponsored counseling available on a sliding scale for those on a tight budget who prefer one on one counseling.

Reach out. Do something positive. Take that first step. Make it happen. Just do it. It will be a beginning of coping and healing for you. Good luck.

bitchslapped

[elise]

4.2 when dx.
0.9 after hemi colectomy
under 1 thru chemo
slowly crept to 4.8 over 18 months after chemo
4.8 when dx with liver met.
under 1 after liver resection

[meatie]

So, the cea should be around 1.0 for a post-resection pre-chemo patient. Anything above maybe a sign of mets gaining a foothold somewhere....

[Kiwi Debz]

Meatie ... No!!!!

You seem to be trying to find a standard and you cannot.

No two people are the same.

The only benchmark you can use is your mums own. Trend hers and hers alone I.e. Chart what it was to start with and then plot from there. If you see a rise then maybe it could be a met or not.

CEA is not an indicator for everyone. Mine is static, never moved even when I was full of cancer. Hers may or may not move.

Get on with the chemo and that is all. You need at least 6 - 8 rounds for it to do its stuff.

Deb

[betsydoglover]

Meatie -

Oncologists are trained to not worry about CEA's in the normal range - which your Mom's is. CEA is often not a marker for patients - it's not for me. Don't stress about this unless your oncologist tells you to. If you don't trust the doc, then find another in network one regardless of whether or not he/she speaks Chinese.

Take care,

[elise]

Do not assume that MY CEA or anyone else's is the same as your mom. For ME, CEA under 1 is good. I worry about anything over 2.0. But that's MY BODY. Talk to your onc about what numbers he would expect for your mom.

[NZJay]

Mine hasn't been under 5 since my resection. Looks like I'm doomed haha