Cea question

[Girl111]

My dad's cea has been rising since his colon resection in march to remove a tumor in the bowel even though he was on xeloda.

His readings were

May - 3
June -4
July-6
August 9.8

A pet as some of u may be aware showed 1 small liver met and 1 node. He had to stop xeloda since sept due to scans taking place .

He is due to start FOLFORI In 2 weeks

However his October cea is now 8.

So even though he has not Been on any chemo fir about 8 weeks there is a small drop . What could this possibly mean ? We were expecting it to continue rising .

Or am I thinking too much in to it ?

[Cb75]

Based on what I know, and that I am not a doctor, I would think that since he has active disease, and he is not undergoing treatment, its no surprise that CEA is rising. It may, in fact, continue to rise as he goes through treatment as cell death can also have an impact on CEA. Try not to worry too much. Just focus on getting ready for treatment and try and enjoy the good days.

Carm <3

[Girl111]

The cea has decreased in these 8 weeks he's not had chemo .

Early sept was 9.8 and now it's 8. But then agsin it could just be lab readings that differ.

I've never heard cea to decrease when not on treatment so was wondering

[elise]

Don't think too hard about it. Could be reading is wrong. Could be his CEA dropped a touch.

In either case, get ready for FOLFORI.

I can't remember, did his team agree to do chemo then surgery? Or did he decline surgery?

Elise

[NZJay]

My cea increased on chemo (7ish) and decreases when I'm off chemo. 5 at first post-chemo bloods. Hoping for lower in the next 3-monthly check

[Lee]

My CEA doubled when I was on chemo FOLFOX. I was told this can happen sometimes. It dropped back to normal about 6 months following chemo. I've also been told CEA picks up a protein in the dead/dying cancer cells. Thus more cancer cells were dying off when your Dad was on chemo.

Were all his CEA test done at the same location? Different locations can cause different #'s.

[Girl111]

Thx all

Elise, as there is 1 lymph node involved too , they want to do chemo first to see the response .

Yes tests were all at the same place .

I suppose that explains it , may be some of the cancer cells were dying whilst on xeloda.

If cells were dying , would it not have prevented the liver met and node ?