Hi All,
As a colon cancer patient with the following history, would you be alarmed at the most recent 2 results from 1/28/17 and 4/29/17 (especially this one)?
Aside from cancer, what other things affect/cause CEA to fluctuate? Are there things to be mindful of lifestyle-wise that should be done or not done prior to taking a blood test?
Only thing changed since the last 2 blood tests was that the Primary Care Physician said cholesterol medication and low dosage Aspirin should be taken because of a condition causing hardening of the arteries and the plaque build up could continue to narrow pathways. Took cholesterol test twice and the first time it was on the high side, and the 2nd time with some better dieting/watching foods consumed, it was a better result. Still, the PCP advised being put on cholesterol medication and low dosage Aspirin to help control and slow the rate of hardening and buildup. Fish oil capsules were also recommended. Of the doctor's recommendations, have NOT started on cholesterol medication yet.. only have taken low dosage Aspirin and fish oil capsules.
Aside from that, another change was this past month, took a flight overseas for 3 weeks. I guess some radiation exposure comes with high altitude and also x-rays at TSA checkpoints.
Could anything in bold above cause the below recent increase in CEA level?
The oncologist's assistant recommended another blood test in 1 month, probably because we asked these questions and expressed concern?
Would the below trend concern you?
CEA Results
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6/10/14 - 130.0 (Pre-Surgery CEA test)
7/15/14 - 11.8 (Post-Surgery [total colectomy] CEA test)
1/29/15 - 2.8 (roughly around January 2015 the prescribed 6 months of chemo ended, with quarterly blood tests and 6-months CT scans from here on out)
4/29/15 - 2.3
7/25/15 - 2.1
10/31/15 - 1.9
1/26/16 - 1.6 (lowest level recorded)
4/30/16 - 1.9
7/28/16 - 1.9
10/29/16 - 1.7
1/28/17 - 2.1 (start of "trend" upwards?)
4/29/17 - 3.0 (biggest jump yet; previously typically a change of 0.3 to 0.4; this one was 0.9)