Foreveryoung wrote:My GI doctor told me to get a CT scan of my pelvis area. Then my oncologist had me get a CT scan of my chest area in addition to an MRI of the pelvis. All with and without contrast. I am on a high deductible insurance plan, and those three tests cost me over $1000 in out of pocket deductible and my surgeon didn't even rely on them! Can anyone shed light on what tests are most cost efficient so I don't perform so many tests while undergoing chemo/radiation and before surgery?
Foreveryoung wrote:I'm meeting with the radiation and medical oncologist next week to discuss treatment.
Does anyone share what radiation therapy or chemo will be like? Will I be able to work? Do I need to take time away from work? How will I feel? How to best cope with the after effects?
Foreveryoung wrote:I'm scared that I won't be able to have children after the surgery.
Foreveryoung wrote:... Does anyone share what radiation therapy or chemo will be like? Will I be able to work? Do I need to take time away from work? How will I feel? How to best cope with the after effects?
Foreveryoung wrote:... @jacques - thank you for sharing the link. What is CEA testing?
Jacques wrote:Foreveryoung wrote:... @jacques - thank you for sharing the link. What is CEA testing?
CEA is one of the main tumor markers for colorectal cancer. It would be important to know if your CEA level is elevated right now, before any treatments or interventions are done. If your CEA is high (out of range) right now, it could mean that, for you, CEA is a very good predictor of cancer and that CEA tests could be used in the future to see how well your cancer is being controlled.
For example, you could do another CEA test after radiation, or after surgery, to see if the value changes.
There are many posts here on this forum about CEA, since it is the main tumor marker used in monitoring to detect if the cancer is coming back in the future.
Some CEA threads 2005 - 2015:
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51836&p=404364#p404364
Return to “Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum”
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 116 guests