Thank you so much for your messages!
weisssoccermom wrote:About half the people diagnosed with CRC have perfectly normal CEA levels so for us, it's just not a good indicator. What was you CEA before you started treatment?
I don't really know because I was diagnosed with CRC after a colonoscopy (I felt an obstruction), and so I first learned about CEA when a couple of years into surveillance the oncologist began spacing out CT Scans and ordering CEA at alternative appointments when I wasn't doing scans. But it probably doesn't matter, since, as
Deha50's example shows, the same person may have elevated CEA with one instance of cancer and normal CEA with another.
It's interesting that CEA is only 50% effective at catching CRC! I wonder if it's better at detecting other types of cancer? Because I had a complete colectomy and no longer have either colon or rectum, CRC is the one kind of cancer I can't get again, but I know from my family history that it can come back as another type of cancer, and that's what I'm concerned about.
weisssoccermom wrote:I still do continue with my colorectal surgeon who performs my scopes and I am now on the 5 year plan unless I notice something or if something just doesn't feel right.
With me it's the gastroenterologist who does upper endoscopy and ileoscopy for me, and I'll continue doing it periodically, but it's the other cancers I worry about.
weisssoccermom wrote:As for scans, your insurance company may stop covering them at a set time. After 5 years, mine stopped covering them.... Each person will have his/her own comfort zone with respect to when to stop the scans and bloodwork.
I might wish to have one last scan at a ten-years marker, even if I have to pay for it myself, despite the high cost, if the oncologist agrees to order it for me and to let me see him once a year for a general examination, which I'll definitely wish to do.
deha50 wrote:Yes, I meant that my metastatic cancer returned after 7 years of inactivity in November 2022.
I'm very sorry to hear it. I wish you the very best of luck!
deha50 wrote:My CEA marker was never an indicator for me until November... CEA markers are not the only diagnostic markers, but they show trends and can be helpful, but I do not think many doctors rely solely on it.
I wonder what other diagnostic markers are there?
Thank you very much again for sharing information with me! It's very kind of you and is greatly appreciated!