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Had colon cancer and now CEA is rising: Scared
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Mar 4 11:07am | Replies (81)Comment receiving replies
Hello dear mayo teamMy husband is 40 years old. Near 4 years ago had colon cancer stage 3b. Had surgery and 13 chemo sessions. About 1 year ago his cea level started to increase from 0.9 to 1, 2, 2.2,... and 5 months ago it reached to 4. We did sono, ct scan, pet scan and andoscopy and colonoscopy. Everything was good and just two polyps were removed. One month after his cea was 3.3 and we were happy. Now after 3 month his cea is 4.3.😰Does it mean anyrhing again??? We should repeat all pet and ct and colonoscopy again???? What should we do??? It is like nightmare for me. I really scare from this cea. Five months ago it was 4 then 3.3 and now 4.3.We are going to meet oncologist but could you give me some help and guide me what to do and should i worry?????? Does it mean recurrence?We did pet scan 3 months ago and now cea is 4.3. Was pet scan wrong or it didnt show anything???!!!!We live in iran.Thanks
Replies to "Hello dear mayo teamMy husband is 40 years old. Near 4 years ago had colon cancer..."
Hi @lida55, as you may already know CEA levels can mean many things. Here's some info from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cea/tab/test/ which states "Increased CEA levels can indicate some non-cancer-related conditions, such as inflammation, cirrhosis, peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, rectal polyps, emphysema, and benign breast disease."
Monitoring CEA levels is only one tool for tracking possible progression of disease. Changing CEA levels are worrying. It's hard to remain calm about it. Have you met with your husband's oncologist in the meantime? What did you find out?
Hello dear Mayo.
My husband's pet was clear but the cea was 4. . They found two polyps and temoved it. Cea goes to 4.3. Then the doctor said he has inflammation in colon and gave some medicine,cea falls to 4.1.
Now his cea is 4.6 and again i am wooried to death. What should i do.
I also remember you said dont worry. These numbers are low.but when it stops this cea????😰😰😰😰😰
But his cea again jumps to 4.6. Now i am worried.
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My husband is still in active treatment, similar situation. I've read about a recently FDA approved blood test marketed as Shield, that seems effective in detecting staged colorectal cancers. Cannot speak from experience with the test yet. I requested more information on this test from my NP last week during my annual physical & look forward to hearing back. Here are a couple of articles related to the approval. Perhaps this would be something for your family to request in addition to the CEA testing. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/29/health/colon-cancer-blood-test-shield.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE4.nivx.h2fw63Hw8qDc&smid=url-share
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/health/fda-colorectal-cancer-screening-blood-test/index.html
I'm uncertain what would be available to you in Iran.