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Worried about rising CEA levels

Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (81)
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@sallyg

Hi
I was diagnosed January 2015 will stage 4 colorectal.
I’ve had bumps in the road over the road but up until recently they have been detected early.
In February 2020 my Cea started to rise after removal of a metastatic lymph node removal from the AP window which was preformed robotically. My CEA is now at 64.5.
I’ve had a pet scan as well as 2 ct chest scans, 1 abdomen and 1 pelvis and nothing shows. My oncologist says we need to wait which is stressful especially with this covid thing.
Has anyone else had an unexplained rising cea and what was the outcome. I do understand cea is a sign of inflammation in the body and not always cancer .
Any input would be appreciated
Thanks
Sally

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Replies to "Hi I was diagnosed January 2015 will stage 4 colorectal. I’ve had bumps in the road..."
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Apr 20, 2020

Hi @sallyg, it is good to hear from you again, although I'm sad about the reason. You'll notice that I moved your message to an already existing discussion where members are asking similar questions concerning rising CEA levels, members like @diannechildress @bobbipost @nldan @bobbywood427 @jamesc and @revcindy.

Rising CEA levels are sure to be worrisome for you. As you probably know CEA testing is notorious for false positives, meaning that the test results may show high levels when they are actually not.

Here's more info:
– High False-Positive Rate of Elevated CEA Seen in Patients With Resected Colorectal Cancer https://www.ascopost.com/issues/august-15-2014/high-false-positive-rate-of-elevated-cea-seen-in-patients-with-resected-colorectal-cancer/

Watching and waiting is hard, but important because your team will want to track your levels over time to watch for trends. It is hard to be calm, especially in this time of COVID-19. But concentrate on the clear scans.

Was only one lymph node removed or did you have several removed and only one was metastatic?

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