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Worried about rising CEA levels
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Jun 17 9:00pm | Replies (87)Comment receiving replies
My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer with metastasis to the liver on August 2022. He underwent colon resection and started chemotherapy. His initial CEA was 25 then reduced to 10. However, it started going up every week and currently it is an alarming 80.5. My husband looks healthy, eats well and has no complaints of pain or any other symptom. His only complaint is weakness after chemo but sleep relieves this symptom. He had Pet scan and Ct scan of the abdomen and lower bowels. There was no change noted. We are extremely concerned and he is scheduled for Ct scan this last week of October. His oncologist explained the elevated CEA maybe due to an infection. Any ideas? Thank you.
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@pinkygsp, I'm thinking of you as you and your husband prepare for the upcoming CT scan. I'm sure you're experiencing "scaniexty".
CEA levels are a useful tool, but imperfect. As your oncologist mentioned, increasingly 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.”
I hope the upcoming CT scan gives you answers that have solutions. Are you able to focus on the other positive signs that he looks and feels well, with no other symptoms and that he is able to eat and sleep well? How are YOU doing?