I am 66 years old and I had a distal pancreatectomy (partial removal of pancreas and the spleen) last July for a cyst on tail of my pancreas. After surgery I was diagnosed as stage 1b pancreatic cancer. The CA was 552 in June (pre surgery) and in August was 74 (pre chemo). My oncologist did include CA monitoring for post chemo, along with scans, but seemed reserved about relying too heavily on the CA numbers. Good luck with the second opinion. Hope this is a little helpful.