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Had colon cancer and now CEA is rising: Scared

Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Nov 4, 2023 | Replies (26)
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@ruchibsq

Hi,
I was diagnosed with Colon cancer stage last year 12/23. My surgery was done on 01/11/22 since then I have been following with Blood test every three months. My CEA level after surgery was 0.9 03/01/22. Second CEA 1.2 06/01/22 Was done by Labcorp. Third CEA 1.0 09/01/2022 was done by Emory and the recent one was done at Labcorp 12/19 CEA ‘1.9’. Does this level vary by labs? I am currently having an external Hemorrhoid pain and irritation and little bit of bleeding. Does anyone know if Hemorrhoid can be one of the reason for CEA to increase? Or what are the chances of cancer coming back? Sorry I am just scared.

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Replies to "Hi, I was diagnosed with Colon cancer stage last year 12/23. My surgery was done on..."
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Dec 25, 2022

Welcome @ruchibsq. Seeing CEA levels fluctuate can be unsettling. I moved your message to this existing discussion:
- Had colon cancer and now CEA is rising: Scared to death
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/colon-cancer-10-year-and-now-raised-cea/

You read the previous posts and see that @segerfan had a similar worry and luckily found that cancer had not returned.

CEA or carcinoembryonic antigen (as well as other markers like CA27-29) plays a role in diagnosis, monitoring response to therapy, early detection of metastasis and determination of recurrence in patients with colon cancer. But CEA alone doesn't tell the full story. As a member said in another discussion "Tumor marker tests are one tool doctors have to monitor but they can have great change and variables." "People's numbers bounce around and no two people seem to have the same starting point or "normal.""

You're also right that results can vary from lab to lab. Further monitoring will tell if this reading is an anomoly or needs further testing. Was your oncologist concerned about the changes in CEA?

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