Worried about rising CEA levels

Posted by Dianne @diannechildress, May 31, 2017

I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2009. At that time they removed 1/3 of my colon. We did blood screening through the Mayo clinic and they came back that I had a predisposition for polyposis. The cancer had not gotten out of the colon area. Over the next 7 years I was having regular colonoscopies and the doctor removed polyps every time. He recommended that I have the reminder of my colon removed and attache the small intestine to the rectum. That surgery was done January 2016. Up until this surgery was done my CEA levels were in the 3-4 range. This past April I was in to my oncologist for my check-up and my level has increased to 6.1. We redid the test again in 6 weeks which was yesterday and they have increased by 0.3 to 6.4. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem? I have had my mammogram done and it is clear, I don't have any more colon so it can't be colon cancer, I had a hysterectomy when I was in my 20's so that rules out ovarian cancer. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | May 31, 2017

Hi Dianne,
Welcome to Connect. I'm tagging a few other members who may also have experience with fluctuating CEA levels. Please meet @travelgirl @martid @ilene1 @soul @brglight @nannytart @bush @sallyg @starrlight and @joannem.

As you probably already have researched, 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."

Dianne, have you had an appointment with your oncologist since receiving the results of this latest test? The CEA test is only one piece of the puzzle. Your doctor will be able to give you a fuller picture of what is going on. When do you have your next appointment?