Had colon cancer and now CEA is rising: Scared

When I was first diagnosed with colon cancer, stage 4, my CEA was 111! Now it has gone down to 8,0 and fluctuates up and down. My doc said that when the levels get this low it will fluctuate up and down and not to worry. She said they count more on CT scans to determine the cancer status. So don't read into the CEA values too much, unless they are a very high value.

Hello dear Mayo.
My husband's pet was clear but the cea was 4. . They found two polyps and temoved it. Cea goes to 4.3. Then the doctor said he has inflammation in colon and gave some medicine,cea falls to 4.1.
Now his cea is 4.6 and again i am wooried to death. What should i do.
I also remember you said dont worry. These numbers are low.but when it stops this cea????😰😰😰😰😰

But his cea again jumps to 4.6. Now i am worried.

Hi Dear MAYO
For updating my husband case. I told you that his cea was 4 after 3 years of surgery and chemo. We did petscan 8 months ago. He was clear. But his cea again went up to 4.3 and we did colonscopy also .he had two polyps and doctor removed. Then doctor said he had inflammation in colon and gave him medicine. Then his cea came to 4.1 . I was happy a little. But nowhis cea again jumps to 4.6. He uses his medicine even now.
So now I AM worried a lot. Why his cea elevates.
How far it is going to elevate??
Is there any hope that it stops
???
And 4.6 again a sign of recurrence or we should wait and do ultrasound and these thing
Pls help me
Thanks

@lida55, stress is hard and you need to also think of your health. Have you thought of speaking with an oncology social worker at the center where your husband is treated? They are there for you too.

Hello.
Thanks for your kind reply.
Yes we met his doctor and he said it relates to inflammation in his colon maybe becase his stool calprotecion also was high around 210. He gave some medicine and we have to do test cea after 2 months again. I hope it decrease. Because i myself am losing all my hair of worry and stress and i have huge hairfall, weight increase.... stress is very bad

Hi @lida55, as you may already know 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."

Monitoring CEA levels is only one tool for tracking possible progression of disease. Changing CEA levels are worrying. It's hard to remain calm about it. Have you met with your husband's oncologist in the meantime? What did you find out?

Thank you

My husband is still in active treatment, similar situation. I've read about a recently FDA approved blood test marketed as Shield, that seems effective in detecting staged colorectal cancers. Cannot speak from experience with the test yet. I requested more information on this test from my NP last week during my annual physical & look forward to hearing back. Here are a couple of articles related to the approval. Perhaps this would be something for your family to request in addition to the CEA testing. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/29/health/colon-cancer-blood-test-shield.html
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/health/fda-colorectal-cancer-screening-blood-test/index.html
I'm uncertain what would be available to you in Iran.

Hello dear mayo teamMy husband is 40 years old. Near 4 years ago had colon cancer stage 3b. Had surgery and 13 chemo sessions. About 1 year ago his cea level started to increase from 0.9 to 1, 2, 2.2,... and 5 months ago it reached to 4. We did sono, ct scan, pet scan and andoscopy and colonoscopy. Everything was good and just two polyps were removed. One month after his cea was 3.3 and we were happy. Now after 3 month his cea is 4.3.😰Does it mean anyrhing again??? We should repeat all pet and ct and colonoscopy again???? What should we do??? It is like nightmare for me. I really scare from this cea. Five months ago it was 4 then 3.3 and now 4.3.We are going to meet oncologist but could you give me some help and guide me what to do and should i worry?????? Does it mean recurrence?We did pet scan 3 months ago and now cea is 4.3. Was pet scan wrong or it didnt show anything???!!!!We live in iran.Thanks

There have been previous discussions in this form about CEA. It is my considered opinion that you shouldn't rely too much on this especially don't worry yourself sick about it. A level of 5 ng or higher May cause an oncologist to want to do colonoscopy however smokers have higher levels. I understand that Mayo Clinic doesn't even consider unless the value is 20 nanograms or higher. More importantly there are now other tests that are far more useful in making decisions about next steps. Suggest you ask your oncologist about circulating tumor DNA tests that are available, get a good check up a CT in a colonoscopy and take one step at a time! Hope this helps