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Ovarian Cancer: CA 125 is rising but PET scans are clear.

Posted by rebeccaz @rebeccaz, Sep 12 2:14pm

4.5 years of Stage 3 high grade serous ovarian. I’m 82. My sixth chemo is now monthly single agent Carboplatin which reduced tumor burden greatly with clear PET scans but CA 125 which started at 1500 a year ago when I began the Carboplatin then was in normal range and is now 110. Last PET still clear and feeling well. Taking Procrit for Anemia. About to have a third PET scan in 6 months to see if Carbo is still working. I tolerate it well and hope I don’t need a new Chemo since with CKD we’re running out of options. Could the Carbo still be working some but just not as well? Others experiences are welcome.

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mtstack | @mtstack | Oct 31 5:00am

I was wondering how often your CA 125 is monitored? And if it continued to increase, what did your oncologist say?
My baseline before first infusion of carboplatin and paclitaxel was 50.
Yesterday (before second infusion today) it increased to 90.

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rebeccaz | @rebeccaz | Nov 1 4:22pm
In reply to @mtstack "I was wondering how often your CA 125 is monitored? And if it continued to increase,..." + (show)
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I was wondering how often your CA 125 is monitored? And if it continued to increase, what did your oncologist say?
My baseline before first infusion of carboplatin and paclitaxel was 50.
Yesterday (before second infusion today) it increased to 90.

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@mtstack
My CA125 is checked monthly before each chemotherapy and continues to rise slowly, but my latest PET a couple of weeks ago didn't show significant change from my former scan of two months ago. Happily my Oncologist thinks the current Carboplatin single agent is still working and I have my monthly infusion this Tuesday. Re the rising CA125 and the good Scan, she said she relies more on the scan than on lab tests. She doesn't know why the CA125 is rising but since it's a somewhat non-specific test of inflammation, she said it could be due to a non-cancerous cause, such as the lesions in my lungs, which no one thinks are cancer and which aren't causing symptoms.
She also said with humor that she thinks my cancerous cells may be 'stupid', meaning that they have not learned to change and evade the Chemo. However, she warns realistically that this may not last and we'll just keep monitoring via scans. Right now, I'm feeling quite good and hope my cells remain 'stupid'. Hope yours are as well. I hope this helps.

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mtstack | @mtstack | Nov 1 7:01pm
In reply to @rebeccaz "@mtstack My CA125 is checked monthly before each chemotherapy and continues to rise slowly, but my..." + (show)
Profile picture for rebeccaz @rebeccaz

@mtstack
My CA125 is checked monthly before each chemotherapy and continues to rise slowly, but my latest PET a couple of weeks ago didn't show significant change from my former scan of two months ago. Happily my Oncologist thinks the current Carboplatin single agent is still working and I have my monthly infusion this Tuesday. Re the rising CA125 and the good Scan, she said she relies more on the scan than on lab tests. She doesn't know why the CA125 is rising but since it's a somewhat non-specific test of inflammation, she said it could be due to a non-cancerous cause, such as the lesions in my lungs, which no one thinks are cancer and which aren't causing symptoms.
She also said with humor that she thinks my cancerous cells may be 'stupid', meaning that they have not learned to change and evade the Chemo. However, she warns realistically that this may not last and we'll just keep monitoring via scans. Right now, I'm feeling quite good and hope my cells remain 'stupid'. Hope yours are as well. I hope this helps.

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@rebeccaz
Thank you, Rebecca. That was very helpful.

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