I just got the results of my tumor markers. The CA15-3 was 22.1, the first time it's been over 20 since last August 2008. Anything under 33 is normal, but the fact that it's gone up is worrisome.
The other is the CEA which was 3.7. Anything under 3.8 is considered normal. However, that went up 0.7 points from 3.0, and before that went up 1.1 points from the month before that.
Conclusion: Who really knows? However, the fact that both numbers are trending up means that I need to step up the amount of Tykerb I take as well as maybe consider taking Xeloda. I'll try to ramp up Tykerb this week. I see Kenyon on Friday and I bet he will advise me to take Xeloda again. I'm waiting on the CT results, too, and that will tell me something then.
Crap. Well, I guess I tried an experiment and since I haven't taken Tykerb very much (not at all from about mid-January to mid-April and only intermittently since then) and now I see my tumor markers rising, I found out that the odds are that I still have cancer lurking around my system. My numbers had been so low for so long that I dared hope we nipped it in the bud. Now I know. So, time to move on and do things now to keep those numbers from going up any further. Right? Right.
Here's the tumor marker history:
Sept 2007 - 23 U/mL
Jan 2008 - 31 U/mL
Mar 2008 - 36 U/mL
June 2008 - 23 U/mL (started radiation that month)
Aug 2008 - 18 U/mL (week of August 4th)
Sept 2008 - 14.5 U/mL YAAAAAAY!!!
Oct 1 2008 - 19.6 U/mL
Oct 31 2008 - 15.3 U/mL
Nov 28 2008 - 19.5 U/mL
Dec 30 2008 - 16.0 U/mL
Jan 22 2009 - 15.4 U/mL
Mar 2 2009 - 17.8 U/mL
Apr 8 2009 - 19.6 U/mL
May 5 2009 - 18.4 U/mL
June 4 2009 - 19.7 U/mL
July 2 2009 - 22.1 U/mL
Remember that anything below 33 is considered normal.
Here's the history for the CEA:
1/2008 - 1.2 ng/mL
3/2008 - 0.9 ng/mL
6/2008 - 1.0 ng/mL
8/2008 - 1.1 ng/mL (need to double check this number, but it was in that 0.9 to 1.2 range)
9/2008 - 0.5 ng/mL
10/2008 - 0.9 ng/mL
10/31/2008 - 1.2 ng/mL
11/28/2008 - 1.2 ng/mL
12/30/2008 - 1.1 ng/mL
3/2/2009 - 1.4 ng/mL
4/8/2009 - 1.6 ng/mL
5/5/2009 - 1.9 ng/mL
6/4/2009 - 3.0 ng/mL
7/2/2009 - 3.7 ng/mL
For the CEA, anything below 3.8 is considered normal!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Tumor Markers
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2 comments:
Hi This is your most esteemed parent (one of them). I know, in my own mind. So, you are a warrior battling an evil entity. You know of what I speak. An alien invasion, desperately wanting to consume you, and cannot. Your job, as a warrior maid, is to keep it at bay until reinforcements arrive. And they will. Remember, you have cancer, cancer does not have you. You have had your experiment, now you bring in 'Excalibur' and use all the magic at your disposal. Spit at it and tell it that you just have to much to do and 'it' cannot win. Yep!
Thanks, Dad! I appreciate it!
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