Topic: Tumor Marker - Talk Me Down Please

Hi !!  I know what you mean about not being able to stop worrying.  I've asked about tumor markers on here as well and was told that it's not unusual to have markers be up some after chemo.  My CA 27.29 has always been normal (even with the breast cancer ) But my CEA has given me fits, being elevated.  Have had colonoscopy, PET scans, can't seem to find anything wrong, please Lord let it stay that way !!  So the onc said we'll watch it.  Anyway.....please try not to worry so much (easier said than done, right?!) Hope I've helped somewhat.  I'm sure some other ladies will be along to help calm your fears.   This site has been a real blessing and continues to be so. Hang in there !! 

Just bumping this up so that a real post is at the top of the list and therefore on the front page forum list of the discussion board, rather than the spam post from that scumbag Steve Chang (aka Sophia). 

Thank you all for responding; it helps to know I am not alone.  My onc really downplayed the numbers and told me not to obsess about it.  So hard to do!  She said we'll check them again in two months and, if need be, follow up then.

Normally I would be okay with this, but being one of the very few who have had an isolated axillary recurrence after mastectomy (originally Stage II/Node Negative), I am scared to death that, once again, what should be nothing, will turn out to be something. 

If I think about the upcoming appointment with my Onc, I can feel my heart beating faster and the fear rising in me, almost like a panic attack.  Anybody else out there have this same sort of feeling?  I used to be so normal, then breast cancer pulled the rug out from under me, twice.  I swear, I wonder where that plain old normal woman went....I barely remember her. 

What are the normal ranges for the markers?

Teresa

My onc says under 35. I have a question--can you have totally stable, normal tumor markers and still have a cancer in your body? Mine have been 12 for a while, but I have to go for breast sonogram as onc says my scar and around it feel lumpy.

Abbysmom,

I also get a more rapid heart beat and anxiety before my oncology appt. 

Sometimes I can feel the anxiety feelings just reading certain things here. 

Posters refer to us being on a roller coaster ride and I agree.

About the tumor markers, I've been wondering what the difference is between the CA15-3 test and the CA 27-29 so I googled and up came Cancer.org and a great explanation so now I understand.

Here is a part of what I read and I hope maybe it will help you and others who have wondered also.

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"CA 15-3: CA 15-3 is used mainly to monitor patients with breast cancer. Elevated blood levels are found in less than 10% of patients with early disease and in about 70% of patients with advanced disease. Levels usually drop following effective treatment, although they may spike in the first few weeks after treatment is started, a result of dying cancer cells spilling their contents into the bloodstream.

The normal level is usually less than 25 U/mL (units/milliliter), depending on the lab. But levels as high as 100 U/mL can sometimes be seen in women who do not have cancer. Levels of this marker can also be higher in other cancers and in some non-cancerous conditions such as benign breast conditions and hepatitis.

CA 27.29: CA 27.29 is another marker used to follow patients with breast cancer during or after treatment. This test measures the same marker as the CA 15-3 test, but in a different way. Although it is a newer test than CA 15-3, it does not appear to be any better in detecting either early or advanced disease. It may be less likely to be positive in people without cancer. The normal level is usually less than 38 to 40 U/mL (units/milliliter), depending on the testing lab. This marker can also be elevated in other cancers and in some non-cancerous conditions, and it may not be elevated in some women with breast cancer."

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I also wanted to let you know my oncologist tells me each time not to put so much emphasis on the number the test comes up with.

He said he prefers not to use the test for many reasons one being the very anxiety he sees it cause so many of us.

Ugh what are we to do.  Thank goodness for xanax.

I wish you all the best!

I know how you feel.  I cry sometimes just because I want my old life back.  My Ca27.29 was 22, then 19, then 27, now 31.  I am 1 year out of treatment after T/C 4 treatments and am on Arimidex.

I have heard stories about women going through the up's and down's of Ca.27.29 results and you are right, the anxiety never goes away.  I know my markers are all in normal ranges, but wish they would just stay the same!!! I am suppose to have a good prognosis.

 I try to stay positive, but just when I feel good about things, these

 test results come back, just enough to scare the living wits out of you.

Grade 1, stage 2A, 1 microscopic sentinal node of 7 taken. 

Mary Jane clubmember5 

Results came back just fine.  CA 27-29 dropped to 33, bone scan clear.  Onc wants to see me again in 4 months.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

Right now my friend is in a similar situation.  At the beginning of July her Ca 27-29 was 39.  Just last week, before chemo, a test was taken and it is now at 60.

The onc, through her nurse, did not seem alarmed.  She asked that my friend's scan get moved up to a sooner date.

We know that 60 is outside of the normal range and changing 21 points seems drastic.

We will wait to discuss with the onc..  In the mean time, I'll be scouring the Internet for other data points about the range.

Thank you,

Molly

In April I learned I have advanced breast cancer after a mastectomy in 1982 and no treatment in between.  What a shock.  I have been on Arimidex, and every month the tumor markers have gone down.  I just got last week's results and find they are back up almost as high as before I started treatment.  Still not high--CA 15-3 is 27.2 and CA 29-29 is 36.6--both within normal.  But the change in direction freaked me out.  I'm glad to have found this website.  After reading the posts, I feel a bit better.   Right now I'm most freaked out by the fact that 31/2 weeks ago I developed a persistent diarrhea.  I've been tested for parasites and C. diff with all negative results.  My onc wanted me to see a gasteroenterologist right away, but the soonest I can get in is Aug. 22.  I'm pissed, because I don't think my immune system can handle both breast cancer and constant diarrhea, and I wonder if the numbers are proving me right.  Anyone ever have something like this right out of the blue?