Every few weeks before starting a new round of chemo, I have blood drawn to check my CBC to make sure my blood levels are high enough to start treatment. They also test my liver function and tumor markers, among other things. There are two tumor markers that they check: CEA and CA19-9.
- CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) is a protein found in elevated levels in those with solid tumor cancers, including gastric cancer. The normal range of CEA is less than 2.5ng/mL.
- CA19-9 (carbohydrate antigen or cancer antigen) is an antigen commonly found in elevated levels in pancreatic cancer and gastric cancers. The normal range of CA19-9 is less than 35U/mL.
When I was first diagnosed on 6/24, my CEA was 232 and my CA19-9 was 11,058. By the end of July, my CA19-9 was up to 14,945. It could have been even higher between 6/24 and when I started chemo on 7/11. Tumor markers can also increase in response to chemotherapy. When tumor cells are responding to chemo, they can release CA19-9 into the bloodstream causing a temporary rise in CA19-9 levels.
By mid-September, my CEA had decreased to 8.7 and my CA19-9 was down to 253.
When the nurse called me on Wednesday, she told me that my CEA is up to 72 and my CA19-9 is up to 9,371. She was really nice and told me not to panic before she told me the numbers. She said that my doctor wanted her to tell me that this can be expected after taking a break in treatment. I took a short break in treatment in November and then had to delay treatment in December because of low blood counts. This likely allowed the tumors to grow back a bit. My doctor expects the numbers to be down next time now that I am back on track with regular treatments. I am hoping the increase is partly due to the tumors responding to the new chemo regimen I started in December.
I was upset when she told me the news, but I'm trying not to let it get to me. They will draw blood for labs again this Tuesday, so I should have the results in a week or so. Fingers crossed the numbers are down!
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