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CA level rising


I just logged in to My Patient account at my hospital and saw that my CA levels actually went from 411 to 524 after my first chemo. My actual oncologist is on holidays and my fill in doc had said all my blood work looked normal. I am not able to view my blood results for 2 weeks online but again I had an appointment this prior Monday (new doc, mine still on holidays) and was told it is fine. I guess I just need some reassurance on what these levels mean, because now I’m stressed that it rose after chemo and that the meds aren’t working

Comments

  • Does a rise in the CA125 always mean a recurrence? After chemo, my number fell to 20 but last month's bloodwork showed it has climbed to nearly 3,000 post chemo, while on maintenance drug bevacizamab, but I have no other symptoms and CT scans thus far have shown no new activity. My original CA 125 at diagnosis was 25,000. They want to take me off the maintenance drug because they say it isn't working if that number is rising, but I think it is working since I am symptom free and no activity. Any others out there with this experience? The CA 125 marker doesn't seem to be a reliable indicator in all cases and I worry taking me off the maintenance treatment will allow the cancer to reassert itself. 
    I was diagnosed last fall (2018) with Stage 4 serous ovarian cancer which had already spread to my liver and abdomen. I know there will be recurrence but am hoping to keep things quiet for as long as possible. Any comments/suggestions?
    Just had another CT scan last week; appointment with the oncologist this Thursday to see where we are headed. I will have a liver biopsy sometime in January to identify the specific cancer we are dealing with. No biopsies or surgeries were done at time of diagnosis.
  • Hi @Shortone. See my response in the other discussion 😄