Hi Mark, i agree, they shouldnt ignore it, and i can understand your concern, have they said when they are doing further checks? Do you think you would benefit from a colonoscopy? or is the concern not in your bowel. I have my cea levels checked every 3 months and i think if it was me, i would get them checked again in a month, if you havent seen docs inbetween. Good luck and hopefully the docs indifference is a good sign

I am finished with treatment, 6 weeks ago, and now my CEA is over 7, I am so glad the pet scan was normal but I am having a colonoscopy thursday
better safe than sorry. I asked for one.

No Mark, no ignoring this, they've got to keep searching for why the CEA is rising. Are they scheduling tests? and let us know how the Scan goes BettyJo. My prayers for you both.

Yeah if you read the latest going on with me, you definetly have to be the one to push for the answers, although hopefully it is just nothing, good thoughts coming at you!

It could be just fluctuations. Let them recheck CEA in couple weeks.
Glad to hear the scan is clear.

Saw the Oncologist today, and again told not worry about the increase in CAE level, and that it is only an indicator and not definitive and that the trend is more important so now the plan is to repeat the blood test in test in 3 months rather than 6.

Good news Mark, try not to worry and have positive thoughts, why is it that after we have the intial diagnosis we always tend to think the worst? Probably because we have already heard the worse.

hope your feeling better now youve re visited the oncologist, at least they have now given you an explanation, good news.

This is one time were I wish I wasn't right but ... the CT scans have now been reviewed by the hospital that did my big surgery back in February last year and their assessment is that everything is fine but there are two spots near my liver that need close attention with a further CT scan and bloods in 6 months.

In the meantime I go and see a different oncologist next week to get their views.

hi mark fingers crossed that you are wrong, you must be worried sick, if its any help, when i was first diagnosed, the ct scan picked up a spot on my liver, i had a further scan and an ultrasound on my liver, it turned out it was just a nodule (not cancerous) so will be praying yours is the same. They said we also get fat on the liver which usually lies flat but in some cases can settle as little fatty deposits, and it can also be this. best wishes

Ugh Mark. I thought you were done with these kinds of worries. Sorry you are having to run this course again. I hope all is well with your test results and you end up with excellent news.

Well saw the oncologist on Thursday, and basically got told what we knew but didn't really want to hear, that my cancer is back barely a year after the big surgery with HIPEC last year, extremely frustrating that the local hospital didn't pick up 23mm x 11mm tumor on my portal vein and possibly on my liver ( so far not in my liver).

At the moment they are not recommending surgery not sure if that is because it is non-operable or because they want to wait and see the rate of growth first. Quick research that grafting the portal vein is fairly common when resecting the pancreas for pancreatic cancer.

Next steps the specialist oncologist is going to write to the local oncologist to tell them what they missed and what they need to do next, which is basically repeat CT scan with bloods in 3 months and follow up with the specialist surgeon rather than the local surgeon. In the meantime I've found out that even though I'm on warfarine (coumadin) I can take 75mg aspirin a day.

I'm sorry to hear this news.
Praying for you!

Mark I am so sorry to hear that. But how they can be sure it's cancer without a biopsy? The spots could be anything including cancer. I vote for something weird not cancer.

Mark, do you have any more news?