Friday the 13th PET Scan and CEA Results

Greetings to all...

Yesterday I had a PET scan. I'm probably not radioactive anymore, but no promises!! Basically there's still no sign of activity. My CEA was run today and it's still up a little bit more. Today it's 2.3, up from 2.1 last time. It's going up very slowly. I do believe that it's steadily increasing for a reason and that it's an indicator of tumor growth somewhere. But the tumor growth is being kept slow by the drugs that I'm on. In time it will be detectable on scan, but so far it's still below the detectable limits. I suspect that we will stay the course and as long as the CEA is steadily increasing then my next scan will be in two months. Until then I get to live my life in uneasy peace. Of course if the doctor has anything different to say on Monday I will post it here.

Here's the PET scan report:

PET Scan 2/3/2012

I think I'll let it speak for itself:

:-)

PET Scan Plan

Quick update: I went in for my 12th Avastin infusion yesterday. During my appointment with the oncologist we discussed our plan. Dr. Dormady said that the CEA for me is a good indicator of disease progression and while it's low like it is right now he doesn't see a need to do a scan as frequently as every two months. He did say that he wouldn't go over three months. Anyway, we'll keep watching the CEA and as long as it behaves we are pushing the PET scan out another month and will do it after the 14th Avastin infusion, which is about a month from now.

CEA

Today I had my bi-weekly blood tests done. The CEA today is 1.3. That's down a tic from 1.4 two weeks ago. Which was up a tic from 1.3 two weeks before that. Which was down from 1.5 two weeks before that. So, maybe I'll just stay in this small range and bounce up and down. I guess I'm happy with that as long as my scans stay clear. Of course, I'd love to see it drop below 1.0. Will I be happy then? Well, it's all relative. Just like those "5 more pounds" I will then look for it to drop to, maybe, 0.5. Let's see what happens if and when I get to 1.0.

My oncologist told me that we will just keep doing what we are doing pretty much indefinitely. Maybe if my CEA drops and stays down and my scans are clear for 6 months then perhaps he may consider lengthening the time between infusions. However, though it is a minor inconvenience (especially when we are kept waiting in the waiting room for an hour), I don't mind the treatment I'm getting now as there are no side effects that I notice.

He will order a PET scan after my 12th infusion (it's after every fourth infusion) which means I'll get my next scan the week of January 2nd, most likely.

PET Scan from 11/10/2011

Yesterday I had another PET scan done. For now these are being done a two-month intervals. I have been worried about this one because my CEA has been going up since September. I also had my CEA drawn today and expect that result later today.

I'm happy to report that this PET scan appears to be clear. There is still a "soft tissue density" that was seen last June but it has decreased in size and I think it's under their threshold to call it a definite tumor. I'm sure everyone will be keeping an eye on this one.

I go to see the doctor on Monday. At that time I'll learn if the chemotherapy schedule will be modified or will stay the same. That may depend, in part, on this CEA level. {Update: I just got my CEA result, and it's 1.3, which is down from the previous 1.5 Now, that's better!!}

Here is the PET scan report:

PET Scan Results From 9/14/2011

YAY!!! Join me while I do a happy dance!! Focus on the "Impression" on page 2.

CT Scan from 6/20/2011

PET Scan Report

Well, I got my report. I actually got it yesterday but have been letting it ferment for a while. Basically it says that I have two definite tumors, one in my left mid-abdomen and one in a lymph node in my left pelvic area. Also there are two more "soft tissue densities" that cannot be excluded. One of these is near my right kidney and one of these is in my "left mid-pericolic gutter", whatever that means. I didn't know I had a gutter. So, as it turns out, I have somewhere between 2-4 things to deal with this time. I hope the surgeons can find a way to get to all of them and have a good look around while they are in there.

The radiologist always looks back to the previous scans to compare findings and the two definite tumors, looking back, were probably on the last scan in April but were very hard to see because of their small size and their lack of brightness. For a PET scan I have to lay off of the carbs the entire day before and go in to the scan fasting. They then shoot me up with radioactive glucose. Tumor cells are greedy little buggers so they really suck up the glucose. The scan looks for this metabolic activity and it shows up as bright spots on the scan. Well, these two tumors weren't so greedy in April (they were just babies) but now this time they were bigger and brighter.

It was in March that my CEA started to rise so I'm not surprised to hear that these spots were actually there in April, but were under the threshold to call malignant. I'm also not surprised to hear that they found them this time. But I am surprised to hear that there are possibly four things to worry about now.

There were some people (including my oncologist) that tried to downplay the significance of my rising CEA. Having to try to convince them didn't help and after this perhaps they'll just listen and trust me. I'm glad that I talked my doctor into moving the PET scan up. As fast as this thing moves who knows what they would have found a month from now.

Here is my report. I've removed all identifying information. One fun thing to note is the comment about my gray matter in the "HEAD/NECK" area. I guess I had a lot on my mind!

Inaugural Post

Howdy folks.

Welcome to my new, simple blog. My previous blog was so unfocused and I when I wasn't having any cancer news I could rarely think of anything worth posting about. I felt that I had made a promise that I couldn't keep. So, I am starting over with a new one and this one will only be about what's going on with me cancer-wise. Here's where I'll post updates about blood tests, scans, surgeries, and treatments. We have found that this is the easiest way to get information to everyone who wants to be kept updated.

So, let's get started, shall we?

Since March my CEA level has been on a steady march up. The CEA is a tumor marker that is monitored via blood tests. Well, in January it was 0.7. But then in March it jumped to 1.5. After that it kept climbing: 1.6, 1.9, 2.2, 3.8. At this point I convinced the oncologist to move my PET scan (scheduled for July 6th) up. So, today, June 8th, I had a PET scan. And here we are, almost exactly a year from finding the last tumor (it was June 9th last year) and it seems I have another one. I am not supposed to know this yet, but I do. I'll know officially in a couple of days, and there's still room for a retraction in case the person who told me is wrong. It's official once the radiologist reads the scans and writes his report. But I expect it to say that I have a new tumor, and it's in the same area as the last one.

What do we do? I have a call in to the doctor up at Stanford, as I intend to involve him and the Stanford GI Tumor Board again. I will find out if less-invasive robotic surgery is possible for me. My oncologist is supposed to have already sent some of my tumor cells away (from the last surgery) to find out if there's a targeted way to treat it. I will no doubt have surgery again. I will resist chemotherapy if possible. And I'll heal again and wait for the next time.