Not Much to Update

I know, I know... I still haven't posted my latest PET scan report yet. Sometimes things slip my mind!! My last PET scan was on July 5, 2012. Here is the report:

And here are the CEA levels since my last post:

• 7/6:  2.8
• 7/24:  2.8
• 8/3:  3.3
• 8/17:  3.7 (Starting to get worried...)
• 8/31:  3.0 (Whew!!)

I had my 29th infusion of Avastin yesterday since this maintenance chemotherapy was started on 7/18/2011. Before every infusion I meet with my oncologist to go over any laboratory or scan results. He was visibly pleased with the dip in my CEA level this time. Originally his plan was to repeat the PET scan after every 6 treatments with modifications to this plan when the CEA indicates that a scan should be done sooner or can be pushed out. At this time he feels that perhaps we can scan after 8 treatments since my last scan. That scan was on 7/5/2012. You can see from the CEA results (it's checked before every Avastin infusion) that I've had 5 infusions since my last scan. We will keep an eye on the CEA and if it starts to go up again then perhaps we will do a scan sooner but I think the current plan is to do 3 more infusions before doing the next scan.

I'm comfortable with this. I'm starting to go to the gym again and we got a new bed so I'm sleeping very well. I'm eating well. Stress is relatively low. I'm managing this the best way I can, and it seems to be working, at least for now.

Update on CEAs

Since my last PET scan (April 12th) my CEA has still been on a bouncy journey up. Here is the summary of the CEA results since then:

• 4/13:  2.3
• 4/27:  2.0
• 5/11:  2.1
• 5/25:  2.6
• 6/8:  2.5
• 6/22:  2.9

The previous results since January:

•  1/6:  1.0
• 1/23:  1.2
• 2/3:  1.2
• 2/17:  1.6
• 3/1:  1.8
• 3/9:  1.8
• 3/23:  2.1

You can see as well as I can that the overall trend is a bumpy upwards one. I see my oncologist every other Monday, and also get a Avastin infusion then, and tomorrow will be my next appointment with him. I believe he already planned to order a PET scan for me - his plan being to do one after 6 treatments since my last PET scan. So, I expect to be doing a PET scan probably on or about July 5th. My CEA will be repeated on Friday, July 6th as well.

I am posting this update as just an update, not as a reason to rile some people up or to cause some to go into a "it could be something else" mode. I have come to terms with the fact that I have to accept blood test and scan results for what they are: data gathering tools. My oncologist trusts them and I trust them. I'm not panicking (and probably won't ever really panic as that has no usefulness) and my wish is that you not go into panic mode either. I also don't need to spend any energy trying to decide whether to convince anyone that the test results are not to be disregarded, at least from my perspective. I like to post these updates so that those who like to keep updated can do so, and so that "this" doesn't sneak up on someone in the future. One thing I can take for granted is that nobody can admonish me for not keeping them informed!!

So, please take this post for what it is: simply an update to give you the overall picture at this moment. I'm cautiously worried, naturally, but that's normal I guess. And I'll keep you updated if anything changes.

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: