CamA 125 score climbing

[Venessabr]

Hey ladies. Quick question. Mom has been taking taxol but it seems like her CA 125 gets higher every week. 3 week period it went from 26 to 29 to 34. Is this a clear indication that the chemo is. It working and that the cancer is growing. What do you guys think. Have a cat scan planned in two weeks but just curious about what this normally means ?

[meboo]

I'm afraid there is no 'normal'. Since diagnosis 3 years ago, mum's CA125 has been a perfectly reliable indicator: if it went up, the disease was increasing, if it went down it was decreasing. Recently, over a few weeks, she has had a horrendous rise but weirdly her scan is reasonably stable. It now turns out she's been harbouring an infection for some time & dr thinks there is a good chance CA125 might fall as infection is cleared.

Depending on your mum's track record of CA125 readings, it may give an indication as to whether taxol is working, but I think the scan is your only definitive answer as there may be other reasons for the increase.

[Venessabr in reply to meboo]

Thanks Meboo. Seems to me that when the chemo was working the CA 125 fluctuated around single digits. Damn thi no called cancer.

[ShamilaS]

Hi, I noticed that you said it is going higher every week. When my mom got diagnosed initially her CA 125 was 1400, after her first chemo cycle (3 weeks later) it was nearly 1600 and after the second cycle it finally went down to 82. The same was the pattern after the surgery. They are finally back to normal levels 5 months after surgery (including 3 further chemo cycles and Avastin).

So maybe consider the levels after every cycle. I wish your mum all the best.

[Venessabr in reply to ShamilaS]

Thanks Shamilas. Didn't quite realize it could go that high.

[joanne1338]

Although the levels are rising, which is worrying, they are still very low. I believe that the CA125 fluctuates anyway. Best to share your concerns with the Dr's.

[Venessabr in reply to joanne1338]

Thanks Joanne1338