CA27.29

A new oncologist ordered a CA27.29 for me.  I was surprised when he saw a 45 (above the standard) for this test and immediately wanted to do PET scans to rule out any more cancer.  

There are several reasons why I hesitate to have a PET scan.  One is the cost.  The internet says the PET scan can run between $3,000 and $6,000.  Secondly,there seems to be a lot of controversy about the effectiveness of thie CA27.29 test for diagnostic purposes so I question whether a high reading really should make a PET scan necessary  Based on the lack of statistical proof of the value of the CA 27.29, I wonder why it was even ordered,  So far, all it has done is create more worry for us.

Beside  those reasons,  I understand that stress --and other conditions -- can be a contributing factor. Since stress has been our constant companion for several years, that might be the reason for a high reading!

Also, I am almost 3 years away from my lumpectomy and originally, this same oncologist reassured me that my cancer had been very localized and small and therefore nothing to worry about.  His about-face has me quite confused.  

With all this,I have decided to put off the retest until I go in for my 6 month mammogram in the spring and, unless I see some good evidence that the CA 27.29 has some value, will skip both it and the PET scan.

Does this sound like a reasonable approach?



This discussion is related to Testing for tumour markers.