CEA

My husband (48years old) was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer in August of 2008 and he had surgery.  His original CEA level before surgery was 9.9 after surgery it went down to 1.8.  He had 2 chemo treatments before he had to stop because he got a bad infection and almost died.  He did chemo because the tumor was T3 and mucinous and that could mean it was more aggresive (aggressive).  He has been felling fine but for that past 6-8 weeks has noticed some blood when he goes to the bathroom (not everytime), occasional cramping and he has less solid stools and goes more often.  We went for blood work yesterday and his CEA level is 2.1.  I know this is in the normal range but it was 1.8 for 9 months and now it has risen slightly.  I am wondering if this is normal. Thanks for your input.

[jdwithhcv]

I would speak to his doctor about the bleeding immediately.  I don't know if that slight increase in CEA is a normal fluctuation or not, but the fact that he has bleeding is alarming.  Good luck.