Finished chemo, now ca-125 rising

[elizza]

Hi.  I posted a while back about my mom. She was dx with stage 3c ovca in May. She is 55 yrs old. She completed all 6 rounds of IP chemo with cisplatin and taxol.  Her last treatment was September 23rd.  Her ca-125 went down to 14.  She had her port removed on October 13th.  After the port was removed they took her ca-125 about a week or so after, and it was down to 7!! She started maintenance chemo (taxol) on November 6th, and the following week they took her ca-125 and it was at 11.  She was complaining a little bit about it being sore where the port was removed which is understandable.  Could it have gone up because of irriation or maybe thats where her numbers are gonna be at or???  Or could it mean she is platinum resistant?? She had a 2nd round of maintenance chemo on Dec. 4th, and the neuropathy is starting to become a probelem. I have so many thoughts in my head, and am VERY scared.  She is getting her ca-125 done next Wednesday. Could it go up 4 points and it not be the beginning of a recurrence or???  Did u ever have a patient like this, and everything ended up being okay?  Also her kidney levels are high because of damage from the cisplatin.  Please tell me what you think.  Thank you so much!

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi There, your mother is receiving excellent care. Ca 125 levels can fluctuate 10 to 20 points. The level can go up with inflammation , irritation of the lining of the abdomen, infection, liver disease, heart failure, pneumonia and so on. It sounds like it would be more important to decide whether it is time to stop therapy. It does not make sense to  disable your  mother by neuropathy or renal failure.

The standard of care in most places in the world would be to just do checks and check the CA 125  no more frequently than every three to fours months.
best wishes