CA125 Indications

[wadeover]

We found out on Nov. 15, 2007 that my mom had Stage IIIC Ovarian Cancer.  She is 72 years old and in good health otherwise.  She had surgery on that day (removal of ovaries, fallopian tubes, omentum, part of rectum and bowel).  Her surgeon did an optimal debulking and was pleased with the results.  He said he got all visable cancer.  She is currently going through chemo (Taxon & Carboplatin) and is in a Phase III chemical trial at Duke University.  When she went for her first chemo her pre-chemo ca125 was 451.  After her second chemo her ca125 was 44.  Am I right to consider this as a positive sign that the chemo is working?  She has been through a extraordinarly hard time during chemo and since hearing her new numbers is seeming to be encouraged and willing to finish the remaining treatments.

She is the first person in our family to have cancer and this is all new to us.  I don't want to get excited over these numbers if it is not a good indicator.  Thanks for your opinion.

  

[wadeover]

Wow - you all are so encouraging!  I am going to print this out for my mom to read.  I felt in my heart that it is a good sign - but wanted to hear from those who have experience with this dreadful disease.  My prayers are with everyone in this forum.  OVCa is such a devastating disease (as is any cancer) and I strongly feel that friends and their support can make all the difference in the world.  Blessings to all!!

[Conquerer]

it great.  as you hear some never get really low numbers  not all OVCa react as well to the first line, but I think this is a good indication that she is doing well.  Congratulations.

[petunia0580]

The CA 125 is a great indicator but it is so confusing and I spent days trying to get answers about what to think of the actual numbers.  Apparently, the number is just an individual indicator and cannot be used in comparison with other people's numbers.  As long as the number continues to decrease it is good.  My mother had a 1900 pre-op, 275 post-op and 125 after the first chemo treatment.  So, it's great if your mom's numbers are going down!!

[crecco]

Yes you are right to consider that good news. And please encourage her to go ahead and finish the treatments. I know that it is hard but, the chemo along with the surgery is the best course of action. I had to have chemo first and then surgery as I was to sick at the time to make it through a major surgery. But my CA started at 1800. I kept track of how much it dropped after each treatment, but for the life of me I can't find the book I wrote it in. If my memory serves me, I think it fianlly reached somewhere around 100, which is the lowest that it has been since.
  It sounds like all is going great for your mom and I wish her continued success.
                                          Chris

[casey644]

That's extremely good news.  She should certainly feel encouraged and finish her treatments.  I too had excellent success on taxol/carbo.  After 6 treatments, I was down to 12 from a post-surgery high of just over 1000.  Feel free to celebrate each success.  

Good luck to all of you.  It's wonderful to see that your mom has such a great family to rely on for support.

[Jan214]

It is very good news that her numbers are dropping.  What was her number after her first treatment?  Do you know what her number was prior to surgery? She should be encouraged by this and finish out her treatments.  When I was diagnosed my CA125 was 585.  After surgery it was 91 and with the six treatments it went down to 8.5.  So tell her to hang in there and hopefully this will be all she has to do.
Good luck to you and your family
Jan