CA125

[ginnyc53]

When I was originally diagnosed my CA125 was 126.8  Now is 9.4,  In august they were going to do a hysterectomy. When they opened me up the surgeon decided there was too much involvement and to give me three rounds of chemo.  During the first surgery she would have had to remove the spleen and possibly do a colostomy.  She was in hopes of the chemo making some of that not necessay.  Surgery has been delayed several times due to low platelets.  They are normal now ans I am due for surgery next week.  My last two CT scans have remained the same.  My first one following chem showed some shrinkage in the tumor,  In my visit with her this week she said I seemed to be holding my own.  What is your opinion of the CA125 and the fact thqt the CT scan hasn't changed since November. I had 3 chemo treatment,  The last one was 10/27/2008.

[Teresa222]

Your questions can be very difficult for some of us to answer.  As far as the efficacy of the CA 125, it varies from patient to patient. You don't mention your age and that would be important in answering your question.  If you are pre-menopausal, the CA 125 can be tricky. The fact that your CT scan hasn't changed, could be considered a mixed blessing. Your cancer has not gotten worse since your last one is looking on the bright side.  Of course, your doctor wanted the tumors to shrink if I understand you correctly.
Do you know what Stage your cancer is? And do you know what type OVCA it is?

If you could complete your Profile, it would help us to remember more about you if you post again. And you should post more. This website is very helpful to all of us experiencing this dreadful disease.

I pray that your surgery goes well and they get everything under control.
Teresa

[moetr]

The best you can hope for is that all visible cancer is removed and that you have a low grade cancer. That would be great. A drop in CA-125 is good but it is not always an accurate indicator of amount of cancer.
Certain tumors don't increase the CA-125. The pathology report after surgery will be important to determine what is going on with your cancer and help in selecting additional chemotherapy. There are many options but that you can discuss with your oncologist. They can even give intra abdominal, IP, chemo if minimal cancer and depending on location. God bless and I pray that all cancer is removed during your surgery.