Sunday, May 16, 2010

What does the cancer number mean? My dad has had colon cancer for a few yrs & it has spread to his lungs

What does the cancer number mean? My dad has had colon cancer for a few yrs & it has spread to his lungs.?
My mom keeps referring to cancer numbers but won't go into details. First it was like 2, 5, 11 and now she said it went up to 750 and now 1100. I don't understand what those numbers mean. If anyone knows for sure....please state source, I really need to know and have tried to research and haven't found anything.
Cancer - 2 Answers
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1 :
Since you don't know which tests your mother is referring to it is hard to say for certain what these numbers mean. I have included a site that lists different tests used to detect cancer. I hope this helps.
2 :
There are many "cancer numbers" for the hundreds of types of cancers that we humans develop. There are numerous blood tests available to follow colon adenocarcinomas - if that is the histologic type of your dad's malignancy. We do not have this information here. http://www.tc-cancer.com/tumormarkers.html Probably the "CEA" blood test - Carcinoembryonic antigen . It would sure help if you knew which test. If this is the CEA, the numbers would indicate significant growth of the stage IV colon adenocarcinoma with pulmonary metastases. Stage IV adenocarcinoma of the colon cannot be cured, so this would not be a good sign. Is he receiving chemotherapy? Of course the medical oncologist treating your dad would know much more about this than any of us over the internet. It is best to go with your family member when there are visits to the medical oncologist who has all of the information which we do not have here. We cannot see the x-rays or CT scans of the lungs. We don't know exactly which test you are asking about. In short, we have to guess with inadequate information. The oncologist who is seeing your dad on a regular basis must be - or should be - explaining all of this at each office visit. That is part of the job he or she is being paid to do. Note that these "numbers" never tell us the future. There is no way to know how long someone with a malignancy has to live by any blood test numbers. The key to these "numbers" is the trend - AND - the clinical observation of how the person is functioning. Your dad's oncologist knows all of this. To know what is going on, you need to be there. I drove 1200 miles to be there when my mom saw her urologist for discussion of her bladder carcinoma. Maybe you are a great distance away and cannot travel. It is very dificult to get first hand information long distance.

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