Finally!!

It's about damn time!  I had to revise what I was calling "Feeling Better February" to "Feeling Better March!"  Hmmmm, doesn't have as nice of a ring to it, but you now what, I'll take it!  I'm off antibiotics and my MRSA sores are healing the way they should be.  I don't want to jinx myself, but it's looking like I'm infection free!  Woohoo!!  

 

The last few months haven't been fun, but through it all, my CA 27-29 tumor marker has surprisingly shown a downward trend.  Now, before I get too excited, I have to remind myself that this is a marker that isn't 100% reliable... used more as guide that "should" (in theory) correlate to what's going on.  It's a blood test that is drawn w/ the rest of my labs that I can get more often than the much more reliable images of a CT or PET scan.  "If" my tumor marker is going down, I "should" expect to see positive results from a PET scan.  However back in Oct, before I started that drug trial down in San Antonio, even though my tumor marker was steadily increasing, a PET scan at the time showed an overall improvement.  Ya, doesn't make sense.  When I received the good news of that PET scan I was of course relieved and excited, but at the same time I was pissed for getting so worked up over the tumor marker increasing week after week... I had obviously been expecting bad news from the PET.  So for awhile there I have to say I lost faith in the tumor marker b/c I couldn't trust it. 

 

BUT now that the tumor marker is going down (moving in the right direction)... maybe I'll give it one more chance to redeem itself.  I have a PET scan on Wednesday and I just KNOW it's going to show good results!   I mean come on, the CA 27-29 tumor marker doesn't lie!!!!  Oh wait!  It does... Well, at least I can accept my love/hate relationship w/ my tumor marker!!  This time will be different!  You'll see!!

 

Lets take a closer look at what my CA 27-29 tumor marker has been up to! 

(Note: Normal range is less than 35)

 

"A day in the life of my CA 27-29 tumor marker"

08/01/11  160

08/17/11  244.9

08/29/11  315.4

09/07/11  278.8

09/15/11  271.1

09/20/11  304.5

10/04/11  320.6

10/17/11  412.6  (At this time, even though PET showed improvement, I decided to participate in the drug trial in S.A.)

November (I was not tested for this tumor marker while on the study)

12/05/11  (Results from CT showed more cancer on my liver so I was pulled from the trial... Back to the drawing board!) 

12/07/11  (New chemo cocktail begins.  Unfortunately I was not tested to see what my tumor marker was at this time)

12/28/11  714.6  (Yowzers!  That's high!  Wish I knew what the marker was when I started this cocktail)

01/05/12  343.7

01/18/12  210

02/01/12  132.8

02/08/12  201.3

02/15/12  127.7

02/29/12  92  (Woohoo!  Double digits!!)

 

My next PET scan is this Wednesday... so we'll see how accurate the tumor marker is this go around.  I'm hoping to get the results of the PET by the end of this week.  I'll keep you posted with the good news!!  ;)