CA 15-3 Tumor Marker Slightly Elevated. Should I Freak?

jamiebeth

I was treated for stage 1, grade 1 IDC in 2011. I just received my lab results from my oncologist which show that my CA 15-3 tumor marker is slightly elevated. Normal range is 0.0-24.0. Mine is 30.3.

I haven't heard anything else from my oncologist yet. Should I worry?

Thanks, everyone!

ruthbru

No, they are pretty inaccurate & bounce around a lot.

MusicLover

I think normal goes up to 36, can you recheck the normal range? Per my cancer center you are still in the normal range.

jamiebeth

Thank you for reassuring me. :-)

Jenwith4kids

I asked my onc to stop running my tumor markers. They are unreliable, they fluctuate and mine were LOW when I HAD cancer... .

jamiebeth

MusicLover--According to the lab my onc used, the normal range is 0.0-24.0, so mine is slightly elevated.

jamiebeth

Jenwith4kids--Mine were all elevated when I had cancer, and went back to normal after treatment, so they worked for me, but I've read that they do fluctuate quite a bit.

Jenwith4kids

I'm sure your onc will re-test them before drawing any conclusions.

Don't worry yet - HA, like that's an easy one!

Jen

sbelizabeth

Jamiebeth, this looks like a minor fluctuation to me. It seems like when I've read posts with elevated tumor markers that turned out to be significant, they were much higher than this.

My onc draws them quarterly, with the understanding that recent surgery, trauma, the flu...a lot of stuff, can lead to elevated levels. I run a spreadsheet, dating back to when I was diagnosed. They were elevated when I was on chemo, just like my onc thought they would be.

jamiebeth

Whew. Huge sigh of relief. Yes, my tumor marker was slightly elevated, but apparently it's been at the same slightly-elevated level for the past four years. I wasn't aware of this because I'd never received a copy of my test results before this last one.

Thanks, everyone, for being so supportive. I really appreciate it.

ruthbru

Jenwith4kids

phew!