Tumor markers

Tumor markers mark the area where your tumor was found. It is used to target Radiation only to the Tumor site. Since Radiation is very precise, it will specifically treat the area your doctor thought was necessary. In my case, this is the original tumor site (I had surgery already but sometimes it can be done before surgery as well) as well as my lymphnode area, because they still found some live cancer cells on my lymphnodes after chemo so they decided to include this area.

I am not sure how many different ways there are of marking the area but for me they are permanent marker lines on my skn around my breast so when I go for Radiation, they can line up the machine exactly the same every day to make sure they are not radiating any more area than they have to.

I believe when I am done, they will give me three tatoos (very, very small blueish black dots) so if a person who has received radiation in the past, other doctors will ve able to see exactly where the radiation has been delivered.

So, it should not have anything to do with your bloodwork, they are external markers on your skin. I hope this helps. Piffken 

I wonder if you are thinking of blood tests that look for signs of cancer circulating in the blood? My doctor does a CA 15-3 but there is another common one also, Ca 27-29.  Lots of DRS do not do them but lots do. Google Tumor markers for more info.

A tumor marker is a substance found in the blood, urine, or body tissues that can be elevated in cancer, among other tissue types. There are many different tumor markers, each indicative of a particular disease process, and they are used in oncology to help detect the presence of cancer. An elevated level of a tumor marker can indicate cancer; however, there can also be other causes of the elevation.