Question re:TM levels

Hi Guys,

I have already posted this question in a Tykerb/Xeloda thread but no one seems to be there at the moment, so here goes.

Do any of you know much about TMs? My latest bloods show my CA15-3 count has gone down (which of course I am thrilled about) and is now sitting at 39 (don't know which units they are using). Are the tests here in Australia different to the ones for you US girls? Any googling I do quotes much higher scores even for 'normal' which is up to 31 here my onc told me.

I have mets in my brain and 'activity' in my spinal column. I know that a lot of drugs can't pass the blood/brain barrier (hence I have been put on Tykerb etc because it CAN pass through it), but my question is: could my relatively low CA 15-3 score be just a reflection of the state of the rest of my body, and not of the crap in my brain/spinal system? Does the CA 15-3 that the mets in that area throw off actually escape into the bloodstream to be counted?

Sorry, it's a curly one I know, but I am driving myself mad thinking about it!

Hope one of you lovely ladies can help me!!