Here we go again???

[Dee58]

Hi, I'm a member of the head and neck cancer group but ths question is outside that so will ask here...

I'm about 8 weeks or so out of a 7 week program of chemo and radiation therapy for head and neck cancer...

When I had the petscan that picked my cancer up - back in February this year - another area was also showing as lit up in my abdomen but they focused on the one in my neck and the area lit up in my abdomen which was small was kind of skimmed over as if not important...

Long story short - yesterday I had an appt with my regular doctor to go over some hearing tests and she asked me to have a blood test again to check all my organs and general health and I said lets check for cancer cells too... again long story short, I had a call today and told to pick up my blood test results and take them to my next oncology appointment this Thursday because I have an abnormal (high) cell reading for CA19.9  (pancreatic cancer).

My question is - CAN the fact I have had chemo and radiation treatment recently,  well, when I say recently my final treatment date was 13 May - CAN that create a high CA19.9 reading too????

Or am I clutching at straws here?

My follow up petscan isn't scheduled until 17 August... (for my head/neck cancer follow up)

thanks...

Donna

[mensana]

@Dee58, I can't answer your question. But how did your Thursday oncology appointment go? Did you get any of the answers you were looking for?

[Dee58]

@mensana

Hi! Short version: oncologist believes the markers in my blood test are from the dead/cying cancer cells from the radiation and not from new cancer cells. Although they are keen to see what if anything shows up in my abdomen at my petscan in 10 days time because there was something suspicious highlighted there last time and they don't know yet if it's something to be taken seriously or some kind of inflammation so I don't really know anything until I have that scan 🙂 thinking positive though 🙂

[mensana]

It's all we seem to do most of the time, wait around for "results".  Thinking positive thoughts for you too.