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When a treatment is successful, be it drug or hormonal, we may not know it right away. In fact, our markers may become elevated, which, at first thought would cause us to be very concerned. This may not always be the case. One cancer antigen blood test is CA 27 29. The numbers that you see are representative of the antigens, which in turn represent the cancer cells and/or tumor. If a treatment is successful you may indeed see a rise in your numbers because once a cell is killed off, it breaks into many pieces. This causes the antigens to increase in numbers. This, in turn, causes a higher count in your blood work. That is why the physician is not always concerned about a rise, at the beginning of the treatment. They look for a trend. If it continues to rise after (perhaps) three months, maybe there is cause for concern. Maybe not. This also depends on the life cycle of the antigen. Though the cancer cells may be eliminated through apoptosis, you won't know it until the antigens are eliminated from the body. As well, a person may be experiencing pain within the first months of a new treatment. This may not always be a bad sign as a successful treatment can be starving the tumor of what it needs to grow. Higher numbers and more pain are not always negative indicators. Understanding the possibilities leaves us with relief.
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