[BonnieR]

Grace, I think we are "mirror-ing" each other again!!
I cannot add to the analytical content of this thread but I can say that the CA 27.29 markers are beginning to add to my anxiety level. They are run routinely each time I have lab work prior to chemo. I did not request them. They have gone up each time although are still in the normal range. Once, my treatment nurse proudly pointed out to me that the number was within normal limits. But it was higher than the time before!!

I have done my own little unscientific survey about the CA27.29 test. I have talked to various national cancer organizations, a pathologist, done reading. One nurse/researcher for ACS said she works in an office with 8 onclogists. Half of them order the test and half do not.
My simplistic understanding of this test is that everyone has these markers to some degree. Even someone without any history of cancer. The numbers fluctuate. They would be cause for concern if they made a sudden and dramatic rise.
My numbers are also causing me a niggling anxiety since they have continued to rise during chemo and now my onc has discontinued all but Herceptin. This might be a case of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". For me.