New to site - Tumor Marker ??

[Bella's Mom]

Hi Everyone!

This is my first time posting. I am currently on Abraxene & Herceptin for my bone mets. When I started Abraxene in Nov '05, my tumor markers were at 378. With each treatment, the markers have come down - 378, 312, 256, 162, 117, 77. With my last treatment, the tumor markers went up from 77 to 85. My dr did say they might go up a bit or level out, then come back down again. Has anyone else experienced this?

I was so excited that they were coming down steadily, and was a bit discouraged that they went up.

Thanks so much for any insight/advice!

[StephN]

Welcome! and if you look around this site, you can find out a lot from people just like yourself.
Markers are doing just that - catching bits in your blood from the tumor cells.
My mets were very active and my marker (CA27-29) was not as high as yours started out, but did do a steady decline with a bump upwards now and then. Toward the end of my treatment for mets it went way up one time and I was scared, but my med onc was certain that was a one time thing and he was right. When I finished the treatment and the PET was clear, the markers settled well into normal range and have stayed that way.
Glad you are doing well with the treatment. We have only a few gals here who have had good success with Abraxane as the drug is still on the new side.
How are your side effects with the Abraxane? What dose are you on?

[Bella's Mom]

Thanks so much for your response! My onc is running the CA15-3 tumor marker, not the CA27-29. I don't know if that make any difference. Abraxane is really easy to tolerate for me, just some achiness and fatigue for a few days after treatment. I don't know what dose I am on, I get it every three weeks along w/Herceptin.