I had part of my colon removed due to cancer just about a year ago and the doctors said they removed all the cancer and it had not gone out the intestine but the Mayo clinic where I had the surgery said to have this cea test every 3 months. Last test was 2.8 slowly been going up and I am worried.  What are the next steps to take?
Hi, Thanks for writing in. Colon cancer is treated completely by surgery if detected in early stage. However, CEA is to be done regularly to know the progressive increase and possibility of a recurrence of the tumor. Colon cancer might cause liver spread and this also has to be looked for by doing an ultrasound scan and CT scan if required. It is important to discuss the rise on CEA with your doctor and then proceed with doing an ultrasound scan or CT scan and if there is a strong suspicion then a PET CT scan might be necessary. Please do not worry.