Today I received the copies of my recent blood work up. In many ways my blood work is very good, so I want to tell myself, "self, hey this looks near excellent, but self watch your cholestrol, eat a bit more oatmeal; you will be a-ok". Then as I glanced down, at the bottom of the lab results was the CEA my doc had drawn...I am now puzzled...Apparently the CEA was elevated to a high level.. I have read the screening can signal the protein antibodies in a few different areas of tumor activity. There is much data on colon cancer with this screening, I have found little data on this screening for the 10 other cancer areas this screening can apply to. Any connection to a neck neoplasm? Puzzling indeed. There is no direct relationship to areas in the neck with the exception of the esophagus. From what I understand the CEA cannot determine between a benign or mailgnant tumor, but it can be useful after chemo to detect the recurrance of a tumor possibly other than the origional site...

All I could do after seeing the lab and reconfirming the values, etc., was to let out a deep sigh, then a deep, slow inhale and then, a slower exhale...attempting to clear my Chi...hum, now, where did I set my reading specs? Seems I will spend some time doing a bit of research on the subject over the weekend and also re-evaluating my medical history. Wondering if there is any connection(s).

Soon I will know more from the docs at UCI. My first visit and intake will be Monday morning.

Any suggestions for my doc visit?