Tumor Markers Are DOWN! *as of 6/3 lab

Revision: A week ago today, we were told by our Oncologist that Joe's Tumor Markers were down. It was Awesome news...we practically did cartwheels on our way out of the hospital! It was so good to learn! Even though we knew things were improving, this was medical proof. Praise God!!

What are Tumor Markers?

Tumor markers are substances that can be found in the body when cancer is present. They are most often found in the blood or urine, but they can also be found in tumors and other tissue. They can be products of the cancer cells themselves, or made by the body in response to cancer or other conditions. Most tumor markers are proteins.

Determining the effectiveness of cancer treatment

One of the most important uses for tumor markers is to watch patients being treated for cancer, especially advanced cancer. If a tumor marker is available for a specific type of cancer, it is much easier to measure and track it to see if the treatment is working rather than often repeat chest x-rays, CT scans, bone scans, or other tests. It also tends to be less expensive.

If the tumor marker level in the blood goes down, it is almost always a sign that the treatment is working. On the other hand, if the marker level goes up, then the cancer is not responding and the treatment may need to be changed. (One exception is if the cancer is very sensitive to a certain chemotherapy treatment. In this case, the chemotherapy can cause many cancer cells to die and release large amounts of the marker into the blood, which will cause the level of the tumor marker to rise for a short time.)