Cancer Markers Go Down!

I got good news from my oncologist. Tumor marker tests came back with levels less than my levels from 3 months ago. My CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen) level was at 5 and my CA 27-29 was at 15.

CA 27.29 is a protein that is normally produced by breast cells. In people with breast cancer, the CA 27-29 level can increase. The protein amount can rise with breast cancer tumor growth and fall with treatment. Normal range is 0 - 38.6.

The carcinoembryonic antigen is a protein that may be present in people with cancer, including breast cancer. The CEA Test measures the amount of this protein in your blood. CEA is normally detected in healthy adults. An adult non-smoker should be under 2.5 and a smoker should be under 5. I'm not a smoker. But if my oncologist is not worried my level being at 5 then then I'm not worried about it.

My physical exam was perfect and chest x-ray was clear.

So I plan to keep doing things that I believe help stave off cancer recurrence. Eating mostly greens, a wide range of vegetables, whole grains, nuts, berries, red wine, green tea, dark chocolate. Limiting meat consumption to salmon & scallops a few times a week. Limit dairy products to cheese (organic when possible) and eggs (from free range chickens with no added hormones), on occasion. Exercising for 45 mins every other day. My exercise quantity will increase as the weather gets warmer and I can resume running outside.

I also take Femara 2.5 mg, a multi-vitamin, 2000 IU's Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Fish oil and Flax oil capsules daily and calcium 3 times daily.

I am taking a class at the University of Montana. Its going to be over my head but I expect to learn alot from it regardless. Its called "Advanced Nutrition for Chronic Disease". We'll focus on how nutrition affects the diseases Diabetes and Cancer.

I can't wait to report back here with recent study findings.

Shaky

As the day of my checkup gets closer my body does funny things. I can keep the part of my brain that is in charge of logic pretty well under control. Only brief waves of worry piggy-back on my thoughts. My body doesn't listen to logic though, evidentally. It has its own way of worrying. My throat is tight and I notice every couple hours that my stomach is clenched like I'm preparing for a punch.

My fight-or-flight instinct is on high alert making panic a buddy of mine today. When I screw something up I panic inside. I wonder what I look like from the outside. Then I go into pandering mode. I want to make things better and end up feeling embarrassed of myself.

I am guessing though that everybody feels this at times. So I don't think I'm deficient because of my reactions. I think I would benefit from a support group though.

Checkup Time Again

Crap, 3 months goes by quickly. I haven't made my January checkup appt yet. Will get around to it soon.

After being obsessive with anti-cancer foods for several months I've been sliding toward a more normal American diet lately. Eating some sugar every day. Not a lot compared to my previous, pre-cancer days. Not eating anti-oxidant rich veggies every meal. Just a couple times per day. I'm keeping up on my vitamins and exercise pretty well. I actually ate some red meat the other night. Just a little bit.

Fear of cancer recurrence has taken a back seat to feeling shitty about my performance at work. I'm back to seeing a psychologist that I used to see, about this. I got off to a bad start at my job, because I started and was trained around the time of my last of 6 chemo treatments. The training I promptly forgot. My memory is getting better though, I think.

So I'll go in and get exams and tests and xrays and report back. I'd be shocked if they find anything bad.