[2022-12-08] A momentous milestone
Just over two years ago, while undergoing my fourth of sixth rounds of chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, I received some unexpected news. For the first time since my healthcare team had started checking my CA125 level, I was in the normal range. As I explained in Chemo #4 and good news,
Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is a protein found on most ovarian cancer cells that is secreted into the blood stream and can be measured.... A CA125 test is a blood test that measures the amount of CA125 protein in the blood.... A decrease in the CA125 level during treatment usually means that the cancer is responding to treatment.
The normal range for the CA125 is anything below 35. My first CA125 level—measured the day my ovarian cancer was discovered by chance during an abdominal ultrasound for a suspected gallbladder issue—was 920, almost 30 times the high end of the acceptable range. Two months later, after surgery to remove as many cancerous tumours as possible, my CA125 remained stubbornly high, at 862.
But just three months later, after three rounds of chemotherapy, my CA125 level had plummeted to 19. One month later, it had dropped to 10, and a month after that, it had dipped to 8. It has remained at 7 or 8 since then.
Today was my monthly blood test. Another 7 or 8 would represent two complete years with a CA125 in the normal range. It felt like a momentous milestone.
Have you ever been in a long lineup, wondering whether you'd get to the front before the goodies run out? Have you ever gone into a final exam, feeling nervous because your previous tests felt like simple quizzes in comparison? Have you ever driven a car with the low-fuel warning light on, hoping you'd get to the next station before running out of gas?
That's what waiting for a CA125 result feels like. Would today be the day my luck ran out? Would I be turned away before reaching the front of the line? Would I fail the final exam? Would I run out of gas?
My luck did not run out. I made it to the two-year milestone. I got my Christmas present. I passed the exam. I made it to the station.
My CA125 is 7.
