a question about labs and cancer tracers

[kenneltech]

I have just one question;  how do you post on the cancer forum for the experts?  I can get on the forum, but there's no place that says you can post!!!  I've asked this question on here, but I'll try again.

I get many MRI's for cancer screenings for my liver as they found "spots" on it.  The MRI's keep coming back negative and so did the biopsy, but my blood work showed cancer tracers.  My question is, although my liver is not cancerous, the cancer tracers in my blood are still prevalant, so does that mean that I could have cancer somewhere else?  They said that the tracers indicated it was in my liver, but since it wasn't, can it be somewhere else?  I need to know what I should do.

[Londres70]

Questions:  Were the "spots" on the liver noted by CT, US?  What markers/"tracers" have they drawn blood for?  Why are you getting many MRIs for cancer screenings for your liver?    

I know it is scary when you don't have answers, but please be fair to the people in this forum; they are not your physician(s).  The communication between you and your physician(s) could be better from what it sounds like.  He/she or they should be explaining this to you because the information can be confusing; intricate.  

Take a deep breath and I am willing to try to help you sort this out.  

[fletch836]

Hi Kenneltech,

If it's a liver-specific "tracer" in your bloodwork it could just mean you've got some abnormal enzymes and signs of liver stress rather than cancer. I don't know what your particular tracers are, so this is general information, but the liver can get stressed for a lot of reasons, and liver cancer is just one reason - I don't know your history but infection with a chronic virus, regular alcohol consumption, or even just a diet that's a little high in fat are common causes. If your liver is stressed it's important to find the cause and do something about it though, it could cause problems later.

If they're liver cancer tracers, it's unlikely there's cancer elsewhere, but if you're still worried, definitely ask your doctor. They're reasonable questions, and the doctor should be able to explain whether or not this is something to worry about.

That's pretty general, I don't have enough information to know whether it fits your case or not but hope it helps. Sorry I can't be more specific.

[kenneltech]

I am asking about the exact tests today, and will post them.  Sorry.  I keep getting MRI's because I have HepC and they found "spots" on my liver, but they keep checking them and say they are "going away."  They did a biopsy and said it was normal and they did not find cancer.  I think the cancer tracers were specific to my liver, but that's what I don't understand.

Why can't they be from somewhere else because they are in my BLOOD?  Anyway, I'll find some of this lab work stuff out.  Thanks.

[kenneltech]

I got all my labs from when they did all this testing, and I can't make heads nor tails of which ones to put down here because I don't know which ones were the "tracers" or what.  I will just post a few at a time.  

They did find the "spots" on an MRI, and they did do a liver biopsy, and then there were a million tests.  I am getting another MRI in a week and will post what they find then, and I'll specifically ask them to interpret the results in layman's terms!!