Ladies,
I told you I'd ask my gyn-oncologist about the recent address/article by the insensitive British doctor.
He hadn't read it, but when I gave him the gist of it, he shrugged and said, "There's nothing new there. We know the CA125 isn't that great. We know it doesn't increase longevity. We know patients may be addicted to it--what else have they got? But most women don't want to wait to see how big their tumors will get to start treatment, and that's understandable."
In short, his view was that this was nothing new. He didn't seem to think it would make any difference in the way insurance co. covered the tests. I hope I didn't make him seem calloused; he's not. He just had a "Don't let this bother you. We already knew all that," attitude.
Blessings, and hang in there!
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Recent CA125 article
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1 reply
- By FavoriteAunt
- Posted June 15, 2009 at 9:08 am
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Your doctor is not calloused - just a realistic doctor.
I asked my onc. last week and he chuckled a little when I showed him the article. He was trained at MD Anderson, where the CA125 was developed. He said we got the CA125 14 years ago because everyone was clamoring for a marker test, and now that we have it some don't want to use it. He said there is wide disagreement on this. I asked "do they want us to just wait until we are doubled over in pain or have body functions not work before we get tested?" He said, some might. He understands that patients want the test and why. He did say that the test is definitely needed while you are in treatment to see if it is working. Naturally this applies to patients for whom the CA125 is reasonably reliable - I'm lucky and happen to be one of them.
In general, he didn't seen very concerned about it and I have a feeling things will continue the same way. Of course, I'll find out for sure once my current treatment ends! He's been treating me for 8 1/2 years and I trust him.
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