You may want to post under colon cancer, because I rarely check the liver site.
I was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer with mets to the liver in July of 2004. I was originally told I could die at any moment, but that I had 18 months tops to live. I then went to a top cancer hospital and currently have no evidence of disease.
When I was first diagnosed, my CEA was 123.4. I thought that was high, and then I met people whose CEA is in the 800's to 1,000's.
After my colon and liver surgery, my CEA was 4. After chemo it went to normal. The normal range for CEA in an adult non-smoker is <2.5 ng/ml and for a smoker <5.0 ng/ml.
>The Dr mentioned that it's an extremely dangerous op with a very high risk. Can some one please share their experience of some one having to go through this type of surgery. What are the risks? What is the success rate? Will Chemo not shrink the cancer so much that surgery is not necessary? Problem being, he's a Type 1 Diabetic - this worries me.... Complications, infections etc.....
What kind of surgery is he having? If you're talking about a liver operation, I had half of my liver removed. Your liver regenerates and mine is now about 95% of it's original size. Chemo may shrink it, it depends on where the cancer is. Chemo before surgery would not work for me, because of where the cancer was.
>I am petrified of what lies ahead of us. Just knowing it was colon cancer was hard enough but now dealing with liver cancer is a very scarey thought.
I always think it's harder on the caregiver than the person. I suggest that you go to a top cancer hospital if you are in the US. You can find them here at http://health.usnews.com/sections/health/best-hospitals
Good luck and let us know how we can help.