Hello DoubleG and thank you for your post.

It is reassuring that the CEA level was normal and it increases the likelihood that the MRI and CT scan will also be normal.

Some bowel cancers make a protein called CEA that can be found in the blood. It is likely that your level was raised when you were first diagnosed. After treatment to remove the cancer the CEA level returns to normal. Your medical team are now using the CEA level as a marker, if it started to rise it can indicate that the cancer has come back.

Many teams treating people with cancer have a specialist nurse(s) with the team who can give patients information and support. Many people contact us and tell us how stressful waiting for test results is. It may help to contact the specialist nurses and ask for advice in relation to your particular circumstances. In some cases it is possible for the nurses to give you results by phone. They can also support and advise you about how to manage the anxiety around waiting for results

I hope that this information is helpful and that you get the results of your MRI and CT scan soon.

With kind regards,

Mary