>----- Original Message -----
From: "cathy:-" <anonymous@medispecialty.com>
To: "Multiple recipients of list ADHESIONS"
<adhesions@mail.medispecialty.com>
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2002 11:34 PM
Subject: CA125 test
> The real problem with the CA125 test is that it is not particularly
> reliable. Most of the positives are false positives (ovarian cancer is
> very rare) and of the small number of women who have the test and turn
> out to have OC the test came up negative in a significant fraction of
> those cases. Think of it this way: if you are very fair-skinned, then
> you have a skin cancer risk that is many times the risk of a person with
> dark skin. But millions of fair-skinned people never get skin cancer,
> and millions of dark-skinned people do get it. If there were some fancy
> test for skin shade (as opposed to just being something you can see)
> then the biostatisticians would be out there with all sorts of fancy
> talk about how their test had a statistical value predicting skin
> cancer. But of course in the real world for one individual person it
> doesn't really tell squat.
>
> A couple of years ago Ann Landers or Dear Abby printed a letter from
> somebody saying that every woman should demand this test, and ever since
> docs have been fighting a battle to convince women not to run off and do
> anything foolish. Imagine the scenario... Woman reads advice column,
> demands CA125 test. Test is positive, so she then has surgery to biopsy
> her ovaries. Pathology determines there is nothing wrong with her
> ovaries at all. Except now because of the surgery she is totally
> debilitated from massive ARD, and dies 2 years later from an intestinal
> obstruction. Medical tests are NOT risk-free, eh?
>
> Another thing that I have heard is that the CA125 picks up ANYTHING
> going on with the ovaries, like small benign cysts from a missed
> ovulation which are in the process of being reabsorbed into the ovary.
> I'd have to wonder if it would also come up positive if your ovaries are
> inflamed as a result of constant irritation from adhesions.
>
> If this test comes up positive I think that you need to do some real
> solid research on the possibilities and the probabilities. Because the
> only way to really test for OC is to go in there surgically and biopsy
> the ovaries. And if you have ARD you want a darn sight better reason
> than idle curiosity to be doing pelvic surgery!
>
> At Mon, 25 Feb 2002, Sally Grigg wrote:
> >
> >Dear Kel, It's so hard to tell what is what. I've never experienced
anything like "burning" with adhesions. It may be adhesions, or it could be
ulcers. Oxycontin helped my adhesions immediately. I've decided that since I
have so much pain I might as well take tests even though I'm sure they are
adhesions, therefore I took a bloodtest called CA125 today to determine if
there were any cancer cells in my abdomen. Maybe its unnecessary, but I read
an article about it and decided to try. I only found out afterwards, that
the test is expensive. No one told me before. So for what its worth, that's
my story. I'm sorry you are in so much pain. Take care, Love and hugs, and
prayers, Sally
>
> --
> cathy :-)
>