HCG rising again - help

[ebfun7]

Has anyone ever had the experience of HCG rising during treatment but then it going back down? My husband is undergoing treatment and his HCG the last theree weeks was 40 then 20 then 48 this last Wednesday. We are hoping it will be back down next week but are bracing ourselves and expecting it to be up again. Dr. Einhorn says to take it again to make sure it is a pattern of rising and to make sure it is not a lab error. I was just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this. The chance that it will go back down or it is a lab error seems unlikely. Thanks

Erin

[indiana9]

Hi Erin,
I was treated at the IU med center. Before starting chemo my HCG was 24 and after the first cycle of three weeks it had risen to 48. At the end of the second cycle it had gone down below 24 and by the end of the third cycle my HCG had normalized. My oncologist, Dr. Stephen Williams, told me that it was very normal for HCG to increase during the first cycle of chemotherapy.
Good luck, if you are working with Einhorn and the IU team then you are being cared for by the best on the planet.
Brian