Re-cap of the Day

Natalie, Stephen and Cindy met with Dr. Khurshid this morning.  He spent a great deal of time with them discussing her particular diagnosis, the next steps and his philosophies on treating cancer.  All in all they are feeling very confident in his approach.  He said that he and the other doctors at Arlington Cancer Center believe in being very agressive in their treatment plans which is exactly what we were all hoping for. 

Dr. Khurshid did an exam of the lump to see if he could get a better idea of what was going on.  He estimated the size to be approximately 5cm (2in).  He explained that there are two types of breast cancer, noninvasive and invasive.  Based on the size and quick growth of Natalie's tumor he says that she has invasive breast cancer.  This means that it has spread outside the membranes that line the duct and into the surrounding tissue.  You can read more information about that here http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-cancer/HQ00348.  The next step will be for Natalie to have a CAT scan and a bone scan some time next week.  Based on those results we will know if it has spread elsewhere in her body.  

After they left Dr. Khurshid's office they went to meet with a breast surgeon in North Richland Hills.  She will be inserting a port tomorrow so that Natalie can begin chemotherapy as soon as possible.  We hear it will be purple so at least it has a little style!  The same doctor will also perform future surgeries, as needed.  At this time the tumor is too large to remove surgically.  They will monitor her progress on chemotherapy and once it is small enough for removal they will revisit her surgical options.

We will know more next week, but the tentative treatment game plan is as follows:

• An outpatient surgical procedure to insert the port tomorrow. 
• Next week (date TBD) she will have a CAT scan and bone scan
• Begin chemotherapy ASAP (by the end of next week) - As of now we do not have a timeline for how long she will require chemotherapy
• Monitor progress on chemotherapy - Dr. Khurshid says they will get sick of seeing him!
• Perform surgery to remove the tumor once it has shrunk enough to do so
• Follow up radiation on the area where the tumor was
• Have the biggest party EVER once Natalie beats the heck out of this cancer nonsense!

Please be praying that the procedure tomorrow goes smoothly and that Natalie has minimal discomfort.