Cancer Update

So a lot has happened in the past week and it has been a very difficult week to say the least. We have been very busy attending various doctor appointments and Katie has been working hard to recover from her surgery in the midst of this.
We received some news from the pathology report that we were hoping not to hear. Cancer was found in some of the lymph nodes and to be invasive in the breast. Based on this information they are staging it as a stage 3 cancer. This came as very shocking and scary news and we have been grappling with processing this while at the same time meeting with doctors to get a treatment plan in place as quickly as possible.
On Friday we met with Dr. Halle Moore, a medical oncologist out of Cleveland Clinic. We felt as though the visit with Dr. Moore went very well and she comes highly recommended. Dr. Moore says this is an aggressive form of cancer and, given Katie's young age, she is recommending an aggressive treatment regiment to try to eradicate the cancer. Starting in a few weeks, Katie will be undergoing chemotherapy for a few months, followed by radiation therapy and another IV drug similar to chemotherapy. Once this regiment is complete, which will be about a year, she will then take an anti-hormonal medication for at least five years. On Tuesday, we will be getting a second opinion from another medical oncologist in Pittsburgh.
Due to the chemotherapy, another thing we've had to plan for is preserving Katie's fertility. The process to best preserve Katie's fertility is to harvest and freeze embryos that can be implanted via IVF at a later time. This process typically costs up to $15,000. However, we have been very fortunate to come into contact with a fertility doctor out of the Cleveland area who has set up a foundation. This foundations allows cancer patients who are at risk of losing their fertility to receive these procedures at no cost. This has been an incredible relief to say the least. The plan is to complete the egg retrieval before Katie begins chemotherapy. This means more doctor appointments, but it is something that is of vital importance to us, so it's worth it.
Dr. Moore also would like for Katie to have a PET-CT scan soon in order to see if the cancer has spread to anywhere else in her body. We do not yet have a date for this scan but we anticipate having it in the next week or two. The prospect of the cancer spreading to another area of Katie's body is very scary. Please pray and send positive thoughts that this scan comes back completely clear.
Thank you to everybody for your continued support. This news changes the reality of the cancer for us. We will most likely not be able to update the blog as often due to the craziness of this time. We may have a friend do most of the updates for us going forward. We still appreciate cards and other ways of support. We also welcome your thoughts and prayers as we wade through these new waters. We are hopeful and optimistic that the treatment will be successful. Katie is a very strong person and has a lot of support around her to aid her in this process.


 

This is a picture of Katie and Dr. Goldfarb on Friday. He is the doctor who will be directing Katie's fertility treatment. He also set up the foundation that covers the cost for cancer patients. We think he's great.

 Here is a picture from last Monday of Katie opening letters/cards of support. She really appreciates these and the other ways that you all have been supporting her.


Thank you,

Craig (and Katie)