Holli's sister Alyssa is putting together a packet of encouragement for each of her 16 chemotherapy treatment cycles. If you have something to contribute please contact her by email at: Alyssa.Lancaster@uscm.org.

Thanks.

James

Chemo Protocol

This week Holli met with Dr. Ackman, the oncologist at WFU. Her cancer is considered stage 2A due to the two nodes being positive. She had one more drain pulled so one left to go!

She will have her port-a-cath placed April 27th and will start chemotherapy that day. Her chemo will be every other week for 4 doses and then weekly for 12 more doses.

Some good news

Holli had her followup with the reconstruction and oncology surgeon yesterday.

Her drains were not able to be removed because they continue to drain a good bit of fluid. There is no evidence of infection and her surgical sites look good. Overall her pain has been much better controlled for the past few days which is an answer to prayer.

Her pathology and molecular studies were also encouraging. The tumor was actually a lot smaller than predicted by exam or mammography. It was only 0.6 cm diameter of the total 1.9 cm mass. The other appears to be benign reactive tissue around the tumor. Her report did confirm that two nodes of the twelve sampled were positive for cancer.

The best news is that her cancer is estrogen receptor positive, progesterone receptor positive and Her-2/neu receptor negative. According to the surgeon, this receptor profile is the most favorable in regards to chemotherapy as it increases the kinds of chemotherapy that can be used as well as the effectiveness in chemotherapy eradicating any remaining cancer cells that may have spread through body.

Once her drains are out (expected in 1-2 weeks), she will have a port-a-cath placed at the end of the month. She was told that based on her case she should expect chemotherapy treatments every other week for 4 to 6 months with two drugs IV as well as oral Tamoxifen for up to 5 years. She has not met with the medical oncologist yet to review all of this but will do so in the next week or two. He will determine which medications and dosing regime will work best based on her cancer type and stage.

Please continue to pray for her full and complete healing. Thank you so much to all who have been an encouragement to her through this. You are greatly appreciated and loved!

James

Update on Holli

Holli had her first follow-up this past Thursday. She was able to get two of the four drains removed and her surgical sites look good. Although her pain is better, she continues to experience a good bit of pain as she heals.

Her pathology report showed that only two nodes of all of those taken had cancer. Her tumor was a bit smaller than thought and there were clear margins around the excised tumor. This is an answer to prayer. She will not need radiation therapy.

We follow up next Wednesday with the oncology surgeon who should have a full report on tumor hormone receptor type which will determine what type and for how long she needs chemotherapy. Please continue to lift her up in prayer during this time.

James