Due to some apparent confusion / misunderstandings and questions we’ve received, we decided I needed to post a clarification.
When I shared that the fluid was cancer free / no signs of cancer cells, all we meant was that the pleural effusion (fluid) that surrounded herright lung did not have cancer in it. The cancer had not metastasized to the pleural cavity.
It IS very good news. However, this does not meant that Teresa is in remission. It does not mean she will be able to go back to work any time soon.
Teresa still has a very large, painful tumor in her abdominal area. At the very least, it is attached to her cervix. There “is a small nodular density” in or near the posterior of the cervix but there is no clear word on if they are related to the tumor or are something benign.
The chemotherapy Teresa was on did not work and the tumor has grown significantly.
Dr. Musgrave is waiting to hear back from Dr. Nadeem Abu-Rustum from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (NYC). She will follow his (and probably Dr. Hensley’s) guidelines on what to do next. He is out for the holidays until January 2nd. Our next appointment with Dr. Musgrave is January 3rd – but it may be too early for her to have heard back from him.
Teresa’s options:
Chemo then surgery.
Surgery then chemo.
Teresa would prefer surgery first. It will most likely happen at MSKCC.
The chemo will likely be the protocol I mentioned before (doxorubicin and olaratumab) but it’s not confirmed yet.
We are currently waiting to find out if the pleural fluid that surrounded her left lung is also benign. (There was less on that side; about half of the amount that was around the right lung.) They will hopefully call and let us know so we don’t have to wait until January 3rd.