(Burke posting)

Krista got her post-surgery pathology report this morning. There’s some good news but not all good news. The report showed that the cancer in her breast had been fully removed with “negative margins” so there’s no need for any additional surgery at this time. It also noted that based on the size of the invasive tumor Krista has stage 1B cancer. That means it’s very early stage.

However, the report also showed that one of the two lymph nodes that was removed and biopsied shows micrometastases, i.e. tiny cancer cells that have spread from the original tumor. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Krista has to do chemotherapy. According to the oncologist who Krista texted with later in the morning, the next step is to do an oncotype assay test which will look at 21 genes within the tumor and give a score that will help predict the benefits of chemo. If the score is low, she’d recommend against chemo. If it’s intermediate or high, then she’d recommend getting chemo (in addition to another type of treatment). That test will take another 2-3 weeks.

Of course, the best news would have been that the cancer hasn’t spread at all. Still, this is not a bad result. As she continues to recover from surgery Krista seems to have more energy and be feeling more positive. Still, she didn’t feel like blogging this morning so you’re stuck with me.

On yeah… in the meantime we’ve added some days for our Meal Train in the coming weeks. Thanks to everyone who has delivered us food so far — it’s been amazing!