Rana noticed the lump herself during a self-examination and presented to her GP the same week. An urgent breast-clinic referral followed within five days, and triple assessment — clinical examination, ultrasound, and core-needle biopsy — confirmed a 2.1 cm grade-2 invasive ductal carcinoma, ER-positive, HER2-negative. She was 41, with no family history.

Her case was presented at our joint Jeddah–London tumour board the following Tuesday. The two-site MDT — with input from consultant oncologists, breast surgeons, radiologists, and a genetics counsellor on the London side — recommended neoadjuvant chemotherapy to downstage before surgery, with a view to breast-conserving surgery if the tumour responded. Rana received four cycles of EC followed by twelve weekly cycles of paclitaxel over six months. Interim imaging at cycle four confirmed a 60% reduction in tumour volume.

Surgery proceeded as planned — wide local excision with sentinel lymph-node biopsy. Margins were clear and all six sentinel nodes were negative. She completed 15 fractions of radiotherapy and started adjuvant endocrine therapy. At her one-year review her breast MRI showed no residual or recurrent disease. Rana credits the two-continent MDT — hearing the same plan from Jeddah and London — as the moment she felt certain she was in the right hands.

“One plan. Two cities. A joint tumour board that never handed her off.”

This story is published with the patient's full consent and has been reviewed by the treating clinical team.