The Phone Call

Only those who have waited for "The Phone Call" can understand how hard it is to wait for "The Phone Call".  Especially when the doctor told me that he expected it to be cancer!  I got the GREAT phone call at 2:34 today!  Benign.  I am so happy, happy, happy.  Hopefully I won't be writing on here for a long time.  I dodged another bullet.

Thyroid Surgery

I had to be at Banner Desert at 6 a.m. yesterday, Election Day.  We mailed our ballots in.  I didn't sleep much the night before because I was so nervous!  I knew I could sleep later during surgery.  I hate getting IV's, but the nurse got it on the first try, on the back of my hand.  I kissed Dave goodbye, and was on my way.  I woke up to Dave telling me that they had to take both sides of the thyroid off.  Dang it!  I hit the bed with my fist.  I knew I would have to take thyroid medicine the rest of my life.  The doctor told us later that the pathologist doesn't usually give his opinion about the testing samples, but he told Dr. Maser that he thought it was cancer.  So why did Dr. Maser tell us this now (we find out the official results on Friday)?  Did he not want me to be shocked to find out it is cancer, or to be happy when it's not?  So by taking the entire thyroid off, I knew I was going to have to stay the night at the hospital.  Good thing I brought my toothbrush!  The 3 inch long incision on my neck is glued together.  It is sore, but the worst thing is my sore throat, sore from the tube which was put in during surgery.  And I've had a headache for 2 days now.  They gave me morphine, but I hated it because it hurt like heck when they pushed it through the IV.  So I took tylenol  because I hate the Percoset they offered.  I just want ibuprofen.  Brooks and Shelci brought Dave tacos from Jack-in-the-box.  I ate jello, applesauce, italian ice. Dave tried to sleep on the lazy boy chair in my room, but around midnight I told him to go home and sleep.  I had another sleepless night in the hospital. Even if I could have slept, a nurse came in at 3 a.m. to take my blood, and soon after to take vitals.  I was discharged about 11.  So good to be home to my waterbed, puppies, and no IV to maneuver while trying to get to the bathroom.  And the annoying leg massage wraps to help with circulation.  Shelci brought chicken and rice over.  I don't like to take help from people, but thank you!  I am feeling better tonight.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Election Day!  And when I wake up from surgery Dave is instructed to tell me the surgery results and then election updates!  And then I'll go home and eat soup and ice cream, sleep, and watch the election results.  Love you all, thanks for everything!

Bumping the Surgery

I started getting sick on Sunday.  Monday I was even worse, so I called and rescheduled the surgery that was scheduled for Tuesday.  I went to the doctor - Upper Respiratory infection.  So there I was laying in bed on Monday and Dr. Stephanie Byrum called.  She did my stomach surgery and her staff told me she didn't do thyroid surgery, so I went elsewhere.  She was calling to tell me that she does a few thyroid surgeries, but she would recommend Dr. Shellenberger at MD Anderson, which is where she is at.  I have been thinking of going there anyway.  It's just weird that she would call the day before I was supposed to go under the knife, and that I would be sick and not doing it!  Coincidence?  I don't know what to do!  I already paid half of the surgeon fee, so I need to find out if I can get that back if I switch.

Meeting with Surgeon

Dave went with me to meet with Dr. Masur, the surgeon yesterday.  I'm glad he went with me, because he spent an hour with us!  It was a lot of information.  I have the surgery scheduled for next Tuesday, October 23.  They will go in and remove the "almost golf ball size" nodule and the right side of my thyroid.  They will then send it to the lab and wait the 15-20 minutes for the results (while I "sleep").  If it is not cancer (which it is most likely not) then they are done and I will go home after a few hours, as long as I am doing OK.  If there is cancer (please, NO!) then they will take the other half of the thyroid out also, and I will have to stay overnight.  The only symptoms I have is that I have felt like I am getting a sore throat, but it never gets bad.  This has been going on for months.  It also feels like there is a small obstruction when I swallow, but not a big deal.  I am anxious to get this over with!

Results

I called Dr. Dharia's office at 10:30 and left a message with the receptionist to give to his assistant asking for the biopsy results.  At 1:30 I called again and left a message on the recorder for Dr. Dharia's assistant telling her that I needed to know the results today and that I was coming down there if I didn't get a return phone call.  They close at 4:00, so I went down there at 3:00.  I told the receptionist I was there to find out the results of the biopsy because the hospital told me the doctor would have them by Wednesday.  She checked the computer and said they were not in yet.  I insisted they were supposed to be there.  She went in the other room and came back awhile later and said they just came in.  I'm sorry, I don't believe that.  I bet they came in yesterday.  She said the doctor would call me later, or I could wait to talk to him.  Yeah, right, they'll call me.  I'm waiting right here!  I really like Dr. Dharia, but I've had 3 bad experiences with the staff, so I am checking out another place, probably MD Anderson.  Anyway, Dr. Dharia comes in and says the good news is that it's not Lymphoma, but inconclusive about it being another slower growing cancer.  I will have the nodule removed and they will be able to tell exactly what it is.  It would have to be removed anyway.  As I was leaving, the doctor said they were about to call me.  I'm sorry, I don't believe that.  I know I wouldn't have gotten a call today, and I doubt I would have gotten one tomorrow either.  I just don't think they care (except Dr. Dharia).  24 hours, 12 hours, even 2 more hours is a long time to wait for results.

Waiting......waiting.....waiting.....

Do you know what it's like to wait for the results of a Biopsy?????  I know it is probably NOT cancer, I know it is probably NOT cancer......but until I get that phone call, I don't KNOW!!!  Mostly I think it will be good news, but sometimes I'll think "But what if it is C????"  Just call me already!!!!  They said if I didn't get a phone call by Wednesday, to call the doctor.  So today is Tuesday, which means I could get THE phone call today.  Waiting.......waiting.......

Thyroid Biopsy

I got to go in for the thyroid biopsy today at Banner Baywood hospital.  Can't think of anything I'd rather do!   Everyone was super nice, which makes such a difference!  My blood pressure was super high when they first took it.  Gee, just a tad nervous!  The nurse explained the procedure and said the doctor would stop and let me swallow in-between each extraction.  This freaked me out, because that is one thing I hate about the dentist! A nurse did another ultrasound and they had the finger clip and blood pressure hooked up during the procedure, which took about 15 minutes.  The doctor came in, Chris Davis, who was super nice.  He gave me the numbing shot, which wasn't fun.  Everyone has compared the shot to a bee sting.  Well, I've been stung by a wasp (in the neck, even!) and I didn't like it! The nurse who was watching my vitals held my arm and talked to me the whole time.  I could talk and swallow the whole time, so I was worried about that for nothing!  So there were 4 people in the room during the procedure.  Nurse holding my arm, Doctor sticking needles in my neck, nurse helping doctor, another nurse who took the samples from the doctor.  He took 5 samples, which I couldn't really feel, since I was numb by then.  I just felt pressure.  I got to walk out of there with a nice blue ice pack taped to my neck.  So all in all it was a bigger deal than I expected, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be! Results by Wednesday, and then we'll go from there.  One day at a time.

Footloose and Cancer Free!

I had blood work done last week and a CT scan this week at Ironwood Cancer Center.  I am seeing Dr. Dharia now, since Dr. Cavalcant retired.  I like Dr. Dharia.  I just don't like the Oncologist idea or the Cancer Club.  So I go in today for the results, and the receptionist puts a band on my wrist "for the chemo room" she says.  She also says the financial person will talk to me before I go to the chemo room.  Why would I go to the chemo room?  I asked the financial person and she said it was a mistake and cut the band off.  I still wondered about it.  Then when I finally got to the exam room the nurse asked if I had a flu shot.  I told her I had one last year and asked if I should get one this year.  She said to ask Dr. Dharia.  I'm thinking.....because the cancer is back and I'll have to do chemo and loose my hair and not be able to go to Disneyland!!!!!  I'm thinking they are reading my chart and feeling sorry for this poor woman whose cancer has returned, but has no gray hair and an awesome haircut (thanks, Cindy).  After another half hour the doctor comes in, shakes my hand, gets a phone call, and leaves.  By this time I could hardly read the Reader's Digest I had brought and I was second guessing my certainty that I would get good news today!  Another 15 minutes or so and he comes back in and I hopefully appeared calm and at least didn't blurt out, IS IT BACK?????  He asked a lot of questions about how I am feeling (Great!) and swallowing and lumps in my neck, etc, etc.  No problems that I know of.  Then he said the CT scan showed a growth on my thyroid that had gotten bigger since my last scan.  Chances are, it's benign, but I have to get a sonogram of it this week and go from there.  Of course I come home and googled it.  I'll go with the 90-95% chance that it's benign.  And if it is cancer, it is NOT treated with chemo or radiation, just iodine.  I believe Google.  It's gospel-truth, right?