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Surgery Update

December 6th, 2010 at 09:25 pm

My biopsy came back... Inconclusive!

But, we have narrowed down what type of tumor it is. (The type that is impossible to tell beningn from malignant - great! Impossible to tell from a needle biopsy, anyway).

In the grand scheme of things - it sounds okay. If it is a cancer, it is still a 95%+ cureable type.

It is potentially such a rare type of cancer that I don't get the impression that it is likely to be cancer anyway.

Doctor will remove half my thyroid (probably in January) and if the lab results come back cancer, it would take too long and would mean a second surgery. Which is always a possibility anyway, but is certain in this case that they can not do a quick lab test to determine malignancy during surgery. That is the impression I got, anyway.

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I think dh and I learned this past year that we can remain calm in the face of medical uncertainty.

But, I think I Feel a little extra stoic about the whole thing, this time around.

I've had a few surgeries before, so the idea doesn't scare me. I Feel rather "eh" about it. (I haven't had surgery in about 15 years, so all the bad stuff has probably left my memory. But, I tolerate pain pretty well).

& having gone through dh's brain surgery just one year ago, this seems pretty easy peasy in comparison.

So, pretty much, I don't see what the big bugaboo is!

Now, sitting and waiting for the biopsy results to come back? Ugh. Has been hell. I don't look forward to going through that all over again with the surgery. That part I probably look least forward to. But getting the results and putting this all behind me does sound pretty good. So, bring on the surgery!

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The surgeon I met in the first place is scheduling the surgery, but I am not 100% sure I will go with him. He's fine, but I just don't know anything about him. I met with him briefly, he told me he didn't expect I had a mass in my neck, and thought he had pretty much sent me on my way. So, basically I still have a million questions! I am glad things are rolling forward, but just hope I don't feel the need to switch surgeons. That can really delay everything.

He's been really good returning my calls and answering things for me. I just hope he doesn't tell me he's only done a few of these surgeries before. Wink I'll be meeting with him whenever they can fit me in...

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The first time I met the surgeon, I can't help but feel his assistant jinxed me. She gushed on and on how I was on no medications and how rare that is. I was like, "Really? I'm only 33." This didn't seem to sway her opinion that I was a rarity.

I share because dh and I were both the epitome of good health, but have become those statistics that I always share when I see people without health insurance. We'd be bankrupt about now, without insurance. Cancer, tumors, car accidents - all that stuff can happen to just about anyone.

11 Responses to “Surgery Update”

  1. Fanny Says:
    1291672327

    Sending good thoughts your way. Take care of yourself. Hope everything goes ok.

  2. Ima saver Says:
    1291673730

    I am sure that everything will be fine. I am and was one of those people that was convinced I would never get sick. So, I have pretty much never had health insurance and never once used it when I had it. I have only been to a doctor 3 or 4 times in my lifetime.

  3. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1291682174

    I think the assistant's attitude is common among medical professionals. The people they do see day after day, are of course, the sick ones. Sick people are more likely to gather other health problems. Med pros sometimes begin to see all the world as sick, fragile, or just on the verge of becoming sick....Personally I would not expect someone in their thirties to be on any meds. Good grief. I expect health to be the norm, not the exception.

  4. MonkeyMama Says:
    1291684992

    True. I suppose she didn't jinx me if I went in for a health problem, myself. Wink
    That said, we had the same reaction when we applied for health insurance in our 20s. Our agent said "no one qualifies for the lowest rates," and I was worried because I was pregnant and not in the best of health accordingly (higher blood pressure than usual, and borderline diabetes). But, that said, I don't know many 20 (or even 30-somethings) with life insurance. So, that could just be the type of people that usually buy insurance. I don't know.

  5. HouseHopeful Says:
    1291728295

    Although I didn't have the biopsy when I had my nodule on the thyroid in February, the surgey plan sounds exactly like mine. They took the 1/2 of the thyroid, sent it for tests. If it had come back cancerous, they would have had a 2nd surgery to take the other half. I can say with good reason that you will be fine. Most people don't even need thyroid meds after a partial thyroidectomy.

    If it does come back cancerous, my best friend had thyroid cancer at 26. They removed the full thyroid, did a treatment where she took a radio-iodine tablet and then put her on thyroid meds. She will be on them the rest of her life & it took a month or 2 to get the right dosage for her. But she's doing VERY well and her life is completely normal again.

    I hope the surgery moves quickly for you and recovery happens fast. I was back to work in 2 weeks, no problem.

  6. scottish girl Says:
    1291745055

    Hope everything goes ok

  7. Looking Forward Says:
    1291746330

    Had to laugh about the "Wow, your not on meds" comment. I guess at the ripe old age of 30 we're supposed to start falling apart? Wink Or is it that there are so many "fix it" pills out there how could we not be taking something?

  8. Whitestripe Says:
    1291760347

    You know, I'm 23 and so many people I knOw are on medication of some sort that are my age. And I do think a lot of them are 'fix it pills' where the same result could be achieved by not drinking, smoking, or eating so much, and exercising a bit more and actually eating some greens every now and then :-D Although I agree with Joan of the arch too, her exposure to sick people is probably higher than the norm too.
    But that said, Congrats on being healthy! Atleast it's nice to be recognized for that, most of the time your health isn't noticed due to all the sick people Big Grin

  9. terri77 Says:
    1292447186

    Praying that everything will work out well for you.

  10. Dido Says:
    1292686548

    Sorry you got inconclusive results--we tend to want certainty even more than we want a positive outcome--but glad that the long-term prognosis is good in any case.

    Best of luck with the surgery in January!

  11. Dido Says:
    1292686965

    And I know what you mean about learning to cope with medical uncertainty. I had a clean health history until 10 years ago...then a disease which lasted a year and ended with a 7-week hospital stay and major surgery to remove the offending organ. That cost $150K at the time (I only ended up paying 3K due to good insurance...most of what I paid was an ambulance bill to transfer me from the local hospital to UPenn hospital about 3 weeks into my stay when what the local doc was doing wasn't working). I've been in good health since my recovery, fortunately, but that episode taints my record forever more. I've been on COBRA for 16 months now...with the federal subsidy was paying $189/month most of the year until December, this month was $540, next month if I don't change will be $605, and then I'll have run thru COBRA as of 3/1, so I'm looking around for individual insurance right now, probably an HDHP/HSA. It really just took one short episode to make this a lot more difficult for me forever after--even though I can't still have the disease I had because the offending organ is GONE, I'm forever marked as a higher health risk (though getting past the 5-year mark without any more disease helps with many insurers).

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