As is often the case, I start an entry and for one reason or another I don't finish it. I started this entry shortly after the 1 year anniversary of my surgery (back in February) but here I am just wrapping it up.
As the 1 year post-op appointment drew closer, I became a little nervous to hear what my surgeon had to say. I anticipated that all would be well. However, there was this one little thing bugging me...a nodule which I had found on my neck. I must admit, as positive as I am, I have become just a tad bit hyper vigilant when it comes to changes in my body, health, eating habits, etc ( to say the least). I found this nodule BECAUSE I am constantly feeling my neck and Thyroid bed area. But I decided I was not going to worry until I had reason to :)
Aside from being eager to get answers in regards to this nodule, I was also looking forward to seeing my surgeon...he's quite handsome! Hey, I have to find the positive in every situation. He reminds me of Liam Neeson, the Irish actor. Not just does he resemble him in looks, but he also has the accent. So at the very least, I would focus on that little fun fact while trying to listen to what he said.
The anticipation of the past year was summed up into this ONE appointment. The surgery, the treatment, the side effects (and I've had just about every possible one), the constant medication adjustments, the many doctor appointments, etc... it all came down to this follow up, did it work? ( and of course we were only dealing with the Thyroid Cancer at the moment)
'Everything looks good, but there seems to be a small nodule over on this side,' came the words from my very good looking doctor. I shared with him, that I had felt the nodule myself. His recommendation: an ultrasound of the neck, and blood work- both of which were part of the plan PRIOR to finding the nodule. He specifically stated that NOW we would be looking to see what the tumor markers showed. And in my head I thought...'CRAP, here we go again.'
Since that appointment, I have had the ultrasound and the follow up blood work. The ultrasound confirmed that there is an abnormal growth in the Thyroid bed, but the blood work shows the tumor markers to be undetectable. What does this mean? Well... it means that once again there is an abnormal growth, BUT the tumor marker does not reflect an elevated count. So what do we do now? We do what we have gotten so good at... we watch and we wait and I look forward to seeing my handsome surgeon soon :)
