Me and Mean Mr. C

If you don't want to read this, I totally understand...

Last October I posted an article relating to the fact that both my parents died of cancer during the 64th year of their lives. Now that I was in my own 64th year, I was more than a bit concerned. If you didn't see it, and want to see it now, here is a link. 

I scheduled an examination by just about every specialist I could think of. I'm very happy I did that, because I immediately found out I had aggressive prostate cancer, a pre-cancerous polyp in my colon, and ten pre-cancerous spots on my skin. The spots on my skin were frozen off, the polyp was removed, and my prostate was removed. Here is a link (if you haven't already seen it) to the post relating to the prostate procedure.

At this point I'm feeling good! Everything has been taken care of, and I'm out of the woods (relative to my 64th year).  At least that is what I thought at the time.

I recently went to a one year follow-up appointment with my dermatologist. I figured he'd give me a look over and that would be that. Nope! I hit the skin cancer trifecta.

1. Melanoma
2. Squamous Cell Carcinoma
3. Basal Cell Carcinoma

Melanoma - A mole on my back that had gone from "keeping an eye on it" to a moderately aggressive (as per a biopsy) early stage Melanoma in less than a year. It was dealt with first, because if ignored, it will eventually kill you. The procedure was done under local anesthesia. A pretty good chunk (15 stitches to close the incision) was taken out of my back and sent out for pathology. The results indicated that the margins were clear, and that was that. Two weeks later we dealt with number 2.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma - This was on the right side of my neck (photo below). There was nothing on the surface that would indicate anything. I asked him to look at it because the area got kind of red when I shaved, or scratched there. The biopsy he took came back positive for cancer. Squamous Cell is sometimes referred to as "head and neck" cancer. This is the one I was most worried about, because it doesn't have to travel far to get into the neck muscles and/or the lymphatic system.  This surgery was also done under local anesthesia. The procedure is called Mohs Surgery. They take out chunk of tissue around the biopsy spot, and then do "on the spot" pathology. If the margins come back clear, you're done and they close the incision. If it's not clear (meaning that it has spread) they take out more tissue in the direction the cancer cells were headed. The tech then does pathology on the margins of that piece. Once again, if the margins are clear, you're done. If not, more tissue has to come out. He had to do it four times before the margins were clear. He called it "chasing the cancer." The REALLY good thing is that it had spread quite a bit, but traveled down my neck, instead of deeper INTO it. It took a bit over 2 1/2 hours from start to finish. Lot's of stitches to close it up. Nine days later we dealt with number 3.

Basal Cell Carcinoma - This was on the left side of my neck. The surgery went pretty much the same as with the Squamous Cell cancer surgery. It only took two tries to get it all though. After the margins came back positive from the first try, I asked if he would just go ahead and take out a much bigger chunk out and hope for the best. He agreed, and it came back clean. He closed it up (also with a lot of stitches) and hopefully, I'm done with cancer. 

 Basal Cell before. The red spot is from the biopsy. There was no other indication at all.

 Basal Cell after. 

The stitches come out tomorrow. Geez, when did I become an old man?

Squamous Cell after

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1. Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma
2. Prostate Adeno Carcinoma
3. Basal Cell Carcinoma
4. Squamous Cell Carcinoma
5. Malignant Melanoma
6. Pre-Cancerous Polyp in colon
7. 10 Pre-Cancerous spots on my skin

        All in five years, and four of them in the last 10 months.

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I almost forgot to mention that the first thing I did was get a complete physical exam. Everything came out perfect. Contrary to the fact that I seem to get cancer, I'm really healthy. Vitals and blood test results were all fantastic. 

There is some good news.  I got a bit of a "neck lift" from the two surgeries!

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An Interesting and Very Scary Thing Happened on the way to 65 - Part 1

I'm baaaaaack...

In nutshell (a darn big one), here is the primary reason that I haven't posted anything for several months. I don't usually publish personal stuff about myself here, but because of my long and unexplained absence, I feel compelled to do so.

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After battling lung cancer, breast cancer, and finally terminal brain cancer, my mom died in the 64th year of her life. 

My father had a couple of different cancers and ultimately died of throat cancer, this also occurred during his 64th year. 

I recently completed my 64th year and have to admit that I was a bit worried going into it. Being a proactive sort of person, I embarked on a grand tour of all the "specialists" I could think of. What follows is a list of them and what they found (also some conditions that I already knew about).

Rheumatologist (ongoing) - I've had a ton of injures and several broken bones in my life, so it's no surprise that I have arthritis in several places. I've yet to enter into any treatment yet.

Neurologist (ongoing and recent) - I have a herniated disc in my lower back at L5-S1. An update revealed that it has been made worse by the addition of several bone spurs in the area. Surgeries at L5/S1 are difficult, recovery is very painful, and they are usually at least partially, if not fully unsuccessful. In fact, sometimes the condition is worse afterwards. My surgeon (that did my earlier spinal surgery), is a great one, and he advises against having it. I agree. I have a pretty strong disposition and can tolerate and/or ignore a lot of pain. So far, I've pretty much learned to live with it (with no pain killers). 

Orthopedist (ongoing) - I've had a ruptured ACL in my right knee for a long time. I've just lived with it, but once again, I've grown some bone spurs in the area. As you know, I hike a lot and don't really allow it to slow me down much. 

Dermatologist (recent) - A top of head to tip of toe examination, resulted in him freezing 12 precancerous things off of me. 

Gastroenterologist (recent) - As recommended, I get a colonoscopy every 5 years. It has only been three years since my last one, but hey, it's my 64th year and my insurance will pay for it. He has found and snipped out a couple of polyps every time he's been "in there." The polyps have always been benign. NOT this time though. I had three of them and one was precancerous. 

Endocrinologist (ongoing) - As many of you know, I had thyroid cancer several years ago. Two surgeries later and my thyroid and related cancer was removed. The endocrinologist now monitors my blood and prescribes medication to keep me alive and functioning. A lab does a complete workup on my blood and this time it came up with an abnormally high PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) reading. He strongly advised that I immediately contact a urologist. If you are so inclined, here is a link to post 1 of 4 relating to my thyroid cancer.

Urologist (recent) - My first visit to this specialist made the danger of my 64th year a reality. 

  

To be continued....

Don't worry, I'll be back to my regular posting afterwards!

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Two Types of Reflections

Sunrise, January 1, 2012

For me, 2011 was a year for the ages...

1. My wife and I bought an RV in April. Since the start of May, we've spent about 60 nights in it while away from home. We're getting reacquainted with nature.
2. After three years of dealing with/ignoring it, my thyroid cancer is gone.
3. Last, but certainly not least; a lady came out of the woodwork thinking we might be related. Three weeks and one DNA test later, I have a sister! I never knew about her and I'm happy as can be about it.  We've spoken and exchanged a lot of messages and soon we'll be spending some time together.

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For reflections by other photographers go to Weekend Reflections by James.

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I am Cured!

I got the call today. Three and a half years, two surgeries.
It's gone without a trace. Cured!

Thanks to everyone for your support, prayers and positive vibes...

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I'm in Isolation

That's right young lady!

A little sugar for Santa goes a long ways...

For those of you who have been around here for a while, you are well aware of my bout with thyroid cancer. For those of you who don't know... I had a couple of surgeries for it about three years ago and I'm hoping to get the all clear (as in cured) in about a week. 

• I had a thyrogen injection on Monday that cost $1,238.00
• I had a thyrogen injection on Tuesday that cost $1,238.00
• I took a single horse pill of radioactive iodine Wednesday that cost $5,000.00
• Wednesday, Thursday and part of Friday, I'm in isolation (cause I'm glowing)

Tomorrow, I spend about an hour under a gamma ray camera that looks for radioactive hot spots. This will be my third annual treatment and scan. If the scan doesn't unearth something (unearthly), I'll get my "cured of cancer" merit badge and be sent on my way.

The shots were easy, the pill was easy, the semi- isolation is easy. The hard part was the prep for it all.

For the last three weeks I've been on the strictest medical diet known to medicine and mankind (in my opinion anyway).  It ends today. I couldn't ingest any:

• Anything from the ocean
• Seaweed (it's in a high percentage of foods)
• Soy of any type (Soy is in more things than seaweed)
• Tofu (this one and the three before it kill me. My wife is Japanese)
• Sea salt
• Regular salt
• Restaurant food
• Fast food
• Water (distilled is okay, blek!)
• Soft drinks
• Processed food of any type
• Spices
• Herbs (other than fresh from my own garden, that I don't have)
• Bread (home baked only is okay. Yeah right!)
• ANYTHING with preservatives in it
• Beef
• Pork
• Cured or corned meats
• No snack foods like chips, etc.
• Dried fruit
• Chocolate
• Crackers
• Sweets

I can eat:

• Canned peaches, pears and pineapple
• Unsalted nuts
• Clear soft drinks
• Matzo crackers
• Plain rice cakes
• Redish vegtables
• Small amounts of fresh chicken or turkey
• Fruit

So between all this stuff, my new sister (yay!) and pre-Christmas stuff, I haven't posted in well over a week. As you know, that's a long time for me.  A couple of days after Christmas, my wife and I are taking off for our favorite mountain top for a couple of weeks. I'll let you know when the good news arrives.

Happy Holidays to everyone!


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Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma - One Year After Scan Results

If you want to catch up on this before I start, you can go here.  Or if you want to start from the beginning you can go to the links below. If you don't want to do either of those things and just want me to get the hell to the point, start after the links.  If you just want to skip all this crap, go to the bottom of the page...

Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma Part 1 of 4   Diagnosis
Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma Part 2 of 4  Surgery
Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma Part 3 of 4  Post Surgery
Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma Part 4 of 4 Radiation
Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma - How I feel About It
Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma - One Year Follow-up

Last Wednesday I was given the radioactive iodine pill in preparation for Friday's scan by a Gamma Ray Camera.  I've had plenty of MRI's and CT Scans before.  The GRC scan is a bit different. It detects pockets of radiation in your body.

As I explained before, this radiation is affixed to iodine; it can only remain in the body if there are cancerous thyroid cells to ingest it. If there are no "hot spots" detected by the GRC, then my thyroid cancer hasn't spread anywhere and is gone. Fingers crossed of course. The scan lasted 40 minutes and of course I had to stay perfectly still, and of course every part of my body itched.  I'll find out the results of the scan today.

The scan was nothing, but the preparation SUCKED! As you know I've been eating nothing but apples, bananas, canned peaches, and fruit juice for the past 20 days.  I kept a record of what I ate every day. I averaged about 800 calories.  No weight loss diet is as strict as this one. Below is the running tally of my weight loss.

The diet lasted 20 days and I lost 20 pounds.

date-weight
May  23 225
May  24 223
May  25 221
May  26 220
May  27 218
May  28 217
May  29 216
May  30 215
May  31 213
June 01 213
June 02 212
June 03 211
June 04 210
June 05 209
June 06 209
June 07 208
June 08 208
June 09 207
June 10 207
June 11 205

Of all the things I couldn't eat, for some reason the thing I craved most was broccoli.  As soon we were done with the test, we went directly to our favorite Chinese restaurant and I got my plate of broccoli.  I can't remember ever eating anything that tasted quite that good.

Oh yeah, I forgot why I was here! I just got the call from my Dr.  The cancer didn't spread and there are no cancer cells left in the surgical area.. 

YAHOOOO!

Thanks to all of you for the kind words and for sending your positive vibes this way! I will forever appreciate it...

Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma – One Year Follow-up

It's been a little over a year since my surgery and it's time to determine if there are any "left over" malignant thyroid cells in my body. Unfortunately, a simple blood test and x-ray isn't enough. I have to submit to a Gamma Ray Scan to see if:

a. There are any surviving thyroid cells in my body
b. Any of those cells have migrated

The test is no big deal. I think I explained this before.
June 7th     Thyrogen Injection (over 2,000 dollars)
June 8th     Thyrogen Injection (over 2,000 dollars)
June 9th     Ingest radioactive iodine capsule (over 3,000 dollars)
June 11th   Gamma Ray Scan

Two injections, a pill, and a scan. I can handle that, no problem. The problem is the three week prep diet for the test. I have to totally starve my body of iodine. The only cells that can "hang onto" iodine in your body are the thyroid cells. So you starve your body of iodine, take a radioactive iodine pill, and let any iodine starved thyroid cells, if any, eagerly slurp the iodine and be visible under the gamma ray scan. The radioactive iodine is supposed to kill them at this point also. 

To totally starve my body of iodine I can't eat any:
Salt
Processed foods
Restaurant food
Fast food
Meat
Pre-packaged food
Canned vegetables
Green vegetables
Vitamins
Seafood
Seaweed
Soy based products
Dairy products
Bread products

The items in red are the hardest. I'm sure many of you are thinking "what's so hard about not eating seaweed?" Well, look on the ingredient list of what you eat. If you see carrageen, agaragar, or alginate there, you are eating seaweed.  The same goes for soy. You would be amazed at how many items these two things are in.  It's not bad for you, in fact it's good. I just can't eat it now.  As you already know, we eat a lot of Japanese food. It's pretty much based on seaweed, seafood, and soy products. I'm so screwed.  This time I'm not going to load up on unsalted chips and popcorn.  If you remember, I actually gained a little weight last time I did this.

I started my diet at 12:01 a.m., on May 23rd. I'm living on about a 1000 calories or less per day. I'm not trying to lose weight.  I'm happy to be losing some, but sure as heck isn't the diet, I'd prefer to do it with!

May 23   225 starting weight
May 24   223
May 25   221
May 26   220
May 27   218
May 28   217
May 29   216
May 30   215
May 31   213
June 01  213
June 02  212
June 03  211
June 04  210
June 05  209  today's weight

Here is what I ate yesterday. 
1 banana
1 apple
1 cob of corn
2 all fruit smoothies 

This is pretty close to what I've been eating every day.
I have no energy
I'm tired
I'm hungry

Worst of all, I'm bored by all these little lists!

Hasta mañana...

Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma - How I feel about it!

Thanks to all of my friends out there for your support and kind words relative to my cancer. I truly appreciate you. Your support and care mean more to me than I can put into words.

Any sad or “why me” feelings that I might have otherwise have had about it, are by far outweighed by my happiness that it was caught early. I told you that one of my step-daughters and I had been in a pretty bad car wreck several years before. If I hadn’t trashed a couple of disks in that wreck, I still wouldn’t know about the cancer. The tumors were internal and I didn’t feel them at all.

If my orthopedic doctor (Dr. Singh) hadn’t thoroughly examined the MRI he had me get, then I still wouldn’t know about the tumors. He said he makes it a habit to look at everything that shows up in an MRI, even if it is not related to what he requested it for.

So, I’m not sad at all. I’m tickled pink, not only that I got in the wreck, but also because Dr. Singh spotted them. Remember, all the doctors told me that thyroid cancer is a good one to get, if you catch it early. They also told me that it is a bad one to get if you catch it late.

The stars are aligned, my good karma is totally in surplus, and after the crap I put up with in my earlier life, I EXPECT good things to happen to me now, and they do! This isn’t ad for “The Secret” or Norman Vincent Peale, but it could be.

So don’t be sad for me, be happy!
I’m happy!

Thanks again...

Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma – Part 4 of 4 - Radiation

A month after my surgery. I have an appointment with a nuclear endocrinologist. Apparently, my “regular” endocrinologist, who is himself, a specialist, believes he has left me with some money and wants me to pass it up the medical food chain. So now I’m seeing a guy, who is a notch or two higher up the “specialist” totem pole, who I’m sure, will relieve me of what money I have left.

The doctor tells me that he will introduce some radiated iodine into my system. It should destroy any thyroid cells left in my body. The radiated iodine can’t be given to me until after I’ve been subjected to a three week, total iodine free diet. It didn’t sound too bad, and he gave me a pamphlet to read at home that explains the diet. Yeah right!

No salt, no processed foods, no meat, no fish, no nuts, no fast food, no restaurant food, no pre-packaged meats, no canned vegetables, no sea salt, no seaweed, and no soy products. It still didn’t seem so bad until I went shopping. Oh my! It was almost impossible to find anything to eat. Surprisingly, the hardest things to avoid were the soy and seaweed. They are used in almost everything we eat these days. I was able to find non-iodized salt though.


For three weeks, I lived on grilled chicken and pork loin, seasoned with non-iodized salt and pepper only. I also ate dehydrated fruit, canned peaches, and plain popcorn. You would think that I might lose weight during the diet, but I was so unsatisfied with what I ate, that I ate continuously.

Finally the three weeks diet is over. I go back to the doctor. I have three appointments on consecutive days. On day one, I get an injection. It cost 2500 dollars. On day two, I get another injection. It also cost 2500 dollars. On day three, I get the radioactive iodine. I was led to a room in the back of the building to wait. After a few minutes a person entered the room in a lead suit. She was carrying a heavy lead container in one hand and a pair of long tongs in the other. She set the container on the table and after taking off the lid, removed from it, a single pill. After dropping the pill into my bare hand (with the tongs), she told me to swallow it with water and drive directly home.

I did go home, but it didn’t exactly feel like it, because I had to go into total isolation for three days, stay away from children for a week, and away from pregnant women for 14 days.

The idea is pretty simple. My thyroid gland was removed. Some thyroid cells still exist in the thyroid “bed.” If the cancer spread, there will be thyroid cells elsewhere in my body. One obscure fact about thyroid cells of which I was not aware, is that they are the only cells in your entire body that can gather and retain iodine.


• The diet starved any thyroid cells in my body of iodine.

•I take a pill made of radioactive iodine

• Any iodine starved thyroid cells remaining in my body pig out.

• The radioactivity kills them.

About a month later, I went for a “gamma-ray” camera scan of my entire body. If there were any “radioactive” thyroid cells anywhere besides in my throat, that would mean the cancer had spread. I’m very happy to say it hadn’t. At least at that point, it hadn't.

Currently, I go to the endocrinologist every three months for blood work and a consultation. Apparently, the goal now is to trick my brain into not sending out a hormone, that triggers the thyroid into activating. If that hormone is released into my bloodstream, it is akin to pouring gas on a fire. Of course, if there are zero thyroid cells left in my body, especially cancerous ones, I have nothing to worry about, but better safe than sorry.

All of the doctors involved told me the same thing, “if you have to get cancer, and if you catch it early, thyroid cancer is the one you want, because it’s very treatable.” I didn’t realize until later that there was a reason they all threw the “if you catch it early” caveat into the phrase. Apparently, if you don’t catch it early, it is one of the last ones you would want. It tends to go directly into your bones.

It’s been almost a year since the surgery and I’ve almost forgotten about the iodine free diet. I have to do it again in a few weeks. This time I’m going to request a medically induced coma during the diet period. And nobody better step on my buzz!   If this test comes out okay, I get a clean bill of health!
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My...
• Orthopedist (who found it) is Indian
• MRI tech was Filipino
• GP is Caucasian
• Endocrinologist is Persian
• Surgeon is Chinese
• Nuclear Endocrinologist is Vietnamese


That in a nutshell, is the United States of America!
I really liked and had great confidence in all of them.

Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma – Part 3 of 4 - Post Surgery

I’m still a bit out of it, when they wheel me in to my room. Once I’m settled, most of my family comes in. My doctor left instructions that I could be medicated (as in morphine) every two hours. Even if I didn’t need it, I asked for it every time it was available. I admit it wasn’t because I needed it that bad, but it just felt so good to be that “fuzzy.”  Like that great feeling when you can't stay awake while watching TV late at night.

A little later in the day my surgeon came by and told me that the biopsy revealed that my thyroid was in fact malignant. The cancer was called “Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma.” He also added that he was trying to schedule the surgery to take the other half out. As bad luck would have it, there were no operating rooms available that day, or the next. He said I would remain in the hospital that night, as well as the next (Tuesday). My insurance wouldn’t pay for Wednesday night, so I had to check out Wednesday morning and check back in on Thursday. I would have liked to spend Wednesday night there as well, but I didn’t want to pay for it out of m own pocket.

One of the semi-fuzzy memories I had the day of the first surgery, was sending my family home, because I didn’t want to watch “dancing with the stars” on the TV in my room. I don’t know exactly why I did it. Maybe I thought it was going to step on my "buzz."

I learned at thing or two during my first stay and used it this time. Before my second surgery, the surgeon asked me if the morphine allotted to me during my first stay was sufficient. I told him that I could have used more. Much to my surprise he decreased the amount of time between doses. Who am I to question the wisdom of modern medicine?

The increased medication had an impact on me. During my first stay, if I had to go to the bathroom, I just rolled my IV apparatus into the room with me and did my business. During my second stay, I was so lazy (by lazy, I mean fuzzy) that I used the urinal at my bedside most of the time. Now don’t get yourself in an uproar. I haven’t “used” any pain killers since I was discharged (even though they were given to me). You think I’m an addict or something? I’m not! Besides, I’m saving them for later…

Part 4 tomorrow

Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma – Part 2 of 4 - Surgery

My endocrinologist referred me to a head and neck surgeon to set up my surgery. The differences between the office of the "regular" endocrinologist and the surgeon, lets me know right away who is making the real money. This place is far beyond posh…

My wife and I were waiting in the exam room when the doctor walked in. I swear, he looked like he just graduated from high school. He looked at my file, poked and prodded me a bit, and told me he’d like to get my thyroid out as soon as possible. I cut a deal with him to only take the half out that contained the tumors. I didn’t want to take medication for the rest of my life, if I didn't have to. You can live without your thyroid, but you can’t live without what it produces.

He agreed to take out only half, but warned me if the full biopsy revealed a malignancy, he’d have to go back in the next day and take the rest of it out. I was good with that and scheduled the surgery for a few weeks later.
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We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 AM.
Would somebody please tell me why you always have to report to the hospital so darn early? Obviously, they don’t only operate in the morning.  Oh well, It's not that big a deal, because pre-op is the part I love.

Most of us know the routine; clothes off, gown on, and I.V. in. The anesthesiologist stops by and then your surgeon stops by. Then comes the best moment of the entire hospital experience! It’s the “I don’t care no more” shot. Seriously, at that point, I just don’t care anymore. Then, to make things even better, if that’s possible, they put a heated blanket on you.

I remember being wheeled into the operating room and everybody saying hello. The anesthesiologist is sitting behind my head and tells me to count from 100 to 1. I remember saying “wul ashagaht", before a small furry animal nested in my brain.

The next thing I know, I’m struggling to wake up in the recovery room. That is the worst moment of the entire hospital experience. Best to worst and cut something out-of-you in between. I’m pretty much awake when they take me to my room...


I'm taking pity on you all and trying to keep these short. The next entry will pick it up from there.

Capillary Thyroid Carcinoma – Part 1 of 4 - Diagnosis

What I’m about to post now and over the next several days is known to only a few people. I kept it a secret because I recently retired and didn’t want to become the subject of one of those “poor bastard” stories, if things went south…

About 7 years ago my step daughter and I were in a car accident while I was driving her to school. As a result, I ended up with two herniated discs in my neck.  I went to physical therapy for a while, and stopped when I reached maximum improvement. That was their term, not mine.

Fast forward, six years…

Early last year, my neck muscles seemed to morph into re-bar, so I started PT again. They sent me for an MRI, to see if there was further deterioration of the discs. When the results came back I was told that there were a couple of spots on, or in my thyroid gland, and referred me to my GP.  They suggested that I go right away.

My GP looked at the MRI and said there was something there that wasn’t supposed to be. He sent me for some blood work and an ultrasound. The tests revealed that I had 2 tumors in my thyroid gland.

My family doctor then referred me to an endocrinologist. He tells me not to sweat it; nodules (tumors) are very common in the thyroid. He will have to biopsy them, but the odds are very small that they are malignant.

He took eight needle biopsies and sent me home. I don’t want to skip the part about how it felt. He said it wouldn’t hurt at all, only pressure. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the guy, but what he told me was pure bullshit wasn’t exactly true.

A week later, I went back for the results. When the Doctor came into the examination room, he sat down, shook his head, and started talking. 

“What I have to say isn’t exactly bad news, its gray.”
“Gray? What the heck does that mean?” 
“Gray means that all eight biopsies came back inconclusive.”
“Okay, now what?”
“You need your thyroid removed.”
“I thought you said the biopsies were inconclusive?"
“They were, but we don’t want to take a chance, the tumors could be malignant.”
“So it’s not really gray news after all, is it? It’s bad news!”
“They probably aren’t, but if they are, we want to get your thyroid out right away.”
“How is this not bad news?”
“Even if it is malignant, if you have to get cancer, thyroid cancer is the one you want. The odds are very much against it being malignant. Once they take it out, a full biopsy will be performed.”
“That really makes me feel a lot better," I lied.

He must have noticed my sarcasm, because he left me with the following information.
"On the scale of complicated surgeries, if brain surgery is a 10, and removing a cyst from your butt is a 1, thyroid removal is only about a 6 or 7."

Part 2 coming soon...