Shhh…. I have a secret

My current ‘favorite’ one is:

“Of the types of cancer to have, this is one of the two best types.”

Ummm… excuse me? We are talking about CANCER, right? There are good types to have, or at least less bad?

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that I have heard this sentence. And guess what? This is a different type than before.

So, the conclusion that I have drawn from this is that the two best types of cancer to have are: Thyroid (previous cancer) and Endometrial (the new and current one).

I discovered 9 years ago that I had thyroid cancer. I just went to see my doctor because I had a cough that I just could not shake. She felt the glands in my throat and decided to send me to get an ultra-sound and then a biopsy. I knew the minute that the biopsy was ordered that it was cancer.

If you have never had a throat biopsy done, well it is one thing that I don’t recommend. It hurts. A lot.

Stretched out on a table, with my neck overextended, trying not to move while needles were stuck in my neck. They took several samples of nodules, including one that the ultrasound did not see. Guess which one was cancerous? Yep, the one that the original ultrasound did not see.

A couple of days later, my doctor called me in at basically the last part of the day. I was sure then what she was going to say.

She sat me down, then sat down herself. She started with, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but…”

“I’m expecting triplets, right?”

That knocked her right off her game, and she laughed.

I just looked at her and smiled. “I knew that minute you called me in at the last moment. So, not a big surprise.”

We went on to talk about my options- there really weren’t any. Just surgery to remove my thyroid and possible chemo afterward. She said that she had made a referral to one of the best surgeons in the area and they would be contacting me soon.

They did. He obviously knew he was the best.

Talk about a God complex!

I know that surgeons have to have compete faith that they know what they are doing. Patients need to have that faith as well. However, I truly believe that they should also have at least a little bit of a bedside manner!

He most assuredly did not.

But he was (is) good.

Unfortunately, he was supposed to remove my entire thyroid. He was only able to remove the left half. He told us that the right side was wrapped around my vocal cords, and chances were good I would never be able to speak again if they continued. But that side showed no signs of cancer so I should be good.

I still had to have ultrasounds done every three months for awhile, then twice a year, and we are down to one a year. I have had three other biopsies done, but they have all come back benign.

But there are still two that they are following. Any bigger and another biopsy will be done.

Anyway, I am supposed to be cancer free now since I am over the five-year hump.

Some how, my body missed that memo.

More later. Need to distract myself with something else.