Recovery Update
Just a quick update on my health - I am recovering well and feeling better every day. I am now off of pain medication 100%. I should know next week whether or not I have to go back in for follow-up surgery or not. We appreciate your thoughts, prayers and support in this stressful and difficult time.
It's been a heck of a year in 2003 - we are hoping for some relief in 2004!
Background
A few months ago my doctor found some nodules on my thyroid. They were aspirated by fine needle aspiration (FNA), which is a basic sort of biopsy. One (the largest) was diagnosed as a type of tumor; a follicular neoplasm. The only way to determine if it was malignant or benign was to remove it. So, on December 23rd, my surgeon removed the left half of my thyroid (left thyroid lobectomy). If the pathology report comes back as malignant, then I go back in to have the rest of it removed (total thyroidectomy). If it is benign then I get periodic follow-ups (mainly to see if I need thyroid hormone replacement drugs) but mostly do not need to worry about it anymore.
It's been a heck of a year in 2003 - we are hoping for some relief in 2004!
Background
A few months ago my doctor found some nodules on my thyroid. They were aspirated by fine needle aspiration (FNA), which is a basic sort of biopsy. One (the largest) was diagnosed as a type of tumor; a follicular neoplasm. The only way to determine if it was malignant or benign was to remove it. So, on December 23rd, my surgeon removed the left half of my thyroid (left thyroid lobectomy). If the pathology report comes back as malignant, then I go back in to have the rest of it removed (total thyroidectomy). If it is benign then I get periodic follow-ups (mainly to see if I need thyroid hormone replacement drugs) but mostly do not need to worry about it anymore.
