Info and update
Somebody on my flist asked for some info on my surgery, and I know I have a few new people as well, so I'll just give a quick recap for anyone who missed it.
Beginning of Sep I had a soar neck. The general soarness migrated specifically to the front of my neck. My mom has had a crap load of thyroid problems, so I knew it where it's located and that it probably had something to do with that. I went to the school clinic, expecting to get sent home with an "it's nothing" and feel like a hypochondriac like usual. Instead I got sent for an ultrasound. They found 2 complex cysts (meaning, cysts with tissue inside as well as fluid). I've been bounced around from doctor to doctor and consult to consult multiple times, but the short version is a needle biopsy showed one benign cyst, and one they can't tell.
So, on Monday I will be going in at 7:30am to have the right half of my thyroid removed for biopsy. It's outpatient surgery, and I'll be going home with my mom afterwards so they can, like, make sure I don't stop breathing in my sleep (oh the joys of general anesthesia). I should know by Wednesday or Thursday if I have thyroid cancer (my mom did, so they're being a bit more aggressive then they might otherwise).
Even with family history it's a small chance that I have cancer, and even if I do, thyroid cancer is pretty much the easiest cancer to beat. By the time they knew my mom had it they'd already removed the entire thing without meaning to. So I'm not really worried about it.
Although, it did just occur to me that I'll have a scar in a really visible place. I have a birthmark on my neck from when they had to cut the cord from around my neck at birth. I wonder if they'll have to cut into that.
Beginning of Sep I had a soar neck. The general soarness migrated specifically to the front of my neck. My mom has had a crap load of thyroid problems, so I knew it where it's located and that it probably had something to do with that. I went to the school clinic, expecting to get sent home with an "it's nothing" and feel like a hypochondriac like usual. Instead I got sent for an ultrasound. They found 2 complex cysts (meaning, cysts with tissue inside as well as fluid). I've been bounced around from doctor to doctor and consult to consult multiple times, but the short version is a needle biopsy showed one benign cyst, and one they can't tell.
So, on Monday I will be going in at 7:30am to have the right half of my thyroid removed for biopsy. It's outpatient surgery, and I'll be going home with my mom afterwards so they can, like, make sure I don't stop breathing in my sleep (oh the joys of general anesthesia). I should know by Wednesday or Thursday if I have thyroid cancer (my mom did, so they're being a bit more aggressive then they might otherwise).
Even with family history it's a small chance that I have cancer, and even if I do, thyroid cancer is pretty much the easiest cancer to beat. By the time they knew my mom had it they'd already removed the entire thing without meaning to. So I'm not really worried about it.
Although, it did just occur to me that I'll have a scar in a really visible place. I have a birthmark on my neck from when they had to cut the cord from around my neck at birth. I wonder if they'll have to cut into that.