On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:36 AM, I wrote:

Rocking it. It is healing well and shrinking. I hope the end result is fabulous!

Here is an update as promised:

I have the pathology report back. It is three pages of stuff that we already knew and more information. On the 6th of September, 2011, Dr. Fyfe did a thyroidectomy and central neck dissection to remove all the cancer. This means he removed my whole thyroid and the lymph nodes in the center of my neck that were attached to the thyroid. The pathology report does confirm that I did have a nodule with papillary cancer. It also states that I had two more areas with cancer in the deep tissue of my central lymph nodes that were also removed. The cancer found there is metastatic cancer – this means that the tumor was able to arise and has spread from surrounding tissue. Yes, it was removed, but this means it was already spreading. It also means I do have to go through the radiation treatment. I knew there was a big chance of this anyway, just confirmed for sure with the results. I will see Dr. Shaw on the 28th to start talking about the next steps.
Let’s do this! I think what gets me the most is to see all this on paper.

It was not a nightmare.
It is real.
I have to keep going.
I have to deal with it.
I will be ok.
What is next?
I will be strong.
I am allowed to be scared.
It’s ok to cry.
I have amazing support.
I am blessed regardless of the cancer.
This too shall pass.

I appreciate all the prayers and good vibes. :)


Elda