the big "C"... probably

The first thing my endocrinologist said to me this morning was, "It's going to have to come out."

The lab report on the FNA was not horrible. There was no definitive diagnosis of cancer, but:" a rare pseudonuclear inclusion is identified" and that was the deciding factor for my doctor. Only 2 of the 6 samples had any cells, which is one of the problems with FNA. The endo suspects it is papillary cancer in the very early stages.

The treatment is surgical removal of the thyroid, followed by RAI depending on how much cancer is found. She said I can expect about one month of being really hypo, because they have to kill all the thyroid -- after that, I'll go back on thyroid hormones and will go through the fun process of tinkering with doses to get me back to some "optimal" level.

I have an appointment with the surgeon for Monday morning, and we'll see how it goes from there.

Now that this is real, there is a sense of almost-relief. I am dreading going through the procedure and its aftermath, but I'm hopeful that I'll be feeling better by the holidays. December 1 is my last scheduled appointment with my dermatologist, too, so by mid-December, I should be all patched up and back to "normal" -- done with medical stuff for a good long time. Here's hoping.