YAY! I get to have SURGERY!

[annathepiper]

Well, as of this afternoon I just heard back on what the deal is with my thyroid. Looks like that bugger is coming out, in part or in entirety.

My doctor informs me that the cells they sampled at Swedish aren't cancer, but the folks in the Cytology department there are apparently less than comfy with saying that all the rest of the cells in there aren't cancer--on the grounds that 1) the nodule they sampled was so big that they might have missed cancerous portions of it, and 2) there are four other nodules in there as well. Accordingly, they consider cancer still, quote, 'an intermediate possibility', unquote. And I'm looking at surgery, regardless. It's just going to be a question of what exactly gets taken out--part of my thyroid, or all of it.

I've been referred to a local thyroid surgeon at the Polyclinic. solarbird has gone there before, so that'll be at least somewhat familiar territory, and she's pretty sure they're covered on our insurance. So that at least is not entirely scary, financially. And my doctor went ahead and made me an appointment on the 14th with this person, at noon. Under the circumstances, I can't say I have a problem with that. At least one good thing here: since I'll be unemployed at the time, I won't miss any work.

And I've been talking with a chick off the OKP who informs me that she's gone through a similar situation in her life, having had most of her thyroid out. It helps somewhat to be hearing from someone who has been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt. From her, I'm getting at least something of an idea of what to expect. Knowing, and specifically knowing that this can be lived with and dealt with, makes it all a little less scary.

Though I feel all weird and tangled up emotionally at this point, nevertheless. Half of me wants to curl up and cry for a while. The rest of me, the part that's been going "oh for fuck's sake, NOW WHAT?" at the various complications that have been stacking up in my life over the last couple of years, is now squaring its shoulders, planting its feet, and doing that little thing with the hands that they do in The Matrix and growling, "Bring it on."

Guh.

Comments

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

Oh, bloody hell. I hate terms like "an intermediate possibility." Lemme know what if anything you need.

[cafiorello.livejournal.com]

(((hugs)))
Cathy

[risu.livejournal.com]

If you want to curl up and cry, that's probably more than okay. :)

But!

I very much approve of the Morpheus Lobe. That hand gesture is so cool!

If you need anything, ask. Do not worry about scale.

Rebecca-gumi

[risu.livejournal.com]

Except Italy.

Please do not ask for Italy as that will place me in a conflict of interest with a previous client.

Rebecca-gumi

[annathepiper]

(((hugs back))) Thanks, hon. GAH!

That's great!!!

[tabithaclayton.livejournal.com]

Anna,

It's me, Mary, I'll add you to my Livejournal list.

I am glad it's not cancerous and that things are moving along. It sounds like you have a great Dr!!!

(((((ANNA))))))

[poetry-lady.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear, das ist schade. {hugs} I was SOOOOO hoping that none of last summer's "Gimp Fest 2003" would be up for a reunion. I'm glad, though, that you are in contact with someone who's gone through the same situation, as I know from experience that it is a tremendous help.

I'll keep watching for details, in case "Gimp Fest" has to make a 2004 appearance at a bedside near you.

[agrimony.livejournal.com]

Oogh. Many hugs!

[firni.livejournal.com]

My grandfather had his thyroid taken out (well, actually they "killed" it with RADIATION... this was the 50s, after all) and everything was just fine (after he stopped glowing). One little pill a day is all it takes if the whole thing comes out.

*huggles*

[flashfire.livejournal.com]

Well, that's no fun. But, I'm sure things will be fine in the end. After that, your body needs to settle down!

[gerimaple.livejournal.com]

oh blech :(

if there's more that needs doing in terms of Anna- and Dara-helping than the local folks can manage, i can be down there in three hours.

*hugs*

[annathepiper]

Yeah, I'm quite, QUITE done with medical adventures now. :P

[annathepiper]

Thanks, hon... Gah! (((Mony)))

[seimaisin.livejournal.com]

{{{{{{big hugs}}}}}}}

That sounds really scary - my thoughts will be with you!

[annathepiper]

Yeah, Ann has invited me into the Funky Thyroid Sisterhood. I have decided that the Sisterhood mascot must clearly be Polly, since my cat and I are in fact sharing funky thyroid goodness. ;P

(Polly's, at least, doesn't have to come out. Yet. GAH.)

And I'll certainly let folks know when I get to go in under the knife. (((hugs))) Thanks, hon!

[annathepiper]

(((hugs back))) Thanks... yeah, I'm more than a little unnerved about the situation. Though as I mentioned, the girl on the OKP (FlyingMarquis) is being really fantastic about sharing her own experiences in this with me; it helps a lot to have an idea of what I can expect, and to know that I'll be able to live with and deal with this.

Let's hear it for GBS fans, huh?

[annathepiper]

*giggles and hugs* Thank you. Fortunately, I have multiple novels which are set in Italy, as well as the "Ahhh, Venice" smooch scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and the "60 Odd Hours in Italy" short lurking on the TOFOG Texas DVD (complete with yummy shots of Russell Crowe in long flowing black trenchcoat) so I should be set should I find myself in need of exposure to Italian locales.

In a pinch, I can also just order pizza.

Onward!

[(Anonymous)]

There's a lot to be said for the other shoe having dropped. As others have said, even if they take out the whole thing, thyroid function can be "fudged" exogenously. And in the meantime, the rest of us will keep backing it down the spectrum (or putting in requests to that effect) until it's down to "we were just being extra careful." *smib*

Love, Columbine

[annathepiper]

Yeah, I'm not terribly thrilled with that term either. I'm all "so those cells weren't cancer, but there might still be cancer in there? GAH!".

Though right now, I'm mostly good knowing I can vent into my LJ and y'all are out there listening. *hugs* I played the hell out of my guitar a little while ago, and that helped. Bellowing "Mari-Mac" at the top of one's lungs while playing as ferociously as possible, in addition to being a bit of a physical workout, IS a rather good stress-reliever.

Thanks, hon.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, beats waiting! And you'll surely feel much better when it's out, and you get your thyroid hormones in the right amount, and you don't have to worry about this anymore.

Our late cat James had his thyroid radiated. They said I shouldn't let him sleep with us for a few weeks. I asked if he could sit in my lap til I was sterile...

Re: That's great!!!

[annathepiper]

Hi babe! Finally got an LJ, did you? I've Friended you back. :)

And, well, it MIGHT NOT be cancerous--what they told my doctor was more to the effect of 'okay, this particular set of cells we sampled? THEY aren't cancer, but just because that node we took them out of is so damned big, we might have missed actual cancer in there'. Hence the 'intermediate possibility' of cancer. I suppose this sort of qualifies as a 'yellow alert'.

Between that and the simple fact that there are five different nodules in there, surgery has to happen anyway, so.

But yeah. My doctor is pretty fabulous, I'm thinking. She was very, VERY prompt in calling me back this afternoon, even if we had to do a bit of phone tag since I couldn't be called directly at work thanks to working in a computer lab and having neither a work phone of my own nor a cell phone. But I called her pager, left our home phone number, she called that, and Dara pinged me immediately online so I could call her back.

[annathepiper]

The whole weird part of this is, I don't feel sick or anything. At most there are a few minor physical details about my person that I could kind of see being a sign of a thyroid being out of whack, but they could also be explained by other things. So I have this weird sense of discombobulation. I half-feel like if my thyroid is broken I ought to be in worse shape, y'know?

And at the same time, I'm QUITE HAPPY to not be sick, thank you, and I guess that if I've got a screwed-up thyroid, better to yank it BEFORE it makes me ill rather than AFTER. Grf.

Hrmm. Come to think of it, drglam's late kitty Gregor got irradiated, too. But I can't remember if he was having thyroid issues or not. But my CURRENT cat Polly is now, as far as I'm concerned, the mascot of the Funky Thyroid Sisterhood (Seattle chapter), since I have to put thyroid medicine on her food. ;P :)

[veiledpanda.livejournal.com]

I hope I'm not too late to jump on the {{{{HUG!!!}}}} bandwagon! If there's anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to page/email/call/shout really loud/etc.

[annathepiper]

Hugs will be gratefully accepted by the management from now until they plunk me down to yank out my recalcitrant organ.

If you can clue me in as to your schedule over forthcoming weekends for happy-go-lucky, light-hearted, 'let's make Ynderra not angst' RP, that'd be something you could do! And help me beat Kaer over the head to drag him online to RP with us. ;P :)

[king-chiron.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I think things will work out, I really do.