I head back to the Cleveland Clinic on January 23rd to have my thyroid surgically removed. At this point they strongly suspect thyroid cancer. As long as it hasn't spread to my lymph nodes the treatment is removal of the thyroid and replacement hormone therapy, which I'm doing anyway. I won't need chemo unless it has spread to my lymph nodes. They've been swollen for about a year, all over my body but more so in my neck, but it could just be from the overproduction of antibodies in response to my thyroid. I won't know until after the surgery.
During the operation they may decide to leave all my nodes intact, take a few for biopsy, or remove the entire network from my neck. Sooo, waking up from surgery will be like having a macabre surprise party. "Surprise! Guess what body parts have been removed!"
But seriously, I'm happy just to be moving forward. I'm determined to feel better. Whatever it takes.
