Finally, after months of waiting, I had my specialist endocrinologists appointment yesterday.
They took my history and went over it with me, ordered some more blood tests, and then did a physical examination; including a detailed examination of my neck.
I have no idea how I didn't feel or see this before... probably the edema was masking it... but my lower right neck was distended and swollen.
So, he sent me down for an immediate ultrasound; and they found two large nodular masses in my neck; one growing out of my thyroid, and one in the soft tissue next to it... possibly in a lymph node.
It could be any one of multiple forms of cancer; or it could be non cancerous. I'm scheduled for a biopsy in a week and a half.
If it's cancer, there's a good chance it's not as bad as it sounds. Thyroid cancer is one of the easiest cancers to deal with, and most make a rapid and full recovery.
There's also a half dozen non cancerous things it could be, which are actually more likely than cancer.
The mass in the lymph node is actually more worrisome; but again, there's a half dozen non-cancerous things it could be, including just an further otugrowth of whatever it is growing out of my thyroid (the look like separate masses, but they werent' separated by much. They might be two lobes of the same mass).
I'm not freaking out... I'm not even worrying really.. frankly I'm more relieved than anything else. At least now we have something concrete to treat. It's a hell of a lot better than "We have no idea what's wrong with you or why".
Unfortunately, this is going to be very financially difficult. We've got good insurance, but this is going to run several hundred thousand dollars to treat; so we're going to have a lot of out of pocket. Also, likely there will be ongoing costs for medication etc... some of which are quite expensive even with insurance.
On top of the legal and other medical bills... well, let's just say we probably won't be buying the house next year like we were hoping.
All that aside, I'm looking forward to finally being able to do something, and get healthy.
Anyway... it's been a pretty screwed up month... and a pretty screwed up 12 months for that matter...
