It's Almost All Good News

The Best News is the from the surgeon and oncologist.

Prognosis
The surgeson said that if there was a source, he got it. He had an unusable lab
result on my right-side thyroid and that's the one he thought was the source. I don't have that thyroid any more, so if that's it, it's gone.

The oncologist said that with what's already been done, there's no point in continuing to look for the source. He didn't think a source would ever be found. That happens in 6-7% of the type of cancer I had. It's his thought that if there is a source, it's at no more than a microscopic stage, and possibly just a few cells. He's confident the radiation and low-dose chemo I'm going to get to clean up the remnants from my neck will kill any source that size - if there even is a source. His words: "Obviously, when we never find a source, those patients have outstanding outcomes". You would think so.

Those Nasty Risk Factors I Had
They no longer apply. The surgery revealed that they were all wrong. The stuff in my neck was very aggressive. That's not the dangerous part. The source is the dangerous part. Once it's gone or once it's found to never have existed, that risk factor is gone. Finding the secondary site before finding the primary site was my other risk factor. I've had X-rays, CT scans, a PET scan, 2 surgeries, probably 30 or 40 biopsies, and there is absolutely nothing that's been found. If it's impossible to find the source, then finding the secondary site first is no longer a risk factor.

There is not a soft spot from my sinuses, through my throat, and down to where my wind pipe joins my lungs that hasn't been sliced on.

I Didn't Lose Many Good Pieces
I lost a nerve that will temporarily cause a loss of range in right shoulder motion. Specifically, raising my arm over my head to touch my left ear. I lost another nerve that controls certain smile functions on the right edge of my lower lip. That also comes back after time. In addition to the thyroid, I also lost a para-thyroid and a not significant blood vein.

Why It Took 6 Days Instead of Overnight
There was one problem. One piece the surgeon tried to leave for structural purposes didn't have enough strength to hang on. That opened up a gap between my esophagus and my lungs. That was discovered Thursday. I confirmed it before the radiologist. I kept coughing up the Cream of Wheat they fed me that morning.

That resulted in the insertion of a feeding tube, which I will have until Tuesday or Thursday. The surgeon thinks it will heal on its own, but if it doesn't, then I get another surgery that tears up my throat.

I'll gladly take that bit of bad news in trade for the good news I got out of this. The news had all been bad and getting worse since my firsct doctor's visit. It was time for the trend to change and I figured it would.

I never figured on anything remotely approaching how good the news really was.