I have... Cancer?

I was attending a funeral when my cell phone rang. It was the doctor's office, which means the results of my needle biopsy have returned. I didn't want to answer the phone because I was scared what the answer might be, so, I made my wife answer. I thought that if she answered the phone, I would receive a few moment's buffer to adjust my reaction.

She answered the phone and it was Nurse Chrissie. She asked if I could come in to talk to the doctor that day and we said we couldn't due to the funeral. So, we made an appointment for Monday.

I immediately knew what the results would be. If it was good news? Chrissie would have just told us over the phone. But the fact I needed to go into the office could only mean one thing: Cancer. I tried to convince myself that perhaps that diagnosis was something else, but, I knew what the real answer would be.

The weekend was spent researching Thyroid Cancer so we could be prepared for the worse possible news. The research I found was reassuring: the surgery was the easy part. The hard part was after the surgery - getting the medicine correct.

On Monday, my wife and I went to the doctor's office. I tried to joke a little to keep the mood light but it was difficult. It wasn't long before we were called back to one of the examination rooms.

My wife was very nervous. By the time the doctor arrived, she had used the restroom three times! Soon, the family doctor that we have known for 22 years arrived and delivered the news: the needle biopsy found papillary thyroid cancer. He answered any questions we might have, and then reassured us: "You are going to be fine." He said he believed we caught it early, and he believed it was all contained within the thyroid, and he told us the thyroid would have to be removed.

I had went to the Doctor's Office expecting the worse answer and that is what I received. I had built myself up for it and prepared for it and therefore it wasn't a shock. They say there are stages of grief, but, I didn't have them because I had the weekend to prepare and received the answer I was expecting. I knew what was going to happen next, I was ready for it, and I just wanted to get it over quickly so I could go back to living my life.

Immediately on my mind was a very expensive non-refundable vacation we had been planning and were leaving for in four days! I asked the doctor what he would recommend we do, and he recommended we cancel the trip. That was a bigger shock than the news about the cancer.

The doctor walked us down to his receptionist and had her get us an appointment with a surgeon who could remove the Thyroid. The appointment is for the following Monday: the 27th.