The "C" word:

I remember it was a Wednesday morning in October around 9:00 am when I got the call from my doctors office.  The receptionist asked if I was busy and could I talk.  There were no students around and I told her it was no problem.  So I went back to the student worker area so that we could talk and I could have some privacy.  The receptionist proceeded to ask when I would be able to come in to meet with my doctor.  I told her I could either Thursday or Friday, I just needed to make sure I had someone to cover the front desk.  The receptionist went on to say, no I need you to come in today.

Now, I have watched enough tv shows and movies to know when the doctors office calls and says  "You need to come in today", it can't be good.  I remember asking why it had to be today and she told me I would have to wait to speak with the doctor.  Of course I was in tears because I knew this could not be good.  And, if you know me you know that I did everything I could to get the lady to tell me what was going on. 

I checked with my co-workers to see if one of them would cover for about an hour or so, I called the doctors office back and said I could be there within the hour....and yes, I asked again what was up and again she wouldn't say a word.  I hung up and immediately called my parents.  I know what your thinking, why my parents and not my husband.  Paul works nights...I call it being part-time married.  With it being around 9 in the morning,  there would be no way I could wake him up, have him get dressed and be at the doctors office within the hour.  I left work, went and picked up dad and we headed to see the doc.  That was the longest hour of my life....thankfully dad and I are sports fans, so we started talking about the football season to try and pass the time.

We got to the office, I checked in and we sat and waited....thankfully it didn't take to long.  We went back to the examining room and a few minutes later my doctor came in with my chart.  She took a seat and said, Sharlene I have the results from the MRI.  Dad and I were like....okay and........she said the radiologist found something that didn't look right.  There is a nodule that shows signs of cancer in the neck area.

WHAT?  CANCER?  Wait......I looked at my dad and I immediately started to cry.  I looked at the doctor and I said, but I was having neck and should pain, how does that turn into cancer.  She proceeded to explain that they (those who were reading the MRI) looked outside of the area that the pain was and they found the nodule.  However, just to make sure when need to schedule an Ultra Sound and take another look on the right side of your neck.  That was the area where the pain starts and shoots down my shoulder and arm.

I remember sitting there just stunned...My dad and I were in complete shock.  There is no way I have cancer.  My next thought...how am I going to tell the family.  In 2006, a month or so before my wedding, my Aunt Sharon (married to my dad's oldest brother) had passed away.  She had been battling breast cancer.  It's been just over 2 years since she died, how on earth can I tell everyone that it looks like I now have cancer.  My doctor said she would get the ultra sound scheduled and we will wait to see what that has to say.

Dad and I walked out of the office got in the car and it was quiet.  This is where things get a little fuzzy.  If I remember right, dad called our Pastor and I called work.  There was no way I was going to be able to work today....Cancer, they think I have cancer is all I could think about.  How is that possible.  I told my boss and a friend what was going on and that I would like to take the rest of the day off....they said no problem.  I'm not sure if dad called mom or we went straight to the house to tell her.  All I remember walking in and mom and I hugging and crying.  We then started making phone calls.  I also remember dad and I going to the church to talk to Pastor and we prayed.  Then mom and I called her mom (granny) to tell her, we told grandpa (dad's dad), I think I saw my sister and at some point I went home to tell Paul.

When I finally got home and walked in, Paul yelled that he was waking up.  He was still in bed, so I went into the bedroom and layed down with him and told him I just saw the doctor and got the results of the MRI.  He was like....okay, what did she say, I turned to face him and said....they think they found cancer.  Yep, that woke him up.  I told him everything my doctor said.  He was like, well before we jump overboard, lets do the ultra sound and get those results.  I finished making calls...I knew my dad was also calling people but I knew I needed to follow up.  I wanted people to know that I was fine (yep, that is what I told everyone) and that everything would be okay.  The two hardest calls for me was to my cousin Cheryl and Uncle Jr (Aunt Sharon's husband and daughter).  For some reason right now I can't remember if I called my cousin Trish (Sharon's other daughter) or not.  Last thing I wanted (and in my opinion they needed) was for them to worry about me.  Then that night I went to church, and that is when my church family found out that I might have cancer and I was prayed over.

I have to be honest...at that point in my life everything seemed like is was moving in slow motion.  I did the ultra sound, which confirmed the MRI and then I had to do a CT Scan to confirm the ultra sound.  I have to kinda laugh here, when I went to do the CT Scan is when I found out I am allergic to the iodine contrast.  I went back to work after that test and was talking to a friend and we looked at my arm and I had broke out in a rash.  Hey, it gave me something to laugh about.  A few days later my doctor called and said that yes, it is cancer....Thyroid Cancer.  All I could think at that time was...what is Thyroid Cancer? So she then referred me to the Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor here in Stillwater and I started goggling Thyroid Cancer.  My paperwork was sent to the new doctor and the appointment was made. 

On the day of my appointment, I came home from work to get Paul and we were off to a new doctor.  We still couldn't believe what we were faceing.  Cancer...it seemed like a really bad dream.  There is no way.  I remember one of the question my primary doctor asked was...who in your family has a Thyroid problems.  My only response was...apparently me.  We couldn't think of anyone on either side of the family that had any type of Thyroid issues.

So, we get to the ENT's office, I check in, sat down and filled out some paperwork.  We got called back and I met the doctor.  We went over all the tests and he told me what the nodule appeared to be, what to expect if it is cancer, ect...I then turned to the doctor and said, I don't care what this is...let's schedule surgery and remove it.  I mean come on, I have something foreign on my Thyroid.  But, of course we couldn't because of insurance.  We had to prove that it really was cancer so we scheduled a biopsy. 

Now, the biopsy really wasn't all that bad...don't forget that I'm already have issues with my neck and shoulder and the position I was in for the procedure was horrible.  By the time it was over, my neck was stiff and I was in some pain and uncomfortable by the time it was over.  The procedure itself wasn't all that bad, it's just the way I had to tilt my head.  He told me it would be a few days before we would know anything, so I left, Pastor took us out for breakfast and, once again, I was waiting on a phone call.

Speaking of my Pastor....I honestly wasn't expecting him to be there for the biopsy...or  my cousin Cheryl.  I truly have an awesome supporting family and church.

I have to admit I wasn't very patient waiting on the phone call.  I waited a couple of days before I called to see if the results where in and of course they weren't.  The within a day or two I got a call...it was the doctor and the biopsy was clean.....NO CANCER!!!  Talk about relief.  While I was on the phone don't think I wasn't doing the happy dance.  I then asked, what is on my Thyroid and the doctor wasn't sure.  I was then given two options: be tested every three to six months to see if it grows or have it removed...I opted for surgery.  In my opinion, we don't know what this is so let's just take it out.

Surgery was scheduled for November 5th, 2008.