Good News

We met with the doctor and surgeon today, and it looks very reassuring. All the tests they did this morning came through clear, so no bad stuff in the blood sample and the lymph nodes on the sides of the neck appear clear by ultrasound.

The surgeon, Dr. Grant, described the procedure. They will remove the entire thryroid gland, both sides of it, and the surrounding lymph nodes, 15 or so. The nodes removed will then be biopsied immediately. Then, they can definitively "stage" the cancer, though they said they feel she is stage one, which is such great news.

The Mayo does take a somewhat controversial stance on radioactive iodine treatment, in that they don't recommend it for everyone after surgery, unless it's past a certain high score. Dr. Fatourichi said Darcy's score is 4.7, well below the score of 6 mentioned in the article. We'll cross that bridge after the stage is firmly established and we meet with Darcy's normal endocrinologist, Dr. Rosenberg.

We have to show up for surgery at 6:15am tomorrow morning, and she'll be out by noon or so. She can expect nothing more than a sore throat and neck for a couple of days, so the doctor says.

We're keeping our fingers and toes crossed. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and well-wishes. It seems to be working!