Tomorrow I'm scheduled to meet with my oncologist to find out the results of the ultrasound of my spleen. Also, the results of the second ultrasound of my thyroid that my internist put a rush on may come in, at which point I'll find out if there's also cysts in my thyroid in addition to the solid masses, and we'll talk about possibly going ahead with a biopsy.
I'm pretty freaked out by the possibility of malignancies in both my thyroid and my spleen. Hell, I'm pretty freaked out even by the thought of benign masses. I know pretty much nothing about diseases of the thyroid or spleen, whether benign or malignant, so I'm flying completely blind. Sure, I could exercise my Google-fu but I think we all know how much potential that has for convincing a person that the world is ending and/or they have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever/the Bubonic Plague/Ebola/terrible, random rare disease. Does anyone either know someone who has disease(s) of the thyroid or spleen, whether benign or malignant, or know of good, informative websites?
I want to go ahead with the biopsy of the thyroid masses and, if the masses of the spleen turn out to be solid as well, I'm very likely going to want to move ahead with a biopsy there too. I just want to make sure I ask the right questions of my doctors and given how little I know, I feel severely handicapped. Of all the things I learned in dealing with breast cancer and spinal disease, no matter how good your doctors are, you still need to be your own best advocate. And right now, I don't feel like I could advocate my way out of a paper bag. So any and all information, advice, etc, would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
In other, far better news, on Wednesday I drive my folks to JFK to fly out to my baby brother, sister-in-law, and little nephew's home just outside San Francisco. I will be following on another flight out of JFK on the 23rd, and will hook up with my older sister at the San Francisco airport for the drive out there, so we can all spend Christmas together and celebrate my little nephew's 1st birthday the day after. I'm a little nervous about leaving my cats for a week, but the cat sitter is actually a vet tech that works at my vet's office, so they couldn't be in better hands. I'm really looking forward to the trip, and not just because my super energetic little nephew is guaranteed to distract me and put a smile on my face - I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone and getting to spend the holiday with loved ones, not to mention the treat of getting to experience Christmas again through a child's eyes. No matter what negative things may be going on elsewhere in our lives, the gift of spending time with loved ones is something to be treasured.