So, about a month ago (probably around the 15th of July) I was just minding my own business and stretching when I noticed it.\u00a0 I was leaning back in my chair at work..head tilted all the way back, almost upside down..and there…odd.\u00a0 I felt what appeared to be a second adams apple under my real adams apple?\u00a0 What the.., I thought to myself.\u00a0 So I got up and went to the bathroom..saw nothing…leaned my head back a little and swallowed and THERE…is that normal?\u00a0 So I began checking everyone else out and realized it was just me.\u00a0 This got me a little nervous.\u00a0 With recent events of becoming Type II diabetic, my dad having a stint placed in the same artery he had bypassed just a few years ago…me wondering what’s going on with getting old etc etc.\u00a0 I just don’t go to doctors.\u00a0 I’ve yet to find one I like..they are all nice and such, but none of them have felt right to me yet, so I just don’t go unless I “MUST” go.<\/p>\n
So I went.\u00a0 I said – “Hey, so I got this lump in my throat I want checked out, and while we’re at it – I’d like to look into my heart and make sure I don’t have any issues since there is a known family history and also, I’d like to go see an endocrinologist for my diabetes because I don’t think the insulin and pills you have me on make any difference”.<\/p>\n
Doctor says “hrm, yeah – we need to have that mass looked at – I’ll schedule an ultrasound to see what it is and we’ll go from there”.\u00a0 As for the heart thing, just eat right and exercise and you’ll be find.\u00a0 There really isn’t any probe kinda thing or test we can do that will tell me if your heart is OK.\u00a0 And as for your request of then Endo..Yeah, she is a really good endocrinologist but you don’t need one of those – we’re doing just fine with the regiment we’ve got so don’t worry about that”.<\/p>\n
My response “uh, ok.”\u00a0 I was stunned – it’s like he heard none of my concerns, I go back and have a bloodtest and get sent on my way.\u00a0 Confused as I could be.<\/p>\n
So I get the ultrasound – results come back that basically show a growth\/mass on my Thyroid gland.\u00a0 Doctor has a nurse call me on or around August 7th, the results basically say, yep..something there – we need a biopsy to see if it’s cancerous or not.\u00a0 Earliest we can get you in to St Johns is September 12th.\u00a0 I’m thinking..a month away?\u00a0 Yep…well, if that’s how these things go..then OK.\u00a0 My wife gets the message and flips out!\u00a0 Calls the doctor back and demands they find another location, they hem haw around and so she starts calling other hospitals getting information and finally the doctor calls back and he has found a surgeon to see me that week to do a biopsy or at least a consult.<\/p>\n
Dr Z.\u00a0 So I go to this surgeon…very calm cool dude.\u00a0 He looks at me, feels around for a few seconds and tells me “yeah, you don’t need a biopsy, that just needs to come out.\u00a0 Why waste time sticking you with needles when this mass is growing and needs to come out whether it’s cancer or not?”\u00a0 I was like..hrm, yeah..that makes more sense to me.\u00a0 And he is ready when ever I am.<\/p>\n
Wednesday August 29th, 2012.\u00a0 My first day of surgery ever in my entire life – never spent the night in a hospital other than waiting for shit to happen..no real major broken bones that required me to stay…this is it.\u00a0 So then after this day I will know if I have cancer or not.\u00a0 So yeah..that’s my story…and that’s why I have been quiet, not around much and a general pain in the ass lately.<\/p>\n
I got a lot on my mind.\u00a0 Life doesn’t stop.\u00a0 I think back to all my friends and family and general passer by’s that I’ve met with Cancer and it just floors me at the power it takes to step forward one day at a time.\u00a0 The waiting is harder than anything…I’m sure the drugs and surgeries aren’t fun either…I can’t even imagine.\u00a0 But I’ve seen a glimpse into that window, and now I wait.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (Quick summary for those like me that don’t like to read – Found a lump below my adams apple, could be nothing, or something.\u00a0 Surgery coming soon to find out) So, about a month ago (probably around the 15th of July) I was just minding my own business and stretching when I noticed it.\u00a0 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=463"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":470,"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463\/revisions\/470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.echorequest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}