Thyroids Are Stupid

So, as some of you know, yesterday Scott's pathology reports came back.  Not so good.  He has Medulary Carcinoma of the Thyroid.  A.k.a Thyroid Cancer.

It's a very rare form of cancer that usually appears in women, over the age of 60.  It is also more common with a family history, which no one in Scott's family has ever been diagnosed with Thyroid cancer.  When they first looked at the frozen sections of Scott's lymph nodes on Monday under the microscope, they thought it was Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  A super aggressive form of cancer - basically a year death sentence.  SO!  We are very, very grateful that it is not that.

This morning we went in for an appointment with Dr. Butcher.  We are so blessed to have him as a physician.  He is so kind and easy to talk to.  He's dealt with this type of cancer before and was very optimistic about it all.  He said that basically the next step is to do a P.E.T. Scan where they inject radioactive dye to see if the cancer has spread beyond his lymph nodes and thyroid.  The cancer cells are rapid growing and show up differently with the radioactive dye than other cells do in his body.  After we know exactly what we're dealing with that way, Scott's going to have a major surgery called a Partial Neck Dissection with a complete Thyroidectomy.  In English: They will take out Scott's Thyroid and all of the lymph nodes surrounding it in his neck.

As you can imagine I took this pretty hard, as did Scott's parents.  There have been lots of tears, but some laughter as well.  Scott is already cracking Cancer Jokes - slightly inappropriate maybe, but hey.  You gotta deal somehow.  Scott's parents are on their way here right now to be with us for a few days, which is also another blessing.  It's been kind of an emotional roller coaster since yesterday evening when we found out, of course, but we're trying to keep this in perspective.  We've been trying to remember that God will not give us more than we can handle and He will remain faithful no matter the outcome.  I know this in my heart, but it's hard to remember when my head starts freaking out with all of the awful possibilities.

Scott is being very proactive and has been researching for hours since the diagnosis.  We will probably be going to MD Anderson - a hospital in Houston that specializes in cancer treatment - for a second opinion and to see if we have any other options or alternative treatments available.  Please pray for us.  We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have been receiving from everyone.  It means so much.