I Meet The Needle Again

I had one thyroid ultrasound at one doctor's office and was then told I'd have to have another one at the surgeon's office. The first ultrasound was no big deal. The second came with the threat of another fine needle aspiration. I met with the surgeon who looked over my medical records (which are now the thickness of a Tolstoy novel). "You're only 28?" he asked. Yeah, I know. I've heard it all before. I'm a medical freak.

He said that the first ultrasound showed a very sizable growth on my thyroid, so large that it was creating a bulge on my neck that I hadn't noticed until a few weeks ago. He said that he needed to take a look for himself and then would need to do a biopsy. I must have turned several shades of gray at the mention of the biopsy. I said that I had a really bad experience with the first one, but that I'd do the best I can not to pass out. He asked me to explain my first experience. I edited out my terrorist theory and gave him the short version. He was appalled that I wasn't given a numbing shot and that the procedure hadn't been done using an ultrasound in order to get a precise reading. He assured me that this one would be different. I was not swayed.

The numbing really did make a difference and I was proud to stay conscious the entire time. He got several slides of nasty looking goo. He said that (shocker!) my growth was unusual in that there was a large, solid mass surrounded by a more gelatinous mass. He said would meet back with me in a week to discuss the results. Great, a week to fret.

I spent the next few days assuring everyone that this was not a big deal, everything would be fine, while completely freaking out on the inside. I knew that, once again, my body was trying to do me in and that the growth would most definitely turn out to be cancer.