For those of you who don't know the story this is how it started... All spring and summer of 07 i was suffering from back pain and the doctors kept thinking it was a strained or torn muscle and had me doing stretches and taking meds to help. None of these things seemed to work and in mid july i started having a tingling in my feet. It slowly moved up my legs over the next few weeks and i started having trouble walking. Then i got this really bad pain in my left side that just would not go away. I went to the er once but they took xrays and just said it was from side effects of the meds i was on. They must not have thought i was having trouble walking because of pain or something. On monday we went back another ER and they did a CT scan and found a mass on my spine. They rushed me to farifax hospital where they wanted to opearte that night, pretty much blindly but luckly through some family connections we got in touch with a wonderful nerosurgeon at Gerogetown Univ. Hospital who agreeded to take on my case. They did a biopsy the next day where they thought it was benin and then the next day they did a procedure to cut off some of the blood supply to the mass. Then the next day, aug 9th they did surgery. Nine hours later i had had two and a half vertebrea removed and replaced with metal. Thank god the Dr. who did the surgery is the same one who invented this contraption in my back twelve years ago. A week later i was getting ready to leave the hospital where they stopped us right before we were about to leave. They had found thyroid tissue in the tumor, which led them to find a nodule on my thyroid, it was thyroid cancer that had spread to my spine. So on sept fourth i had my thyroid removed. Then a month and a half later i had a raidoactive iodine treatment that was supposed to kill off any thyroid tissue remaining anywhere else in my body. So after the raidoactive iodine treatment that i had they did a scan of my body, and noticed a place in my lung where iodine had been absorbed, meaning there was tyroid tissue there. The doctors have been watching it since, i has a CT back in nov to moniter it, and then another just a week and a half ago. The one a week and a half ago showed what we hoped would not happen, the tumor was growing. Apparently it was too much for the iodine to handle. The doctor i have been seeing who has been trying to regulate my thyroid hormone supplement told me a few days ago about this, and basically said that they wanted to run several tests, and do some scans to see exactally what we are dealing with. They wanted me to go see the thoracic surgeon who assisted in the approach to my spine surgery, for what i thought was just to keep her in the loop in case surgery was needed later. Because of the weather here today, they had an opening so mom richi and i made the trek to georgetown to see her. Basically the news was, we know what this is because of your history, and we recommend surgery. I guess they want to do it sooner rather than later because the longer we wait. the more this thing may grow, and the harder it would be to remove. Also they do not want the cancer spreading anywhere else so i will be undergoing surgery on wednesday morning. There has been some confusion about the surgery. The placement in my lung is difficult, it is righ where the lung branches and there are arteries right there. The doctor is going to just try and remove the section where the tumor is attached, but she will not know until she operates exactally what she is dealing with. There is a possibility they may have to remove part of my left lung, or worst case scenerio they have to remove my whole lung, but that is WORST CASE SCENERIO. Alot of people have been jumping to the conclusion that they are just gonna take our the lung, but they are not going too unless absoutly necessary, so lets hope they dont. I feel like i am in good hands, and i know there are so many people out there praying for me. I thank God for that, and also for the amazing husband, and family he has given me as a support system, i do not know what i would do without them. I or someone will keep you posted on what is happening with me. Thanks again for your prayers.
Hattie
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