The Surgeon's Take on Things...

I met with Dr. Rosendahl on Wednesday, July 16th, after we got back from our trip. He used to be the head of the head, throat, and neck surgery at some huge Houston hospital but his wife told him they were moving to Austin because she wasn't raising the kids in Houston. SO, he now practices in Lakeway and was very helpful and informative. He spent 2 hours with me explaining everything about the thyroid and thyroid cancer and how the surgery works. To summarize; basically I am going to have my thyroid removed so the cancer goes with it. The surgery will be Wednesday, July 23rd at 9 am at Westlake Hospital. I will also have my lymph nodes in that area removed just to be safe. Then they run tests on the removed lump and thyroid to determine if it has likely spread. They run an iodine dye through me to see if there are any receptive cells (since the only cells that absorb iodine are thyroid cells), if they find any receptive cells anywhere in my body that means the cancerous thyroid cells have travelled and I have to take a round of radioactive iodine. Me needing the radioactive iodine is pretty unlikely since we’re finding this early, but it’s good to know for sure. If it comes to that, the radioactive iodine wipes out any other cancer cells. The prognosis is excellent and I will just have to be on thyroid medication for the rest of my life. Thank you for all your prayers on my and my family's behalf. I have felt a greater sense of peace and strength through all of this because of them. Thank you.