It came to my attention that today is the 9 year anniversary of a close high school friend of mine passed from cancer. I can’t believe that it’s already been 9 years. I feel that I haven’t changed too much from my early college days. Sometimes I wish I could go back to college because those were my “carefree” days. I could skip class whenever I wanted to and nothing would happen to me. Perhaps my grade would suffer, but there was definitely no concept of “vacation days” or “sick days”.

It seems a bit ironic that I just went through a pretty huge medical scare. During one of my regular medical checkups and tests, my doctors found a nodule on my thyroid. My doctor had me do a thyroid blood test and a urine test to see if I had any thyroid problems. I didn’t have any “antibodies” so I thought I was in the clear. My doctor then referred me to an endocrinologist in his practice. She looked at my test results and suggested that I get a thyroid biopsy since the nodule was 1.4 cm, which I guess is not too small. She told me that she was about 85% sure that the growth wasn’t cancerous, but she’d rather be 100% sure. She had me schedule a biopsy with NYU Medical. I found out that they only perform this procedure on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1-2pm. The next opening was in a month. I booked it and confirmed with my endocrinologist that it was okay for my biopsy to be a month away.

Flashforward a month (5/4/10), I go to my appointment with my very supportive scientist cousin. I’ve been to the radiology floor a few times, so I am quite familiar with how things work there. I filled out my paperwork and submitted without a problem. My appointment was for 1:30pm and at around 2pm, I began to get nervous. I was worried that they’d have me come back another time since they only perform this procedure from 1-2pm! I checked with an office person and he told me that they were actually running an hour behind. Around 2:30, I was called into yet another waiting room. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, cousin and I were brought to the “operating” room.

My over eager pathologist explained to me what exactly she’ll be doing. She showed me the needles she’d be using to collect the cells from the nodule. Both cousin and I said that I really did not need to see the needles. She even showed me the motion of in and out she’d be doing with the needles. It made me feel even more nervous. My radiologist came in and he made some friendly small chat about where my parents are from. He mentioned that he had just returned from a trip to Taiwan. It was nice to just talk about something OTHER than the procedure. He used the sonogram to look for my nodule on my thyroid. He directed the pathologist to where it was located. He then noticed that there was a vein on the nodule. At that moment, I thought my worst nightmare was coming true. I’m going to bleed out on the bed! The nervous pathologist asked the radiologist what she should do. “Should I go through the side?” The pathologist said she’d hit it anyway, so no. He recommended she use a smaller needle. He applied pressure to my neck and she did the procedure. Two needles later, she went to look at the smears on her microscope. She had told me prior to the procedure that she would be able to tell me if my nodule was cancerous or benign in just a matter of minutes. I was surprised because I thought I’d have to wait for the dreaded call from my doctor. She came back after a few minutes and announced happily that my nodule is in fact benign! She put on a large bandaid on my neck and sent me on my merry way. She did mention that I could possible get a bruise on my neck because of the vein. I told her it was fine with me!

What a relief. My friend recently went through the same scare, but her nodule was in fact cancer and had to get her thyroid removed. It just seems so crazy how I’m hearing more and more about thyroid cancer. In fact one of my college friends who is now a resident at Cornell Weill mentioned that if she had to pick a cancer to have, she’s pick thyroid cancer since it’s so easily treated. I’d rather not have cancer at all! I am so happy that I don’t have to go to anymore doctors or take anymore sick days for tests. At the same time, I am happy that my doctors discovered this nodule now and had it taken care of now. Oh the best part? I only paid $250 (my deductible) for all the thousands of dollars I cost United Healthcare. I guess health insurance is good for something. I’m glad I always opt for the more “expensive” plans at work.