I Am Cancer Free

Some time ago, I wrote about my Lymph Node Mystery. Lumps in my groin led to a series of ultrasounds and CT scans, which revealed three enlarged lymph nodes. This prompted a referral to a surgeon who recommended a biopsy.

As luck would have it, he explained that a simple needle biopsy wouldn’t suffice. He said it wouldn’t collect enough cells for effective testing. Instead, he recommended surgery to remove one of the lymph nodes for lab testing, with the goal of ruling out leukemia or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I agreed to the procedure.

However, I asked if I could have a second ultrasound first. My thought was, if the lumps had shrunk, that might indicate they weren’t cancerous. The second ultrasound did show a slight reduction in size, but the surgeon dismissed it as insignificant. He explained that the initial measurements might not be perfectly precise, and slight shrinkage could fall within the margin of error.

So I landed in surgery this past Tuesday. It was nice that I new the nurse and all the people taking care of me, as I work there as a respiratory therapist. But, at the same time, this added to a degree of embarrassment, as the nurse had to shave me down there and anyone in the operating room... well,

Anyway, it is what it is. You have to get this stuff done. And, the people who cared for me saw this kind of thing all the time. So, as I said, "It is what it is. We might as well just get this done.

The surgery was quick and straightforward. I was given conscious sedation with Versed to create amnesia, and it worked perfectly—I don’t remember anything after being wheeled down the hallway to the operating room. The next thing I knew, I was waking up, eating a Nutri-Grain bar, and sipping a Coke.

The doctor stopped by, and I told him, "I don’t remember a thing!" He replied, "That’s good." Beyond that, I don’t recall much of the conversation.

Now, two days later, I’m still a bit sore, but it’s manageable. I have a few days' worth of Norco to take the edge off, though even without it, the pain isn’t too bad. I decided to take a few days off work, which has been a nice break.

Best of all, the results came back negative for cancer—thank God!