Less than two weeks before they give me my I-131 radioiodine dose to kill any cells they might have missed. Although I got a clean bill of health this is a standard precaution they take. I get to go to the hospital, get my dose, then stick around until I am not radioactive anymore.

The downside is I am off my thyroid medication, which has given me a low-level headache since Sunday night, AND I am on a low iodine diet. This means no iodized salt, sea salt, seafood (including any calcium supplements, etc that might be made out of sea products), dairy, soy (milk, beans), red dye #3, egg yolks or things made with them, and a few other things. Which really puts a crimp in my diet. But I am eating a lot more fruits and veggies, which I guess is a good thing. I miss my bowl of cereal with banana in the morning, but oatmeal (not the instant kind) with blueberries added in is OK, and I might make a few egg white omelets.

Just 13 more days to go! Good resource for Thyroid Cancer patients, as well as a low iodine cookbook for free download, is at ThyCa.org.

I have had a good recovery, and feel better every day. My sore throat is almost all gone, now it is just a minor annoyance. Sometimes the incision is itchy, but I only made the mistake to scratch it twice, I don't do that anymore. Wow. And the unsung hero of my recovery, bendable straws. With bendie-straws I can drink from a glass and don't have to tilt my head all the way back.

My surgery is scheduled for January 4th, in the afternoon. I was not nervous about it before, but now that I have an official date and time, it has suddenly become a more concrete thing. I liked it better in the abstract.

On Thursday, Melissa and I met with the surgeon. Using highly detailed full-color photos and illustrations he went over the procedure of removing my thyroid. I had to lay down for a few minutes during the overview. I think if we were supposed to see inside, our skin would be clear.

Anyway, the procedure looks pretty routine. A small (1%) chance of vocal cord issues, or breathing issues, but nothing too major. Recovery time of 2 weeks, but I could go into work sooner if I get bored sitting around the house. After the thyroid is removed, they will check it, and see if they need to give me a dose of radioactive iodine. That would happen 6-8 weeks after the surgery. Any remaining thyroid cells would concentrate the iodine, and deliver the dosage of radiation directly to where it needed to go. I would have to be isolated for a 48 hour period, but then I would be free to rejoin society. Once all is said and done, the cancer should be gone, and survival rate is 95%, so pretty good for something relating to the big "c".

The surgery will take place in the next 6-8 weeks, but I have not scheduled an appointment yet. That will happen sometime next week. And an assortment of various pre- and post-operative meetings, blood work, etc. along the way. I will keep everyone informed.

On Friday, I found out I had papillary thyroid cancer. This was found during a routine check of my thyroid due to my type 1 diabetes. Wow, typing that it sounds like a lot of crummy stuff has happened recently. And then my legs fell off, and one of my ears got a fungus...

Anyway, the kind I have is very slow-growing, and it's possible I have had it for a year or more. Treatment involves removal of the thyroid. The next step is to call the surgeon and schedule a meeting, and then figure out the timeline from there.

So there you go. Can't wait to see what happens next. Ugh.