Sliced and Diced ... and the Waiting Game

The one thing that I hate in this whole diagnostic process is the ready. set. and WAIT game. I mean, in the grand scheme of things - it has been going pretty quickly and I have had a lot of appointments in just the span of two weeks... but this week - the IMPORTANT tests have left me anxious..

I met with the ENT on Friday (Ear, Nose, and Throat) Dr/Surgeon and he was a pretty optimistic guy. He came in saying that he is hoping my body is still acting like a child, hence the swollen lymph nodes. We told him what the hemoc doc said (40% lymphoma) and he said he was a more glass is half full kinda guy. Checked out my lymph nodes and said what he think is going to happen is that when I get my lymph node removed, it will have gotten smaller - which will be good news and then it will come back benign. He said if he was a betting man (what is with all of this betting?!?) he things the process is benign. Positives that he saw on the CT scan? Although there were a lot of lymph nodes (that may also be more suggestive of infectious process), the nodes are not matted.. He scoped my nose/throat and saw inflamed lymph tissue at the back of my throat too (hence the sore throat) and said that it could be the big/bad/ugly CA or again, infectious. He said CMV (Cytomegalovirus) can present like this.. especially if my immune system was run down. What he didn't say too much about was the thyroid (definitely needs to get biopsied). Ugh!

So plans for this week is to be sliced and diced!! 

Monday: CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis (ordered by my hemoc doc to make sure we aren't missing anything below the organs we saw in the low chest CT.)

Tuesday: Ultrasound guided Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) of my thyroid.

Thursday: Surgical removal and biopsy of my angriest lymph node (I got a few.)

Don't be fooled.. only reason I smiled in this picture was because I looked so depressed otherwise.

So with all the  biopsin' going on, it will still be a few days after each procedure that I find out what is going on. My ENT said that if we have the results by thursday of my thyroid (which seems doubtful) depending on what the report says, if it is inconclusive he will recommend that my left lobe of the thyroid comes out during my lymph node procedure. If the report is cancerous, he recommends that my entire thyroid comes out during my lymph node procedure.

He said that the results of my lymph node biopsy won't be back until Tuesday or Wednesday of the next week (ahhh!!! so long!!)

So I am a habitual worrier. I am prone to go over all scenarios in my head and try to 'forsee' what most probable outcome. I have occasional intermittent hip pain that began in December after a potential exercise injury - I had an xray of it (which was fine).. and it got better and I didn't think about it until all of this and now it seems to be popping up an I focus on that too! Goodness... I don't know about you.. but sometimes pain/symptoms can manifest by just thinking about it and it does not help the situation... grumble.. And - its been two days since the ENT appt and the lymph nodes have yet to go down... and perhaps due to an overactive imagination  - they have gotten larger? Who knows. I sure don't.

So Prayer Requests - 

• Pray that my CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis come back normal!!
• Pray for benign processes of both the lymph nodes and thyroid!!!!
• Pray for me to allow peace, calm, and trust in the lord .. especially this week!
• Pray for the medical professionals that will be involved in these procedures/biopsing process.
• Pray for my husband as he goes into this busy week. He has been providing me with such positive thoughts.. but I know he has to be worrying.
• Pray for my family (both biological and in laws) who have had such open and welcoming ears (especially my mom who I have been incessantly bugging with every thought that has crossed my mind.) and are willing to drop everything to help. 

Psalm 46.1 - "God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble."