By Ami (Gypsie) Offenbacher-Ferris
In response to Fandango’s Tuesday Story Starter #35 for March 1, 2022
She was quite serious when she looked me straight in the eye and said,
“Your CT scan revealed a large mass on the left lobe of your thyroid. The right also reveals numerous polyp type shadows that are most likely nothing to be concerned about.”
She was still speaking but my brain had stopped processing data at “large mass.”
The doctor touched my arm, her lips were moving, my ears told me she was uttering archaic sounds that should have made sense to me; but my brain had stopped functioning. A complete and major shut down without the benefit of a true and proper faint.
“In three weeks, alright? Do you need to put that in your calendar?” She peered at me with what I would later come to call that “ sympathetic but glad it’s not me” look.
My blank stare must have given away my lack of state of mind. A paper was placed in my hand and I was ushered out of the exit door by one of the office staff. She waved as she closed the door chiming,
“Have a wonderful rest of your day!” Before she bolted the door behind me.
I stood frozen, staring at the appointment card and instructional sheet of paper in my hand stating a biopsy was scheduled in three weeks. Three weeks? I had to suffer the next three weeks with the “C” word hanging over my head and the real idea that extinction, mine, was looming in the not too distant future.
What had she said? “Have a wonderful rest of your day!”
I now understood why she locked the door behind me. Smart woman.
…..To be Continued
Gypsie’s Wonderful World of Words 
Finally have results after two cancelled appointments and the doctor being on vacation. I should file for mental trauma after all of this. As far as the “C” word, that came up negative … thank the Stars, the Heavens and Mother Earth.
But, there is still a large mass on my thyroid making it difficult to swallow at times and uncomfortable all the time, most likely caused by the two cervical surgeries I’ve had where the surgeons went through the front. Doctors advice? Surgery of course. Nope, nope and nope to the tenth power. Did I mention I said no thank you? 😖
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That’s good news! Thank you – waiting for the results will be agonizing!
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“A large mass” is something you never want to hear from your doctor. I heard that from my doctor about five months ago about a large mass in my prostate.
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I hope it turned out favorably? My biopsy is at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. 😣
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In my case, because prostate cancer is typically slow moving, I chose “watch and wait” rather than having a biopsy right away, and after a follow-up blood test, my PSA level was back down to the “normal” range. So I’m going to have another PSA test in August. Good luck with your biopsy tomorrow.
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