My dad...

Two summers ago, my mom was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. She found a lump in her lower neck area while at a dance lesson with my dad. She had it checked out, they removed it, and found cancer. She had a huge, solid six-hour surgery, had her thyroid removed, as well as bunch of fatty tissue and lymph nodes, underwent radioactive iodine treatment, and beat it. My mom has been cancer-free for just over two years now.

Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from my dad. He waited until later in the afternoon to call, not wanting to stress me out all day (also not knowing of my coworker’s father-in-law passing). My dad found a lump under his left ear. From what he told me, it’s about the size of a ping pong ball, but flat, under his left ear, kind of back by the muscle tissue. He too had it checked out. He went into Urgent Care, who sent him over to see and ENT (ear, nose, and throat doctor). The doctor thinks it’s just a cyst, but did a CT scan to take a better look. No results until today or tomorrow. Either way, my dad is having the lump removed at the end of the month.

I know – think glass half full, but it’s hard. It’s hard to think back to the last time I encountered and ENT, a lump. I think back to sitting in that little room, the one everyone in the waiting room dreads being led to, hearing the doctors tell you the surgery went fine, but… But. The worst part of any sentence when you know something is coming next, probably not pleasant. Cancer. The doctor told us the only thing we’d remember walking out of that little room in cancer. Cancer, cancer, cancer. And he was right. That’s all we remembered.

However, two years later, my mom is cancer-free.

My dad’s lump, g-d-willing, will just be a cyst. They will remove it, biopsy it, and it will be nothing. In any case, please keep him in your thoughts and for those of you who have or say them, prayers…

Stay tuned for an update…