"It was a fluke..."

Yesterday's discussion with the Endo really gave me pause to once again think about the randomness of life.

"It was a total fluke," he said, that we found the tumor when we did. The lump in my neck had nothing to do with it. Had I decided not to ask my friend, the doctor, or not see my own physician, it would have gone unnoticed.

It was caught early, didn't metastasize, and didn't spread. The "magic age" is 45...the tumors start in your 20's and grow slowly. But by the time they are detected, your chances of survival are much lower.

There are 4 types of Thyroid Cancer (with their cancer survival rates after 15 years)

• Papillary (98%)
• Follicular (80%)
• Medullary (40%)
• Anaplastic (20%)

Chief Justice Rehnquist had Anaplastic.

And he says, "so remember when people say, 'ah, thyroid cancer is the best cancer to get,' that it really depends. Just tell that to the Anaplastic folks...80% of them are dead." [all other mortality factors were equalized.]

Basically, I got lucky, very lucky. But before you run to your doctor, don't worry too much...there are only 20,000 new thyroid cancer cases diagnosed per year in the US. 

However, the lesson here is, don't take things for granted. If you think something may be wrong, get it checked out.