GOOD NEWS!!

We received good news from the doctor this morning. Andrea's full body scan indicates that the cancer has not spread anywhere else in her body. There is no evidence of cancer cells in her bones or lungs and no reoccurring tumors. All that remains is the residual thyroid tissue that we hope the radioactive will destroy. An ultrasound showed that Andrea has two lymph nodes on the right side of her neck that appear to be inflamed (they did not show up on her scan as abnormal). This may or may not be a cause for concern. In a patient who has never had cancer this would not be something they would worry about, but because of her history this will be something the doctors will want to keep an eye on. If it is cancerous we hope the iodine will be effective on this area as well.

Andrea will be discharged from the hospital on Monday morning -- a day we are ALL looking forward to!!

In 3 months time Andrea will have blood tests and an ultrasound to make sure there are no abnormalities. The doctors will not be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the radioactive iodine treatment for another 6 months. At that time Andrea will receive a diagnostic dose of RDI (with a 3-5 day hospital stay) and they will perform another scan. The results of the scan will show us whether the thyroid tissue has been eliminated and/or if there is any sign of re-occurrence.

We are so encouraged with the news we received today and thank God for many answered prayers.