The Big Results

I was using my computer down the hallway, so that I would get an Internet signal. I heard a faint foreign voice--"Schultz. Schultz?". It was Dr. Halkar. He said they had the results.

I quickly closed my computer and went into his office.

Drum role--He said "despite you being high risk, we can't find any cancer anywhere in your body. Not a trace."

I was stunned. I sat in the chair in his office, and sank down. Relief. After all the continuing negative news since October of last year, there was a future. The future was more than the 3-5 year survival rate for high risk patients with Hurthle cell cancer. No tumors in my lungs. No brain tumors. No bone tumors. It was beyond my expectations. I was hoping for something like "we found a few cells, and we can ablate them with radioactive iodine". I was fearing "we found widespread cancer infestation throughout your body". Neither of these. Zero cancer.

It felt good--I am not dying. I will outlive my dogs and see my kids have kids.

Thanks to everyone for all the prayers, gifts, cards, emails, blankets, good thoughts, confidence, support and hope. Thanks to the team of doctors at Emory who did the work. It all worked. I beat the odds. I am in the 30-40% who don't die in 3-5 years. I dodged the bullet.