On March 29 I had throat surgery to remove a sqaumous cell carcinoma on my right vocal cord. This out-patient surgery was the second to remove what the medicos originally thought was a polyp or callous-like growth often called teacher's or preacher's or singer's throat. The first surgery in August, 2005 was called successful and the pathology report looked okay. But the hoarseness returned. The polyp had returned. The doctor had warned that this often happened and that the type of polyp I had often turned into cancer.
The doctor was unable to remove it completely during this second surgery because a quirk in my anatomy made it impossible for him to get his instruments deep enough. The doctor recommended radiation therapy as the next step. That sounds very scary. Everyone had said this would be such a simple thing to get rid of and now we're talking radiation.
Sylvia and I have decided to get a second opinion, probably at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, my spirits are high. I know I am in God's hands and that He loves me. No matter how this develops I truly believe that God can bring good from it if I just keep focused on Him.
