Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor Saves the Day

Papillary carcinoma is asymptomatic, but Katy's throat has still been hurting her and no one has been able to tell us why.  Karen finally let go of logic, gave into her gut, and called the ENT specialist who fixed Katy's severely deviated septum and removed Amy's tonsils.  He made time to see her right away, within an hour of us calling!

After fifteen minutes of gloating about how great Katy's nose is, thanks to him, Doctor L looked into her throat and diagnosed her with thrush.  Apparently nobody except an ENT would recognize thrush, but he and his PA-in-training both, separately and instantly, knew what was wrong with Katy's throat.  Thrush (in American terms) is a very painful fungal infection of the throat, mouth, and esophagus, which explains all of the previously unaccounted for symptoms!  He's sure that the thrush is from the antibiotics; killing all the "healthy" bacteria in her mouth and throat allowed the fungus to move in and thrive.

The treatment for thrush is an anti-fungal gargle four times a day.  Unfortunately it's "fruitilicious" flavored and thus extremely nasty to gargle!  Fortunately, the pain should subside within 48 hours.


Dr. L also looked at the pathology report from Barton (Lake Tahoe hospital) and confirmed that the only cancer that presents this way is papillary carcinoma, which is the easiest to treat and has the best prognosis of all the thyroid cancers. 

This morning Katy enjoyed a 90 minute massage that turned her into a happy blob of jelly.  She is now cuddled on the couch with naked kitties all around and Dr Who on the TV.  All things considered, life is good!