Help for The Caleys, Urgent Thyroid Removal

After about a decade of multiple nodules forming and growing, way too many aspiration biopsies, seemingly endless waves of hyperthyroidism, and now the news that it's acting cancerous, it’s no surprise that it’s been recommended to remove Stephanie's thyroid.

Stephanie was recently given the hard news by her endocrine oncologist. In the last 5 years she has developed 9 nodules all greater than 1cm, but countless others under 1cm. Several of these larger nodules were rated a TIRAD 5/5- in which they were suspected to be cancerous, but 1 nodule in particular, grew from 1.6cm in February 2023 to 3.4 cm in October. According to the oncologist it looks like cancer. Combine that with Stephanie’s family history of thyroid cancer and both specialists have recommended a near-total thyroidectomy. After a total of 5 biopsies she’s finally moving forward with the thyroidectomy since it is the safest course of action. We don't know yet if she'll be able to avoid radiation treatments following the procedure.

The recovery from this will be tough and require a lot of additional time off work and extra childcare when Tristan's PTO runs out, all costs they simply cannot afford. Especially if Stephanie has to undergo radiation as she won't be able to be around the kids for about 2 weeks.

While she's grateful to finally have answers about her thyroid, no matter how bad those answers are, the timing on this couldn’t have been worse. Stephanie and Tristan have had an unexpectedly difficult year. A broken refrigerator, a cracked gas tank on their car, a billing error that took weeks to clear up and cost $500 in fees, their dog Sophie was just diagnosed with - of all things - Thyroid cancer after a very expensive emergency visit to the vet, a new baby arrived, and just like it is for everyone else the whole world seems to have become much more expensive. It truly was a rough year. They’re hopeful that 2024 will be much better, but in the meantime, they’re reaching out for some much-appreciated help, if anyone is able. If not, some prayers, well wishes, and good vibes are always appreciated too.