I knew you had salivary glands in your face. I have always had plenty of spit to go around. Dentists have commented on how active my salivary glands were and why that was a good thing for the health of your teeth.
No one ever said anything about tumors in your salivary glands and until a couple of months ago, I had no idea what a Parotid tumor was.
I haven't worn makeup for many years unless I am dressed up to go out but I still use moisturizer on my face and one morning as I was slathering my old standby, Olay, on the face, I felt a hard lump next to my ear. H'mm, that does not feel normal.
As someone who knows her body pretty well, gets all her checkups, scans, shots etc. that are recommended by the doctor, I know when something seems off kilter and this little lump was not normal.
I made an appointment with the doctor and she concurs. It is not normal. It is probably a certain type of tumor, normally benign, so she is going to send me for a CT scan.
I go have the CT scan complete with an IV and I hate needles so you can imagine how I felt about that, especially since they always seem to have such a difficult time finding a vein to jab. The results come back as a Parotid tumor. It looks benign, small and just to be on the safe side, have a needle biopsy done. Those instructions from radiologist.
Ok, great. So those must be done with radiology at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. I got an appointment the week of Thanksgiving, on the Wednesday before the eating day. I had made up my mind because of my hatred for needles that I would simply close my eyes while the biopsy was being done. The shot to deaden my face would be enough.
But the camera was right in front of me and I am such a curious human, I just had to watch. What an interesting thing going on. Then, done. I was sent on my way home to await those results. The doctor said he would have the results in a couple of days and would send the results to my doctor.
The next week rolls around and my doctor calls to let me know that all the samples the radiologist took were clean. No cancer cells at all. Now I had to go see a doctor who does this sort of surgery. An Ear, Nose and Throat guy.
I finally get in to see him on Monday. These guys also deal in allergies and tubes in ears and stuff like that. His recommendation is we wait. The Parotid gland has a facial nerve which runs through it. This nerve controls the motion on the side of the face it is located on. You have one on the left and right side of your face. He said these types of benign tumors grow very slowly and because this one was not impacting me in any way, let's just keep an eye on it before we rush to surgery.
He has no idea the worry that was lifted from my shoulders. I really did not want to have surgery. I am not a fan if it can be avoided. I still have to go back in 6 months, sooner if I begin having problems from it. But right now, I am good.
Getting older, once again, is not for the weak. Thank God I have had good health for the majority of my life. I am not on a dispensary of medicines and am still full of piss and vinegar. I am staying home for this holiday, though. The drivers in this area have little respect for anyone else's life.
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