"Don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing, gonna be all right. ....Rise up this morning, smiled with the risin' sun, three little birds pitch by my doorstep. singing sweet songs, of melodies pure and sweet, this is my message to you-ou-ou- " Three little Birds, by Bob Marley

i have to sing this song to myself so that i do not worry too much. my daughter included it on my new CD of mixed songs that  she made for me. it is a "cheer mom up  and send positive thoughts her way" CD. i just love it, and besides i was about to wear the first CD out! that said though, i want to relay some important information about a friend of mine.

my friend has papillary cancer, and  had her thyroid removed about 4 months ago,, and underwent  the I-131 treatment. the doctors did not biopsy any lymph nodes, nor were they discussed. she has had some bouts with hoarseness and asked her endocrinologist about this. he referred her to an ENT ( ear-nose-throat) specialist. also, she noticed some tenderness and a lump  in the lymph nodes in the right side of her neck. upon exam, and ultrasound, her ENT thinks that her lymph node(s) might be cancerous. she is scheduled for a PET scan, then a fine needle biopsy, if the PET scan shows cancer in the lymph node(s).she is taking this one step at a time, and has a great attitude-concerned, but not paniced. i wanted everyone to know that if you have hoarseness, or a lump or tender area( lymph node) in your neck you need to get this checked out. the doctor you need to see is an ENT. they will do the necessary tests and check things out for you. if this does turn out to be cancer for my friend, she will need another surgery, starting where her thyroid scar stopped- going up her neck to her ear. it is called a neck dissection, and my surgeon first told me that i would have to have this done,too. in fact, i woke up from surgery and the first thing  that i did was feel my neck- i did not know until then if he had had to do it. he biopsied my right neck lymph nodes while i was on the table. luckily, they were not malignant. infection, and not cancer, can also  cause the same symptoms and can look the same on ultrasound. the deciding factor is  usually the biopsy. in other words, CHECK YOUR NECKS, GUYS!! and if you need to, get it checked out by the ENT. we have all been through so much, but we need to be diligent about checking. think of it as a self breast exam for your neck!

on a lighter note, i did a zumba class tonight. i'll have to admit that i was spoiled by the instructor at my daughters class. this instructor was not as skilled, i guess you would say, or as friendly. also, the class was enormous- about 45 people or so! one cool thing we did was the dance moves to the song "Thriller". i loved it! we are going to do it every class until after halloween. i will be going back every wednesday, for a live class( it is my only day off), and doing my DVD's two days a week. well, that is the plan anyway. i am sore, but happy. like i said, if i can do it, ANYONE can! this class had some college girls in it :( but also had some old, out of shape women like me in it too!! i think i am addicted to zumba now. look out "dancing with the stars!!" lol