MEVE - Of course I didn't forget you. I just haven't been on the board for a few days.
I'm sorry about your mom. You wrote that she is having surgery for thyroid cancer. You ask if it's routine.
I'd say that no surgery performed on a loved one is "routine," but perhaps you can gain reassurance that this is a fairly common surgery. A friend of mine just had it done this past summer - she's doing great.
In most cases, thryoid surgery of the thyroid is not highly complicated, and usually takes no more than two hours. It is even sometimes done on an outpatient or with just one night of hospitlization for observation. Other times (depedning on the specific type of surgery, more hospitilization is performed).
The only real complicatons that seem to come up are damage to the vocal cords, or damage to the parathyroid glands. The latter is very rare.
After the surgery, many people report stiffness in the neck and a hoarse voice, but this generally subsides in four to six weeks. The scar left by the surgery also will become less noticeable as time progresses.
Your mom will have to take some type of thyroid replacement drugs for the rest of her life, but this isn't a big deal.
MEVE - I'm sure your mom will be OK. It's normal for both her and you to be scared. I strongly suggest you guys have a nice long talk before the surgery so as to alleiviate each other's fears.
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