Patricia Robertson Pat’s Journey

As most of you already know by now, our Mom (Pat) was diagnosed on 5/12/2020 with papillary thyroid carcinoma. We plan to use this page to keep everyone updated.

Mom’s journey began in May when she had thyroid surgery in Lexington, KY. The pathology was unusual so her doctor referred us to Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN.

Once we arrived in Nashville her team of Doctors, 6 in all (4 doctors & 2 pathologists) had lined up a slew of tests. The great thing about tests are they give you answers which we were seeking. A PET scan only showed the cancerous cells in the Thyroid and neck!

Mom has since had another surgery to remove a tumor and the remaining thyroid on July 8, 2020 at Vandy. Then it was time to wait again on pathology reports to determine the next treatment plan.

We got word on 7/13/2020 that Mom would not need another major surgery right away. The tumor board (which includes all of her team of Doctors) decided that the best treatment plan would be a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. The pathology showed that the cancer was, in the doctors words, “not the best kind but not the worst kind either.” It is in fact two types of cancer.

We returned to Vanderbilt on 7/30/2020 for appointments to get treatment started.

Thank you for following Mom’s journey and feel free to leave Mom and Dad encouraging messages. We will keep you posted as Mom’s treatments begin. We appreciate the continued prayers, keep them coming, and all the text, messages and calls!

Melissa & Amanda