It's been a while since there was an update, because right now much of Lauren's time is focusing on recovery and waiting for next steps.

Since her surgery, she's experienced pain and fatigue (as is to be expected). Lauren noted that even though the surgeon said recovery was 2-4 weeks, what he really meant was that her incision would heal in that time. Not necessarily that her body would be used to her "new normal" of not having a thyroid or being on synthetic hormones and having 44 lymph nodes removed from her chest and neck.

While she is waiting for her July 2 intake with Penn's endocrine oncologist, we are thrilled to report both her mammogram and ultrasound came back with no signs of estrogen-based cancer—despite her bloodwork having tumor markers. They want to do further tests on this. But generally, it's positive news.

After Lauren's intake at Penn, she will have an appointment with Nuclear Medicine to determine her dosage and timeframe for her radioactive iodine treatment. The length of isolation will also be determined at that time. As part of all of this, she will be scanned to check for cancer anywhere else in her body. 

In the meantime, we continue to pray and wait while she gains strength and faces the next part of her healing journey. 

A quick but HUGE praise is that David was offered a new job with a good family friend,  helping with clinical trials, which he started this week. This is a huge blessing for their family and definitely takes a load of stress off Lauren as well. 

Thank you to those who continue to pray and check-in. We love you bunches!