Lauren was in for a routine teeth cleaning appointment and her dentist felt the nodule. We made an appointment with her doctor. He didn't feel anything but ordered an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed the pin size nodule. The biopsy came back as Papillary Carcinoma. The word CANCER would scare anyone at any age. Especially since there is a high history of cancer in our family. Lauren was in the home stretch of her Senior year in High School. During spring break we were in the hospital to have her thyroid removed. Since the nodule was so small, the surgeon was confident she would only require half of the thyroid removed. Hoping she would not have to be on medication for life, we made the decision to have only one side removed. The tests came back showing the nodule was BRAF positive and was already growing outside the thyroid wall. A few weeks later we were back in the hospital to remove the other side. The surgeon decided to also remove the muscle that was covering her thyroid. He was glad he did. The tests showed cells in the muscle. Fortunately the other side of her thyroid was clear. Lauren graduated from High School a few months later and is now attending College. By the grace of God, Lauren is surgically healed. She is still being seen by her physician regularly and will be on thyroid medication for life. We were lucky and thankful for her angel of a dentist. Thank you for supporting me and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure.