My Experience With Thyroid Cancer

It's that time of year and I'm reflecting a lot....ya know, 2012 I had two surgeries and a radioactive treatment for my thyroid cancer. 2012 was the year of taking action against the cancer, in harmful ways really. I feel like 2013 was the year of feelings....so much feelings! I'm just sitting here thinking, have I dealt with my thyroid cancer? Of course it's different for everyone blah blah. I guess I have been dealing with it as it comes. It's just not over, so that's why I'm ambivalent for 2014. I think 2012 was very traumatic and I didn't realize it until this year. I realized it, but maybe didn't feel the full extent of everything until this year. I was so disappointed this year when my progress in recovery from cancer plateaued and I didn't get to that cancer-free finish line. I still can't fucking believe this is my life. Johnny has been reading a book written by a doctor that discusses cancer treatment going back over the centuries...

My Grandma had me see a nutritionist who works with foundational wellness in October. My Grandma has a friend who had breast cancer for the third time, this time stage IV, and she saw this person and her health really turned around. Honestly I don't know the status of any actual malignant tumors in her body, but the idea is that through diet change, supplements and other lifestyle changes, the immune system can be healed so the body can heal itself. I'm so grateful that my Grandma wanted to pay for me to see Laura. Such a huge gift. I went in very open minded, and I came out with a headache from all the information I took in. I do understand where she was coming from, and I do believe what she says. She definitely didn't have some magic elixir tea for me to drink--she does not claim to cure cancer. She's not a doctor and she doesn't treat, cure or diagnose. Basically she operates from the standpoint that most people have cancer because their immune system is/w...

I've taken to calling the remaining cancer in my neck "tiny bits of cancer." They actually have not grown in size since July. I am pleased. I've had my thyroglobulin checked twice since an ultrasound showed the three small pieces in my neck, measuring 5mm and smaller. I had a series of injections and scans in August that confirmed for my doctors that that's all the cancer there is. Apparently if the numbers had went a certain way, it would suggest cancer is elsewhere, but not the case for me. I will have blood work and another ultrasound in three months. So we'll see what comes of that! I spent September and October cooking and doing a lot of yoga and worrying about money a lot. My car kept needing more repairs, and so I had to buy a new (used) car in October. I saw a nutritionist a few weeks ago who I'm going to work with, trying to heal my body with supplements and lifestyle changes. I'll put up a separate post for that. There's a lot to say. ...

Today is another milestone, marking one year since my neck dissection surgery. It brings a smile to my face when I remember that today, I am physically in great shape. There was a lot of fear in the last year about how things would turn out, and how my nerve damage would heal. Nothing pleases me more than to tell you my body made a full recovery from that surgery. I was out of work for 11 weeks and I had physical therapy. My left arm and shoulder had pain and limited mobility, and I credit a regular yoga practice with healing that up for me. I think around six months post-op my arm was completely normal again. I can't believe it's been a year. It's been such an interesting ride. While I'm emphasizing that physically I'm the same as I used to be, I will never be the same as I was before having cancer. Here are some photos I want to share. I want to share incision/scar photos for fellow thyca patients because I can never get enough when it comes to seeing how others h...

I have been in an interesting spot lately. Everyday is different, and most days I think I've subconsciously avoided and ignored the fact that I have cancer. Wouldn't you? But then it's damn painful to be reminded, to be connected back to the merciless truth. It's like I nod off and go on for a few days or weeks and I'm not dealing with it. And I don't mean to not deal with it, but I guess I've nodded off. And of course during that time I talk to people about where I'm at health-wise and I know I have cancer; I haven't forgotten. But I think when I "nod off," I feel very little to nothing at all about it. So waking up is a tearful and real thing. Over the last few days, I think I've been "awakening" to the truth and feeling all the feelings. I found myself hysterically, deeply crying on Friday over the tiniest thing. Then I'm driving to a yoga class and get a really sweet message from my aunt, and I start crying in th...

I have had four appointments in the last week. I am so done trying to get there early and find parking and all that. The first two days, I had thyroid injections. Having those is an alternative to going off my medication; it's another way to have my TSH go higher. There was a long list of possible side effects, and I did end up with headaches and an upset stomach off and on for three days. The third day I had a 2mci dosage of radioactive iodine (no side effects come with this) and then yesterday I had the whole body scan. My doctor emailed me last night to tell me that no cancer showed up on the scan, so that was good to hear. This does not mean I don't have cancer in me, but it means there was no surprises. They still know of some small lesions in my neck that are too small to surgically remove. My doctor is still waiting for my thyroglobulin test results to come back before she formally tells me what the decision is. I asked what would probably happen and she said they'll...

I had labs done and I had an ultrasound this month to check on how things are moving along one year after radioactive iodine. The ultrasound revealed three small lesions measuring roughly 5mm each. My endocrinologist described them as being too small to biopsy, but she can tell it's thyroid tissue. One mass is in the thyroid "bed" where the thyroid once was and two are up by the angle of my jaw. Those are lymph nodes and I'm told my surgeon probably couldn't see them during the second surgery because they were so small. So they were left behind and they have grown a little. My thyroglobulin came in at 2.3. It had been 2.1 in February. Dr. Chan said that's good news. I guess it's good that it didn't skyrocket.  I'm currently waiting to hear what they want to do. The nuclear medicine doctor says the lesions are too big to be completely eradicated by radioactive iodine alone. My surgeon says the cancer is too small to be seen in surgery. So what is go...

I wanted to show you guys how I eat vegan throughout the day. This was fun, and I'm looking forward to doing it again. Please know the context of this day: this was a Saturday and I laid around without doing much, so I wasn't super focused on being energized. This wouldn't sustain me on a day where I work and exercise. So here's what this lazy vegan ate today: Breakfast: 20 oz coffee with raw sugar and coconut milk creamer  •  strawberries  •  poppyseed bagel with Natural Balance dairy-free butter Snacks: store-bought tortilla chips and salsa. No, I'm not granola enough to be making those from scratch just yet.  •  smoothie made from the following: one banana, one avocado, orange juice, strawberries, 1/4 unpeeled cucumber, chia seeds, lots of spinach, fresh lime and ice.  Dinner: lentil cous cous salad with spinach, basil, oil and vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, red bell pepper and eda...

Firstly, one year ago today I had 150 mci of radioactive iodine. I'm so grateful 365 days have gone by. That was a such a hurdle for me, and I'm so glad to see it in the rear view mirror.  So it's that time of year again, and I'm having tests and things now. I had labs done yesterday and saw today that my TSH is at 0.01 again. That's odd because that's what it was in December, right before I asked my endocrinologist to please adjust my dosage because I didn't like the side effects I was experiencing. She made the adjustment, and my TSH was up to 0.02 in February. So I don't know how it's dropped again, which as you may remember actually means I'm more hyperthyroid. The area where I live gets pretty hot in the summer, and as a person I just run hot most of the time. But lately I've been wondering if I might be feeling hotter than others. I've just felt feverishly hot lately. There is the possibility that I'm just imagining it. I...