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Recent Diagnosis
This isn't so much a question, as it is a cry for support. I was dx'd last week with papillary cancer and am terrified. I don't really know what to expect and have an appointment with the surgeon in a few weeks. Of course, every pain and twinge is magnified in my head as "the cancer is probably spreading". I am trying to keep positive and quite frankly, keep trying to distract myself. Anyway, just wanted to vent and let you all know, you are all in my prayers for continued good health.
I had my thyroid removed in September due to papillary carcinoma. I have RAI scheduled for next week. It is a scary thing to go through, even though the prognosis is typically pretty good. I was pretty devastated at first, however I eventually realized that the only thing I could do was confront the situation and deal with it. I did that the same way you are doing it, i.e., by finding others who have gone through this and learning as much as I possibly can. The informed patient tends to make better treatment decisions.
I too had to deal with an insane schedule and actually applied for, and got, a promotion during the whole thing. So now I have to contend with a new job, treatments, and, like you, more schooling (I need to get board certification for the new job and have to bone up for my examination in June). But, I have found that I have been able to do a whole lot more than I thought I would be able to do, even while being hypo (I cooked the entire LID-compliant Thanksgiving meal, including baking the bread for the stuffing and making my own pork sausage.) Just like the pioneers (of course, I doubt they had a bread machine, but hey, this is 2007!). LOL. Oh, and a sense of humor helps too.
I relied a lot on my friends and co-workers and they have been absolutely tremendous with their support and encouragement. So find a support network wherever you can, hang in there, and I'm sure you will find the strength to get through this. There really is no alternative. .
Jo
I too had to deal with an insane schedule and actually applied for, and got, a promotion during the whole thing. So now I have to contend with a new job, treatments, and, like you, more schooling (I need to get board certification for the new job and have to bone up for my examination in June). But, I have found that I have been able to do a whole lot more than I thought I would be able to do, even while being hypo (I cooked the entire LID-compliant Thanksgiving meal, including baking the bread for the stuffing and making my own pork sausage.) Just like the pioneers (of course, I doubt they had a bread machine, but hey, this is 2007!). LOL. Oh, and a sense of humor helps too.
I relied a lot on my friends and co-workers and they have been absolutely tremendous with their support and encouragement. So find a support network wherever you can, hang in there, and I'm sure you will find the strength to get through this. There really is no alternative. .
Jo
You are very sweet. Thank you for responding to my post. I wish you nothing but continued good health. I will certainly be picking your brain when my time comes. I am hopeful to get my surgery sometime during my break from school. I am in nursing school (my junior year - and NO I am not 21....LOL) I am a 40 y.o. who had a great time in her 20's and basically blew her chance to go to school on her parents' dime. Now it is all on me....But I certainly have a finer appreciation for school than I would have at 21. Nonetheless, my schedule is completely insane, and it looks like that will be the only time to get it done. I do hae a ton of questions about how long I will be in the hospital, what happens after surgery? Do I need to do the RAI? Is that for everyone? What about medication after? How much weight will I gain? Will it be harder to lose? As you can see, the list goes on and on. Anyway, Please keep me posted and trust me, I will do the same. Thank you again. I will keep you in my prayers.
thank you so much. I need all the prayers I can get at this time. I love the support this group offers. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post. I will keep you informed as I go along. I hope you are in good health and wish you continued blessings.
I couldn't help but notice, but you are certainly the "mother" of this group. I have read some of your other posts and you are truly a blessing to those us who are new here. You have such a way of putting things in perspective and offering such calming and encouraging words. I hope that I can call on you in the future. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. You made me feel alot better. I wish you continued good health.
Perhaps we are cut from the same cloth. It is funny, when you read someone else's fears, you think, "I'm glad I'm not the only one who makes things up". It is so easy to get carried away. It is the unknown that makes it hard. Thank you for your support. I'm am praying for you and everyone else who has to deal with this. It is easy to get angry, but I am trying to stay positive. Please know I will think of you on the 29th. I am sure it will be fine. But, please let us all know how you are doing and how it went. Don't be scared, obviously, none of us are alone.....
Thank you so much for your encouragement. I am in nursing school, finishing my junior year. Just turned 40 (yup, mispent youth!!!). and was hoping the 40's would be the decade for me. My thirties were o.k., but I was hopeful that since I would be finishing nursing school next year, starting my new career, things would be on the upswing. But, God has a different plan....My family and friends are as supportive as they can be, but they can never truly know. The kinds words you have offered mean more to me than you'll know. What a wonderful support system this is. I am trying very hard to keep up my spirits. I am in between calm and complete panic. But trying to hold on to calm. I am thinking positive thoughts!!! Thank you for including me in your prayers. I will need them. You are a strong lady!!! I am sure you are glad your surgery is over. Did they do a total thryoidectomy? What about meds? Let me know when you get a chance. You are in my prayers.
Oh, and the RAI treatment. Don't do it during the holiday season if you can help it. I am in the process also and it is going to be hard not to eat Thanksgiving this year.
Good luck this your surgery and if you want someone to pray for you, I will.
Good luck this your surgery and if you want someone to pray for you, I will.
It's amazing how many people you will know that has this or has had this. I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago Tuesday when they did the surgery. We were thinking it was a beign nodule. It came back papillary cancer. I am a nurse and as soon as a heard the words "CANCER", I freaked out. I was coming out of anesthesia and all I could do was cry. I have two small children (4 yr and 20 months), which made it harder. Once they finally got me calmed down they explained that it was papillary, aka the happy cancer. That is at least what everyone keeps calling it. I know it's not hard to know that you have cancer, but take comfort knowing that it is treatable. My doctor told me that even if it in the lungs or the bones, it is treated all the same way, with the radioactive iodine pill.
The surgery itself was a breeze. I had no pain, just achiness. I was very hoarse for about 2 weeks. My scar is fading very nice and soon no one will even notice. Surgery is going to the easiest part. Being without your meds and doing the low-iodine diet will be much harder.
Keep up your strength and spirits. I know it's hard, but it is going to be ok.
The surgery itself was a breeze. I had no pain, just achiness. I was very hoarse for about 2 weeks. My scar is fading very nice and soon no one will even notice. Surgery is going to the easiest part. Being without your meds and doing the low-iodine diet will be much harder.
Keep up your strength and spirits. I know it's hard, but it is going to be ok.
I'm right on that boat with you. I was diagnosed a few weeks ago and get the surgery on 11/29. Can't be soon enough for me. I get more scared as days go by. I ask myself: Is mine the aggressive kind? Is it encapsulated? Or has it spread? Is it in my lungs. My mind is really taking off on this one. I just printed this out for my own piece of mind and wanted to share:
Mortality/Morbidity: In contrast to other cancers, thyroid cancer is almost always curable. Most thyroid cancers grow slowly and are associated with a very favorable prognosis. The mean survival rate after 10 years is higher than 90% and is 100% in very young patients with minimal nonmetastatic disease.
I find myself praying, please dear lord make it nonmetastic. Even that said, I have read about folks 10 years later surviving with this sort of cancer and it had spread out to the muscles in the neck.
I know its curable in my mind, it still dont totally calm me and I wont be calm until after the final biopsy after surgery. I'm too young, have very young children (2-1/2 and 5). I said more than I wanted to now but anyway, you are not alone.
Mortality/Morbidity: In contrast to other cancers, thyroid cancer is almost always curable. Most thyroid cancers grow slowly and are associated with a very favorable prognosis. The mean survival rate after 10 years is higher than 90% and is 100% in very young patients with minimal nonmetastatic disease.
I find myself praying, please dear lord make it nonmetastic. Even that said, I have read about folks 10 years later surviving with this sort of cancer and it had spread out to the muscles in the neck.
I know its curable in my mind, it still dont totally calm me and I wont be calm until after the final biopsy after surgery. I'm too young, have very young children (2-1/2 and 5). I said more than I wanted to now but anyway, you are not alone.
I was diagnosed in September with suspisious nodules, and had ALL the same feelings you are having. I originally went in for what I thought was a salivary issue, only to find out I could have cancer. Of course in my mind, the cancer had spread to all parts of my body, it was fully grown and spreading from my salivary gland, even though the doctor seemed to think that that was "highly unlikely" (and said it with a raised eyebrow) probably thinking "that girl is crazy". But I vasilated between "knowing" that 90% of nodules were benign too...
Your mind is probobably a roller coaster going full speed! And I've been there. It's hard to keep positive, but you must! The reality is far less worse than your mind tends to make it. And hey, papillary cancer is one of the most curable cancers there is! (I know, I heard that several times too, and it never made me feel ~that much better~.:)
I had the surgery and they took the whole thyroid because it was, in deed, cancer. But thank goodness for the salivary issue, because of that I found it while it was small and it's now over and done with. Mine had not spread (doc says it was contained to a encapsulated nodule). I'm in the process of RAI as we speak (preventative measure, they assure me), and through all of it, the hypothyroidism is the worst! The surgery, for me, wasn't bad. Even the scar is pretty un-noticable now. I have found solice and information in the stories here and have chosen to share mine so it could be of some use to you and others. Don't let the worst case senarios hurt your optimism though!
And, for what it's worth, do everything you've wanted to do for a short while before you have the surgery... throw a dinner party, take a small trip, go celebrate the fact that you still have a thyroid (sounds silly, I know...). Do something for yourself before you have the surgery, while you still have all your energy! It will distract you and you'll have fun doing it! I put off my RAI to throw a HUGE Halloween dinner party. Totally took my mind off of the impending "treatment" to come. I had the time of my life before I had to go off meds and basically loose a month due to lack of energy. (contact me when you are ready for RAI and I'll give you some tips...) I hold those memories close and dear at this very moment and look forward to doing a Christmas version, (maybe even bigger)!!!
Everyone here is thinking of you and sending positive thoughts!
Your mind is probobably a roller coaster going full speed! And I've been there. It's hard to keep positive, but you must! The reality is far less worse than your mind tends to make it. And hey, papillary cancer is one of the most curable cancers there is! (I know, I heard that several times too, and it never made me feel ~that much better~.:)
I had the surgery and they took the whole thyroid because it was, in deed, cancer. But thank goodness for the salivary issue, because of that I found it while it was small and it's now over and done with. Mine had not spread (doc says it was contained to a encapsulated nodule). I'm in the process of RAI as we speak (preventative measure, they assure me), and through all of it, the hypothyroidism is the worst! The surgery, for me, wasn't bad. Even the scar is pretty un-noticable now. I have found solice and information in the stories here and have chosen to share mine so it could be of some use to you and others. Don't let the worst case senarios hurt your optimism though!
And, for what it's worth, do everything you've wanted to do for a short while before you have the surgery... throw a dinner party, take a small trip, go celebrate the fact that you still have a thyroid (sounds silly, I know...). Do something for yourself before you have the surgery, while you still have all your energy! It will distract you and you'll have fun doing it! I put off my RAI to throw a HUGE Halloween dinner party. Totally took my mind off of the impending "treatment" to come. I had the time of my life before I had to go off meds and basically loose a month due to lack of energy. (contact me when you are ready for RAI and I'll give you some tips...) I hold those memories close and dear at this very moment and look forward to doing a Christmas version, (maybe even bigger)!!!
Everyone here is thinking of you and sending positive thoughts!
I understand, but only to the part where I would be scared too.
Papillary cancer accounts for 80 to 90 percent of all thyroid cancers and is one of the slow-growing, highly treatable types of thyroid cancer. The cure rate is very high.
Be positive, think postitve - you will be ok.
Thoughs and prayers
Papillary cancer accounts for 80 to 90 percent of all thyroid cancers and is one of the slow-growing, highly treatable types of thyroid cancer. The cure rate is very high.
Be positive, think postitve - you will be ok.
Thoughs and prayers
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