Bringing Sexy Out of the Thyloset

Most of my friends and family are going to look at this post title and picture and be like, wtf!?!  Allow me to explain.  In the course of searching the Web for others in my situation, I found this wonderful group of folks on a Web site called Dear Thyroid.  Here is a description of the group...

"Dear Thyroid is a thyroid support community and literary brand. Our goal is to connect patients with each other, to create awareness for thyroid diseases and cancers, and to give all thyroid patients a voice. We come together as a united front to invoke change on behalf of thyroid patients worldwide. Thyroid patients are invited to submit letters to their thyroids, thyroid rants and raves, and other literary creations. Help us to create awareness for thyroid diseases and cancers by wearing your disease on your sleeve and by requesting one of our free awareness bands. Visit DearThyroid.org to learn more!"

Awesome, huh?!  As for the pin-up picture, check out http://dearthyroid.org/dear-thyroid-pin-ups/ for an explanation.  And so, with the month of September being thyroid cancer awareness month and all, Dear Thyroid is hosting a tour of blogs by folks who have or have had thyroid cancer.  I love these people!!!  So, I asked to participate in the blog tour and am featured today, September 17, 2010! w00t!  (Thanks, Joanna, for all your encouragement!)

Here are the questions I was asked to answer:

• What kind of thyroid cancer were you diagnosed with? How many years have you been a
survivor?

I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma about 3 months ago.  After a total thyroidectomy about 3 weeks ago, it was found that there was no metastasis (spreading) of the cancer to my lymph nodes, the extra nodules found on the thyroid were benign, and the original cancerous nodule was completely encapsulated.  What does this mean?  No radioactive iodine treatment (RAI)!!  Hooray!

• September is thyroid cancer awareness month. What does that mean to you?
Why do you think awareness is important? How do you spread awareness?

Well, according to recent statistics given on the Thyca Web site (www.thyca.org), thyroid cancer "is expected to reach a new record of 44,670 people newly diagnosed (with 1,690 estimated deaths) in the United States in 2010."  And most types of thyroid cancer respond so well to treatment, that if you can catch it early by doing regular neck checks (know your throat!), you can sure save yourself a lot of crappiness!  I was super lucky we caught it so early; if it hadn't been found for a couple more years, the cancer might have expanded and metastasized by then, requiring RAI.  

I've attempted to spread some awareness by printing out and posting a copy of one of Thyca's thyroid cancer awareness flyers on the bulletin board at my office and I'm participating in this blog tour.

• Many thyroid cancer patients have been told, “If you have to get cancer, thyroid cancer is the one to get.” What do you think of that statement? When you’re told this, how do you respond?

Frankly, I do feel lucky that it was papillary, as compared to other, more tricky forms of thyroid cancer, or leukemia or a brain tumor, etc.  However, what most people don't think about is that removing a major endocrine gland that regulates most of the other hormones in your body and risking the parathyroids is no walk in the park.  Once it's gone, it's gone.  There ain't no transplant replacement option on this puppy.  We rely on the pharmacy for replacement T4 and/or T3 for the rest of our lives or become vegetables (literally!).  We become extremely vulnerable in the face of disaster, travel, or any situation that would separate us from our lifeline.  Additionally, those whose parathyroids never recover from the surgery spend the rest of their lives playing the unpleasant calcium intake balancing act: how to eat enough calcium to get it in the bloodstream without suffering excessive calcium deposits in other parts of the body, kidney stones, etc. 

• Dear Thyroid is constantly working to dispel the myth that thyroid cancer is the good
cancer or the easy cancer. What other myth would you like to dispel regarding thyroid
cancer?

I'm not really sure what other myths there are about thyroid cancer.  Frankly, I don't think 95% of the population even knows what a thyroid is!



• What one thing would you tell the world about thyroid cancer?

I don't think this is particular to thyroid cancer, but perhaps applies to anyone who has a life-threatening illness.  I was stunned to find that the most difficult and draining part of having thyroid cancer was telling people I had it.  Although it was fascinating, as each person would respond differently to the news, it was exhausting because I could never tell how they were going to respond.  Some burst out in tears and I had to console them, some want to know every single detail about everything relating to the cancer. (Unfortunately, a lot of going through cancer is not knowing what's going on and preparing for a test or treatment that you have to wait on the results for.  Waiting. Hoping. Waiting.)  Others become very uncomfortable, some suddenly become super helpful, some can't take it and completely avoid you. 

I'm not saying these are bad reactions--people care and some have strong reactions, and you never know what kind of experiences they've had with cancer before.  What I'm saying is, if someone tells you they have cancer, please try to remember that they are going through something *huge.*  Try not to burden them with your own cancer baggage--they've got enough on their plate to deal with.

• What advice would you give to a newly diagnosed thyroid cancer patient?

Get a great surgeon, who does *a lot* of thyroidectomies and knows how to carefully spare your parathyroids!  YOU ARE NOT A TEST DUMMY.  Travel a long way if you have to.  Do what you must.  Your future quality of life depends on a skilled thyroid removal.

• Do you have a funny thyroid cancer-related story you are willing to share?

An amusing thing (to my kids and me) was the "C card" (using cancer as an excuse for things).  We had a running joke about using the C card for just about everything.  I would ask, "Hey, could you get that for me?  I have caaaancer."  <said in a pitiful voice>   My daughter woke late for school one morning and I joked, "Let's use the 'C card'--just tell them it's because I have caaaaancer."  Another time, "Oh crap, I forgot to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer.  Probably cuz I've got... <by now, eyes are rolling> ...caaaancer."