Skip to main content

No News is Good News

It's been over a year since I have posted here, and truly, no news is good news. I have had two rounds of blood tests with normal results. Plain old boring. I'm a fan of boring when it comes to thyroid cancer.

September is the next time I am to check in with Dr. W. What this means? An appointment for him to do a physical examination of my neck, and he will provide an order for blood tests. Dr. W has decided to "semi-retire," which apparently means he only sees patients two days a week now. I'm glad the "semi-" is attached to his retired status as I just found him two years ago, and he is the only endocrinologist with which I am comfortable. Of note, he only sees patients with thyroid cancer whereas "regular" endos see all sorts of patients, mainly those with thyroid diagnoses such as Hashimoto's or diabetes. For me, this has made a huge difference.

So that's the incredibly boring update. After thyroid cancer three times in four years....boring is good!

Comments

  1. Be strong, hoping for the best as you battle thyroid cancer. Newton Kenyatta University School of medicine

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey check out Bombfell, you get handpicked outfits shipped to your door, with free shipping and returns. Bonus, you get $25 off your first order at Bombfell with my invite link:
    https://bombfell.com/?rc=192341HFJkl

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quite a pay raise!

Today I received a press alert via email from my alma mater, Oklahoma State. Check out the first two paragraphs below: Following only the sixth nine-win regular season in school history, Oklahoma State University today announced a contract extension for head football coach Mike Gundy, giving him a new seven-year contract worth $15.7 million. The contract was announced following action by the OSU/A&M Board of Regents at its regular meeting in Miami. With the new contract, which is effective Jan. 1, 2009 and runs through December of 2015, Gundy’s average annual compensation will be more than $2.2 million. His current six-year contract paid him $1,053,000 this year. What the heck? That's quite a raise, and he didn't even beat OU, Texas, or Tech! Now, I went to OSU when Mike Gundy was the quarterback there. He was the quarterback during Barry Sanders' Heisman year. He seems like a nice guy and a great coach, but wow... In all fairness, I have to point out that I also read ...

Third time is a charm? Third time stinks.

So....unfortunately it seems my gut (and the thyroglobulin blood test) was right. Ultrasound showed two "metastatic" lymph nodes. Same right side of the neck where I had four cancerous lymph nodes in 2008. Radiologist said we could biopsy them but he showed me...."here is what a normal lymph node looks like. But here is what this one...and this one look like. Not normal....with metastatic characteristics." Third time is a charm? Third time stinks. First diagnosed in 2008, recurrence in 2009, and now a recurrence in 2012. About 30% of thyroid cancer survivor struggle with recurrence, and I am in that 30%. What's next? A procedural biopsy next week. Surgery next month. Those are the facts. I'm still sorting through the emotions of it all so more on that later. Thanks for your prayers and positive thoughts.

On my soapbox about "the best cancer to have"

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I was on my soapbox this morning after reading yet another article about the dreaded subject of how thyroid cancer is "the best cancer to have." Think about that...the best cancer? Why would someone say that? In an attempt to make you feel better about having thyroid cancer, some health care profesionals try to convince those of us who have or have had thyroid cancer that it is "the best cancer to have" because it has a high survival rate. An aside here, that high survival rate applies to papillary carcinoma, one of the three types of thyroid cancer out there. Survival rates are lower for medullary carcinoma and anaplastic carcinoma, the other two types of thyroid cancer. Back on topic...OK, so tell us that papillary carcinoma has a high survival rate. Truly, that is good news. But because of this "best cancer to have" statement, and the fact that I was told my thyroidectomy would most likely be just an easy, ove...