Thyroid Cancer- What is Next

I have been trying to follow my surgeon’s orders and take it easy and rest as much as possible since my thyroid surgery and neck dissection on June 12th.

I have been at my dad and step-mom, Jean’s, house recovering during this time while Ryan and Cole have been spending some scheduled vacation time with their dad.

My surgeon, Dr. S, had been right- the pain in my shoulder has been brutal.  I slept on it funny the other night and I couldn’t even raise my arm enough to comb my hair yesterday. 

The thyroid controls metabolism and my surgeon warned me that I could gain a lot of weight during this time, but the opposite seems to be happening. I have no appetite at all. Nothing sounds good, and some foods are making me sick to my stomach.  My appetite is gone- I have been drinking Ensure (another Dr. suggestion) and trying to eat. 

The pain medication makes me feel nauseated if I don’t eat, so I have been trying to eat as much as I can.   Some of my friends have pointed out that Ensure really isn’t much more than sugar and have been giving me some healthier suggestions on other sources of food and protein I can eat.  I am planning on trying these and will keep you updated on how that goes. 

I had an awful day on Tuesday.  I almost fainted while I was out walking.  I got hot and sweaty and felt like I was going to be sick.  I stopped into a store near my dad’s house and the sales lady helped me sit down, and got me some water.  I fortunately was only about half a block away from home, and made it back and laid down the rest of the afternoon.

Some days the pain is fine- I can go six or seven hours between pain medication, but the last few days, I think I have overdone it and now have been watching the clock for the every four hours until it is time for the medication again.

I have been doing the exercises the rehab. physical therapists have given me to do, and those help. I have been trying to help out around the house too, by doing small chores that use my shoulder, like cleaning mirrors and sweeping.

I can’t even imagine if I had to have the neck dissection on the right side of my neck like my Dr. originally thought.  It would be so much worse and I am grateful I am healing overall.  It is not as fast as I would like it to be though, but I am getting there. 

I have had so many kind e-mails and well wishes, and those help too.  I have had people ask me what is next so here is what I know at this point.

Ryan and Cole are going to come back to the house with me on July 5th, and my mom is coming in from Minnesota to stay with us for a few days to help me.  My wonderful friends have been mowing my lawn, doing some light housekeeping, and are going to cook some meals for us. 

I am planning on taking the time my mom is out here to get back into a routine with the boys and take advantage of her help and the help of my friends to get our lives back to “normal” as much as possible.

I want to do some fun things with the boys this summer- take them swimming, take them to the zoo, take them to the park, and take them to play-dates.  This sounds exhausting even as I write this but, I am determined, and I will take it one day at a time.

I have a follow up with my surgeon on July 9th, for him to check the scar and the overall healing from the surgery.  I could not be more thrilled on how how the scar is healing.  It is still looks awful to me but this is what it looked like last week:

I developed a rash to the antibiotic on the last day I had to take it so that is why my neck is red and shows the rash, but the scar had been that red.

On Monday, this is is what the scar looked liked:

The rash is fading and so is so much of the red from the scar.  I have been putting Neosporion on the incision every day, and I just received a product yesterday that I am going to blog more about- it is actually to heal C-section and other surgery scars, but I want to take pictures and document the scar healing before I blog more about it.

I meet with my endocrinologist on July 21st.  At that point they will tell me the diet I need to be on to get my body ready for the one dose of radioactive iodine I will have to take, in order to kill any remaining cancer cells in my lymph nodes.

For now, I am not on any special diet except for watching my iodine intake, no kelp, kale, or flax seed.  As I understand it for a few weeks, I will have to take in a lot of iodine, and then none at all for a few weeks in order to “starve” these cancer cells of iodine.  They warn me my hormones will be out of whack and I could become depressed (fair warning to everyone).

The thyroid is the only organ that can absorb iodine, so when I finally take the radioactive iodine my cells and lymph nodes will absorb up the iodine like crazy.  But since it will be poison, it is a very effective treatment in killing off any remaining thyroid cancer cells in my body.

I will have to be quarantined for about 48 hours, and not around anyone. I will have to take the radioactive iodine in the form of a pill. Depending on my blood work, the endocrinologist will determine how strong the treatment has to be.

Thankfully, since my pathology report from my surgery did show I have stage I papillary thyroid cancer, I can be quarantined at home, and not in the hospital.  Obviously my boys will go to their dad’s house during this time.

After the radioactive iodine, they will start me on the thyroid replacement hormone that I will have to take for the rest of my life.   I will also have to have ultrasounds and blood work every six months to watch for re-occurrences.  I am expecting to find out more details after I meet with the endocrinologist, but my chances for survival are excellent and since my surgeon was able to remove so many of my lymph nodes, he feels the chances of re-occurrences are very small.

I am still taking it day by day, but things are getting better for the most part every day as well.  I am not done with the process yet, and won’t ever really will be, but I know there is no other cancer in my body and the radioactive iodine will ensure no more cancer in my lymph nodes.

I know I have been saying this a lot, but I can’t just thank everyone enough for all the support. Thank you isn’t enough- but I hope the gratitude in my heart I have for all my family, friends, and well-wishers shines through. 

I’ll continue to keep you all posted, and in the meantime I hope everyone is having a fun, safe, and healthy summer with your families. 

Love, Heather