Categories
Cancer Family & Friends Health

Cancer Recurrence Tests

I am being tested this week for any traces of thyroid cancer that may be remaining, or for a recurrence.  I’ve had to put this test off for 6 months, so I’m very glad I’m doing it now, but with any type of cancer test- it’s a little scary too. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect or really what the process was while I was scheduling it.  The nurse at my endocrinologist kept telling me it was a week long process. I am finding out as I go along.  I wanted to share the process for others who will be facing the same test.

On the first two days, Monday and today, I had an injection of the drug, Thyrogen at 8 in the morning.  Thyrogen is used to test the blood for a hormone called thyroglobulin (Tg), which can indicate cancer.  Before Thyrogen, to test for  Tg levels, a patient would have to stop taking any thyroid medication such as Synthroid for six weeks, and become hypothyroid.  I was hypothyroid for almost thirteen weeks after my surgery, and it was one of the most difficult times in my life.  Needless to say, I’m very happy I was able to have Thyrogen.

The shots themselves weren’t bad.  Just more inconvenient than anything.  The nurse I was scheduled with on Monday was 3o minutes late, and I had a tight schedule that morning. I started thinking it was a bad sign, and worries crept in.  I forced myself to think positive thoughts.  The injections were given to me below the hip, pretty much in my gluteal muscles.  I had Cole with me on Monday, and he thought it was very funny Mom got a shot there. 

The rest of the day on Monday, I felt great. I felt like I normally do.  With Daylight Savings having just started, it was light out when I got home from work with the boys, and I ran a fast one mile.  A few hours after the shot on Tuesday, I started feeling sick.  I was very nauseous, and I had a bad headache.  I felt extremely tired too.  The nausea came and went.  I fortunately was off of work for the day so I was able to rest and take it easier. 

On Wednesday I have to take a dose of radio active iodine in preparation for the full body scan on Thursday.  The dose is very small and there are no restrictions on being around other people or children after I take the dose.  The letter the nuclear medicine department sent me said the radiation dose I’ll be taking is less than what is in a standard x-ray.  I am optimistic I won’t have any side effects.  I have a 15 minute appointment with the doctor, take the pill at the nuclear medicine department, and then drive back to work. 

On Thursday in the afternoon, I have a full body scan.  This is where they will be able to see any “hot” spots, or thyroid cells in my body which can indicate cancer.  The entire appointment is about 45 minutes, but I don’t like the scans.  I have always felt claustrophobic in the machine, and I hate sitting there waiting for it.  So this is the day I’m dreading the most in the process.  My good friend, Amy, is pretty sure she will be able to come with me, and I’ll be very grateful for her presence. 

On Friday morning, I have to have blood drawn, so they can do blood work. The nurse reminded me today how important this step is. She said she has patients all the time that do the entire week, but then don’t have their blood drawn, and she says it is a complete waste.  They won’t have accurate results without the blood work. 

After all of this, I have to wait until next week for the results.  I know I will be thinking of all the “what if’s” during this time, but I am going to try really hard to think of all the positives- like the type of thyroid cancer I had, has about a 3% recurrence rate.  I still feel better physically than I ever have in my life, have never had to have a Synthroid medication adjustment, and the last test I had the Tg level was undetectable.  The odds are definitely in my favor that I am fine, and these tests will confirm that. 

Please think good thoughts for me during the next week, as I do the same for myself.  If anyone wants to add their experience with their thyroid recurrence tests, feel free to do so in the comments.  I’d be interested in hearing how it went for others.

Categories
Cancer Family & Friends losing a parent

A Gift

My mother, Linnie, with my brother, Jeff, (her first child) in 1970.

One year.  My mom has been dead for one year today.  Some days it seems like she’s still out there- living her life and she’ll be calling any day to say ‘Hi,’ like she often did.  Then there are days where it seems like she’s been gone for ten years. 

When she died, I had no idea how to get through the next year.  I don’t think anyone does- you just do.  Life goes on.  There are kids, jobs, family, relationships, friends, hobbies, and all the other stuff that keeps life busy.  I have had all of those things this past year.  I’ve wanted to share them with my mom.  There have been days where I’ve cried for her. Days where I’ve been mad, days where I have peace, days I’m happy she’s not suffering, but most of all I just miss her.

I realized around Christmas, when I pulled out “The Night Before Christmas,” book she recorded in her voice the year before for Ryan and Cole, I was forgetting what her voice sounded like.  You don’t think about that- until you realize you are forgetting what their voice sounds like. 

All the things- little and big, I took for granted from her- parenting advice (sometimes asked for, sometimes not), Mother Day cards and wishes, phone calls, little odd gifts that would come from QVC in the mail to me because she thought I’d like them, visits, birthday cards, encouragement, someone who always had time for me, unwavering support, my boys’ Nana, and unconditional love, I noticed this past year, painfully, because those things are not here from her anymore. 

And yet, I still have a sense she’s with me.  As I have gone through the tedious process of keeping current my cancer follow up care, I hear her voice in the back of my mind, telling me to stay up on it.  I see her smile in Ryan, Cole, and my niece’s.  When I am baking or cooking one of her recipes, I remember the love she had for us, as she made the same dishes years ago.  When I feel like I really need to know she’s looking out for us, something happens- something unexplainable, which I can only attribute to her. Like Cole telling me out of the blue, that Nana visits him when he sleeps, and she tells him she loves all of us.  Or the pharmacy dropping the price on the very expensive cancer testing drug I need by the exact amount my insurance won’t cover.  It’s hard not to think she is out there somehow- making sure we know her presence is here.

Then there is the guilt and questions that are always buried beneath the surface.  Was I a good enough daughter? Did I spend enough time with her?  Did she know I loved her? Did she know how much I appreciated things she had done for me her entire life? I tried to make sure I told her these things during the few days we had in the hospice, but I can’t remember.  Much of that week is a blur.  I do remember when I told John my mom was very sick, probably was going to die, and I was heading to Minnesota with my sister, he told me the time I would have with my mom would be a gift.  I didn’t really register what that would mean at the time, but I thought about it while I was spending time with her in the hospital and hospice, after she passed away, and during this past year.

A gift.  A gift to watch your mother die.  A gift to be there.  A gift to say good-bye.  A gift to laugh with her one more time.  A gift for her to hear her grandchildren’s voices for a final time.  A gift for all of us to be a family one more time.  A gift for her to hug me.  A gift for her to hold my hand.  A gift for her stroke my hair one last time, like she did when I was little.  A gift to crawl into bed with her, like I did when I was little.  A gift to be her little girl, one final time.   A gift to tell her I love her.  A gift for her to tell me she loves me.  A gift to see her make the decision this was the end of her life.  A gift for her to see the outpouring of love from her friends.  A gift to hear her labored breathing, as it slowed down every hour.   A gift to know it was peaceful.  A gift to hold her hand, as she took her last breath.  A gift to see her suffering end.  A gift to see her spirit finally at peace-forever.

To have had and to have known these things in my mom’s final week of her life, even with the pain and heartache, -the comfort it has brought me- I can’t fully describe. The only words I have are: A Gift.

Categories
Family & Friends Health Running

If the Running Shoe Fits…

Running has been almost non-existent this fall and early winter.  After I got a new pair of running shoes in September, I developed a bad shin splint on my left shin.  This happened to me last year as well, when I replaced my shoes.

I thought I needed to break them in more, so I tried running low mileage- a mile or two, a few times a week, in hopes my shin would start to feel better.  It didn’t, and it started to feel worse.  I was really disappointed because the wonderful people at Boa Technology put a custom pair of Boa laces in my new shoes, since I had these on my previous shoes, a pair from The North Face, the Boa Arvuna, which I adored.  I loved those shoes, but they were discontinued.  The Boa lacing system is superior- they don’t come untied and they stay tight. I swore after having the Boa system, I would never go back to regular shoe laces.   I wore the new custom shoes at my last race, the Denver Race for the Cure, before the shin splint developed.

By the time I could finally admit the shoes were not working for me, it was December.  I switched back to my old shoes, which were too small, while I decided what shoe to get next.  My old shoes hurt my feet, which is why I needed new shoes in the first place.  I felt like I was in a shoe black hole during the holidays and I cut down running even more because of foot pain.

In the meantime, I decided to play soccer once a week in an indoor co-ed league.  It looked like fun, and I thought it would be good cross training.  Some of my friends played on the league as well.  Shifting my  attention on soccer delayed my decision on running shoes. 

For some reason, I was having a really hard time saying good-bye to my North Face shoes.  I had accomplished a lot of running goals during the past year- some of which I never dreamed I would be able to do.  I was not sure if I’d be as successful as I wanted to be with another pair of shoes.  It sounds silly, but I suspect I’m not the only person who is attached to an important piece of gear for their sport. 

Meanwhile, John suggested I look into Pearl Izumi running shoes.  I read up on some of the pairs, and I had heard good things about them, but until you can wear them and run in them, it is hard to make a decision.  Over New Year’s we visited a Pearl Izumi outlet store.  The salesclerk who helped me said she ran a lot on trails and road, and recommended a pair, the Syncrofloat II.  I tried them on, ran around the store with them, and they felt good. But they had laces.  I wanted Boa laces.  And they were white and light pink.  I wasn’t crazy about the color.   But I noticed as I ran around the store in them, for the first time since my North Face shoes, I didn’t have any shin pain. The laces seemed to stay tight too.  So I compromised and made the best decision I could.  I bought them. 

I started breaking them in slowly- on a treadmill, so I could return them if I noticed any pain.  But I didn’t.  In fact, I started to like them the more I wore them.  They were comfortable. After running in shoes for over a year that were half a size too small, my feet felt like I had little pillows on them.  However, I was reserving my final judgment for trail and road running.

In January, I put the Pearl Izumi’s to the test.  I ran short distances- under two miles on trail, road, and bike paths.  No shin pain, or any pain anywhere else. The laces stay tight and I haven’t had them come untied yet.  I was almost ready to return to my serious running when I got hurt-again.

I was playing soccer in the first game, and was not used to the Astroturf.  I fell and the whole next week, my quad muscle hurt.  Not bad, but it didn’t feel quite normal.  Then the next game I was running and it just gave out.  I couldn’t run and it was killing me. I thought I had a cramp and stretched it out.  It felt better to try to play later in the game.  I kicked the ball with my opposite foot and while I did that, I felt my quad muscle pop.  I had definitely pulled it. 

So I’ve been resting again.  No soccer or heavy running for the past three weeks.  It has paid off, and my quad muscle is finally better. I ran pretty fast outside the other day and had no pain whatsoever.  

I decided during this break, that I am finally over the shoe issue and it’s time to accomplish some of the running goals I have.  However, I decided the best shot I will have at reaching these goals, means I stop playing soccer.  I’m not 21 anymore, and any injury can mean weeks of forced time off to heal.  Not losing any training days or weeks will be very important during the next nine weeks.

I have registered for my first half marathon in April!  I’m so excited. I have wanted to run a half marathon after the first 5K race I ran.  I was training to run one last Spring, but then my mom passed away suddenly, and I was not able to continue the training schedule.

I have the most supportive family, friends, kids, and my new running partners- my shoes.  🙂  I have to build my mileage back up, and get faster.  The few times I have run the 13.1 mile distance (not in a race); I ran it in 2:10.  My goal is to finish in sub 2 hours.  I have all the important elements in place to accomplish this.  All the pieces fit now.  They are waiting for me to take them and run.  That is what I am going to do.

Categories
Health Household Ryan School

Lice are Lousy

Lice. I hate that word, and I hate the havoc the nasty little bugs cause.  When I was small, I remember my mom constantly having to do head checks on us for lice.  There seemed to always be an infestation at school or at church.

My sister’s and I had hair down to our waists, so the procedure of my mom looking through all of that hair for lice eggs was not fun.  We never had lice, but she didn’t take any chances.  Whenever a new report of lice came out, we would have the head inspection, and all our bedding would be washed, and or stored away in garbage bags for a few weeks.  At the time, not a lot of information was out there about lice, so my mom was trying to be proactive.

I haven’t thought about lice in decades.  Until yesterday, when Ryan’s school said there had been a few confirmed cases of lice.  The afterschool care had his items double bagged in garbage bags, (just like when I was a kid), and said they were taking every precaution since one of the kids with lice has had it twice now. 

According to Kidshealth.org, some of the signs of lice are scalp itching, and small red bumps or sores from scratching. Lice can be seen with the naked eye, and some kids may even feel the lice and verbalize it.  Lice eggs can look like dandruff, but they will not flake off the hair when flicked, like dandruff will.

Kidshealth.org also has some good suggestions on how to get rid of lice, or prevent an reinfestation:

Wash all bed linens and clothing that’s been recently worn by anyone in your home who’s infested in very hot water (130° Fahrenheit, 54.4° Celsius), then put them in the hot cycle of the dryer for at least 20 minutes.

Dry clean any clothing that isn’t machine washable.

Have bed linens, clothing, and stuffed animals and plush toys that can’t be washed dry-cleaned. Or, put them in airtight bags for 2 weeks.

Vacuum carpets and any upholstered furniture (in your home or car).

Soak hair-care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands, headbands, and brushes in rubbing alcohol or medicated shampoo for 1 hour. You can also wash them in hot water or throw them away.           

I didn’t find a lot of information on preventing lice when you have never had it, although the above guidelines may apply if your child has been around an infested person. 

The school seems to have taken all the precautions they can.  Ryan told me even their classroom chairs are covered in plastic.  I talked to him about not sharing hats, combs, sunglasses, and the school is having their personal items plastic bagged for now.  I am also going to wash his clothes every night until the school is “deloused, “as an extra precaution.  I’d much rather do a small load of laundry daily, than have to deal with lice in our home, and the process of getting rid of them. 

There are a lot of natural remedies out there too, but I didn’t find anything very consistent.  I usually like natural remedies in most cases, but with lice, since they are so contagious, I think the conventional methods for treating lice is best and most effective to eliminate them completely. 

In the meantime, we will have Ryan’s coat and backpack bagged up every day, I’ll be doing laundry at night, and keeping my fingers crossed those dreaded nits don’t make an appearance in our house, or on our heads!

Categories
Cancer Health

Time for Thyroid Cancer Recurrence Tests

It’s been over year since I’ve had to write a blog post about my health.  I say “had to” meaning there was something I had to take care of in regards to my health cancer.  I’ve been very fortunate I haven’t had any issues or problems.

I was supposed to be tested for cancer recurrence this past fall, but because of insurance issues, I had to postpone it.  I was actually relieved I could put it off.  But, it was always there in the back of my mind- I couldn’t delay it forever.  With the New Year, I made myself call and reschedule the tests.

It’s been a while since I met with my endocrinologist to discuss tests procedures in detail.  But they entail injections of thyrogen, over a few days,  to raise my thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels to see if I have remaining or a recurrence of thyroid cancer cells. There is also blood work, and a full body scan after the week is over.  In reading more about this, some patients have to have some radioactive iodine (RAI) in order for the scan to be read,  but I haven’t verified with my doctor that will be the case for me.

Yesterday, I received a call from the drug company my doctor ordered thyrogen through.  They told me the thyrogen is over $2,000 with my insurance, and they said I had to pay for it out of pocket before they would ship it to my doctor.  I was expecting it to be expensive, but I wasn’t prepared for that price tag.  My only other “option” would be to go off my thyroid medication for several weeks and go into the hypothyroidism state again.  If you know about my cancer experience, being hypothroid was one of the worse experiences.  I felt like I was 100 years old, and I could barely function.  Obviously, that is not a realistic option.

Last night I was trying to figure things out, and not freak out about the cost. I hadn’t had time to call my insurance yesterday, but I did today and was on hold for almost an hour before I had to hang up, with other things I had to get to.  So needless to say, it’s been stressful thinking about these tests.  I don’t like thinking about how to pay for medicine I wish I didn’t need, for cancer tests, I wish I didn’t have to take. 

This afternoon I received a call from the drug company and they apologized.  They told me they had given me wrong information yesterday, and my insurance is paying for the thyrogen, and it had been shipped to my doctor.  That was good news, but I didn’t feel very happy about still having to take cancer tests- now I just don’t have to pay as much for them.  I still need to follow up with my insurance to find out if I am going to be billed for the thyrogen and how much.  In case others are struggling with this issue, Patient Access Network, was brought to my attention, and they help people cover the cost of co-payments for their cancer and chronic disease medications. 

Now I’ve switched  from thinking about finances to the tests.  The rate of thyroid cancer recurrences is very low.  It is around 3% for the type I had.  I’m told if I did have a recurrence, I would have to take another dose of RAI, and go from there.  The logical part of this tells me I’m fine, and there is nothing to worry about.  But if I am honest, I’m scared.  I don’t like thinking about having cancer again.  In a way, it feels almost worse than when I was first diagnosed, because I didn’t know what having cancer entailed.  Now I do. 

I know like the first time, it’s a battle of sorts-trying to balance the fears and uncertainty between the statistics and odds. I only had a one in ten chance of having thyroid cancer in the first place and I was that “one.”  So as much as I hate thinking about these tests, and what they entail, the only way to find out for sure is to take them.

So ready or not, happy or not, thyroid cancer recurrence tests, here I come.