I'm a little behind in my blogging due to LIFE! I will try and catch up on our past few weeks in the next couple of blogs but first I need to finish up on surgery talk.
Ron and I went to an appointment a few weeks ago to my very amazing
endocrinologist. If it hadn't been for her I would not have found out that I had thyroid cancer and had it removed in a timely manner.
Our follow-up appointment with her was to see if my medication was right and also to check and see if I would need any further treatment. We needed to go over the blood work with her. My heart started beating a little faster when I first looked at the lab. The surgeon had told me that because I no longer have a thyroid my thyroglobulin level should be zero. If had any count it would mean that cancer was still present. My reading was over 300! I took a deep breath and waited for the doctor to tell me what I was now fearing. She explained that my levels should be zero but because I also have Hashimoto's disease (an autoimmune disease) that the lab results could not be truly trusted. After a year of taking high synthroid medication my blood work should then be more reliable.
So....how do I know if the cancer is gone? First, the lymph nodes taken around the thyroid did not have cancer. The three cancer nodules that were removed were very contained, small and at the early stages. So, no treatments at this point!
In September, I will need to go for another neck ultrasound to ensure that the cancer hasn't spread and have more blood work done to make sure that the medication is doing what the thyroid was suppose to do.
How am I feeling? I would say pretty much back to normal. I still get very tired when we have had a busy day. I have heard from others that have gone through the same surgery that the tiredness is something that I will also have to deal with.
I am so thankful to be at this end of things and know that all I need to do now is continue to build my strength back up and enjoy the summer!
More on that in my next blog....
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