Radiation 101

I saw the radiation oncologist today, who went over the radioactive iodine treatment with me. He told me things very similar to the link I posted way below, but the good news is we're going to try to do the treatment Aug. 4th. It entirely depends on my hormone levels, but he thinks my blood tests in two weeks will probably give us the green light. Let's hope so, because if I have to wait another week, I'll have to start it on the 11th...which is our anniversary. :P The not-so-good news is my cancer is a stage 3, so he has to give me a double dose of the radiation (200 millicuries, whatever that is). The other not-so-good news is that he gave me a 50/50 chance I'll have to do this treatment again in 6 months. But again, this is a heck of a lot easier than regular radiation treatments, so I will be thankful even if I have to do it twice. They will do a scan a week after I take the radioactive iodine pill to see if the cancer was killed, then I'll have the OK to come home.

On a lighter note, I had like 3 people in the hospital tell me how good my scar looked for being only 2 and 1/2 weeks old. :) One of them had a daughter that went to my Dr. when she needed her thyroid out and ended up having someone else do the procedure because he told her he could GUARANTEE her singing voice would not be lost. It's been 3 years and she still has a nice voice, but she also has a very nasty scar. Her mom said MY scar looks better than hers and my singing voice is almost back to what it used to be already. Not to be COMPLETELY sappy, but I really believe your prayers and love are a BIG reason for that! Love you all so much!!!

The Grand Unveiling!

Ta da!!! Here it is, the first real look at the scar. As you can see, from far away it's hardly noticable! And the bumps and ridges you can see up close will go down in time. You can also see a little redness from the tape, but that too will go away in a day. I'm keeping lots of vitamin E and sunscreen on it. :)

A quick update: I was a little disappointed today when the physician's assistant told me that, from his experience, most people don't do the radioactive iodine for about 6 weeks after surgery, waiting for their hormone levels to be where they need to be. I REALLY hope I'm the exception to the rule (as I have been through almost this entire thing) and can start the treatment sooner so I don't have to miss school. Or WORSE, not be able to play with my little nephew when he and my sis come to visit. But the GOOD news is it really is a one-time dose with a follow-up scan. I'll need to be scanned every year as well, but he's very conident the RA-I (radioactive iodine) will do the job. More info on Friday after I see the oncologist! Loves to you all! Again, your love and prayers and help sustain me more than you know! :)

Radioactive Iodine Treatment

I now have an appointment with the radiation oncologist on July 18th. From there, we will find out when I can do the radioactive iodine treatment. It all depends on my hormone and iodine levels, but I'm hopeful that we can do it the first week of August. That would give me about 2 weeks recovery before school starts and before my wonderful sister and nephew come for a visit. It's not NEARLY as bad as chemo: I take one dose of the stuff, they do a scan, and I get to have a vacation...from my PROBLEMS (that's a throw back to the classic What About Bob, fyi). I get to hole myself up in my Dad's basement for a week. I will literally be "hot" so I can't be around children and should only be close to adults for small amounts of time. But no worries, I'm going to rent LOTS of movies, bring scrapbooking stuff with me (not that I'll DO it), walk on the treadmill (again, not that I'll DO it), read good books and play on the computer. It really WILL be a vacation, aren't you jealous?!

Nasty thyroid picture

Here's the picture of the nasty bugger! The Dr. said it was really big, although not the biggest he'd seen. He DID say it was the most misshapen, ugliest one he'd ever seen. Yeah, I aim to please. ;)

The big blobs all over are nodules, and they all tested positive for cancer. You can see it closer if you click on the picture, but the entire thing measured over 4 inches (11 cm). It's actually flipped around; the left side was the really bad one.

Here's a good website to see what a REAL thyroid is supposed to look like http://www.trifoundation.com/thyroid/whatIsThyroid.cfm

Thanks to my AWESOME sister Tiffany, we now know that:

Normal is no more than 3-4 cm in height, 1-1.5 cm in width and 2-3 mm in depth. So, yeah, my thyroid was (as the pathologist put it) "really impressive".

Quick update: I got my stitches out today and it looks MUCH better. I get the steri-tape off in another week, and my calcium's so good I don't have to go in for a test until Thursday! Yeah for me! I'm also taking a nap a day and really don't feel too bad so far. Again, the help and love from friends and family is the BIGGEST reason for that. I love you all SO much!

Surgery

This just in! New pics from today. I get the steri-tape off on Monday, but see how much better it looks already? :D

Hello all! OK, so an update on my thyroidectomy.

The surgery itself took a long time, about 4 and 1/2 hours, because it turns out my entire thyroid was just one big, cancerous tumor. The Dr. had to dig under my collar bone to get nodules out, it had spread so badly. Ugh. The pathologist could hardly find any regular thyroid tissue! He also tested the surrounding lymph nodes that were taken out. These have cancer, like we feared, but the Dr. is very positive and thinks we can kill them all with the radioactive iodine treatment in about 4 weeks.

My voice is ok, just weak and scratchy. Throat still hurts too much to try singing, but this Dr. was AMAZING. He actually found some tumor on my vocal chord that he separated off by hand. Wow...

The scar isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, I look like Jack the Ripper got to me in a back alley somewhere, but it's a small price to pay! Dr. assures me that within a year it will blend in to the folds in my neck. Wasn't sure that comforted me, really ;)

The biggest problem I've had since the surgery: calcium. It's not just for bones, people! Did you know that if your calcium level drops you could go into cardiac arrest?! Again, the things I'm learning are incredible! So, yes, that's why I've been in the hospital all week, my calcium still hasn't kept up like my Dr. wants it to. I got home last night (yeah!) but have to go in every morning for 3 days (boo!) to get calcium level tested and maybe have an IV for it. Speaking of, I really need to go. I will update with nasty pictures and everything later! Much love!!!