First appointment with the Oncologist

I went back to work this week. It wasn't easy but it was probably good for me because I really had to stretch my neck around. The women I work with were amazing and helped me where they could and every day this week someone brought us dinner that I just had to take home from work. That helped me out in more ways than I could have imagined. Thank you Laura, Janet, Keona, and Jordan. Love working with these women! I feel pretty lucky at my job. My patients were amazing and caring too. Having people care about me really helps carry me through.

My first appt with the Oncologist was yesterday, May 24. I had a hard time yesterday, mentally. It's unnerving walking into MSTI. Everyone was really kind to us checking in and getting started. There was one room that had wigs and hats for people who lose their hair during chemotherapy. As hard as this has been, it could be so much worse for me. Drs have said to me before that if you have to have cancer then Thyroid cancer is the one you want. Well, I really didn't want to go through this but to be honest I feel blessed in a lot of ways. This has changed my outlook on life and it will make me and my family stronger. I have my down days of course but I really do feel lucky it's just Thyroid Cancer. I will fight this. I know this cancer won't be what takes me down!

Onto the visit with Dr. Smith. First off, the nurse with him was a patient of mine. She gave me a hug and it I had a lot of comfort having her there. Dr. Smith says we need to do the Radioactive Iodine before the scan even if the cancer has spread to my lungs, bones, etc. He said that if they do the scan first that the amount of Iodine they use can give them a false scan. So we will do Radioactive Iodine first. I was a little disappointed at first because I am anxious to know where it's at but he said it won't matter because treatment stays the same. So I will remain patient. 

There are many types of Thyroid Cancer and my was Papillary Carcinoma. When the pathology report came back from surgery it showed there were Follicular Cells mixed in and that worried us at first having both types of cells but then Dr. Smith explained that it's better to have the mix because the Radioactive Iodine will only be picked up by healthy thyroid cells and Follicular cells so if it was just Papillary then they can't do this treatment. 

What does all this mean exactly?  First off I have to go off the thyroid meds they gave me. I have to let the TSH build in my body for the treatment to work. So for the next two weeks I won't take any medications. Then on July 8 I will go in and have my labs drawn. If my TSH is over 30 then they will put in the order for the Radioactive Iodine. July 13 I will go in and then take my pill. There are some side effects but NOTHING like chemotherapy. Again, I feel lucky. I will then be radioactive for 48 hours for adults. He said that I can be around adults right away as long as it's 3 feet away but I should stay away from my kids. I'll quarantine myself and use my own bathroom. He said 90% of the radiation gets secreted out of my urine so I will have my own bathroom.  I can't be around my girls though for 4 days. 

It will work out pretty well because they will go to daycare like normal and then Curtis can care for them. We will need someone to come here in the morning when Curtis is gone and drive the girls over. Other than that, this shouldn't be too hard. I have only spent one night away from Paige (when I had surgery) and so it will be hard doing 4 days but we will survive. 

So that's it for now. One week after my treatment I will have my scan so by the end of July we will have some better answers.

Thank you for caring, for checking in on us, for following our story. Sometimes it's hard to put it all out there. But it's our life for now.