Thursday, March 22, 2007

one-year benchmark

It hit me earlier: today makes one full year that I've been a cancer survivor.

It's no small potatoes.

I met with my new endocrinologist today, and I think I'm really going to like her. We drew another tumor marker to see if it's still going up. I told her that I've been feeling a new lump in my throat when I swallow, but thankfully she couldn't feel anything when she mashed around.

We should hear about the lab we drew today (thyroglobulin) early next week. After that comes back we will start to plan towards my third radioactive Iodine treatment (RAI). We'll schedule another PET scan. I'll be going off of my Synthroid and moving to the shorter-acting thyroid supplementation for four weeks before going cold turkey for a couple of weeks before the RAI dose. You'll again get to read about the horrors of eating the low Iodine diet and hypothyroid constipation. Try to hold your enthusiasm; there's plenty of poo to write about until then.

The third time is a charm. Even as a kid I waited until at least "2 1/2" to stop whatever I was doing that prompted Dad to count to three. So I'm thinking that these stubborn cells will get zapped and not know what hit them this time. If, after the third treatment, my thyroglobulin does not go down to zero, The Hater and I will have to go see the big-wigs at MD Anderson. We don't particularly want to do that, so when the time comes we'll mobilize the prayer troupes and call forth the healing powers of good vibrations.

It's been a year, and I wish I could say that it's over, but we're just not there yet. Tonight I'm celebrating with chocolate.

4 comments:

Molly Jane said...

Love you, miss you.
Jane

Kate Mc said...

Holy crap. It's been a year?! I imagine some days it seems like forever and other days it seems like no time has passed at all...

Cynthia said...

Happy Cancer-versary! What a day to celebrate...I wish I would have know yesterday, I would have sent you a big congrats via email.

Though it may be the most treatable, Thyroid Cancer is the most drawn out. You have to wait 6 weeks to get off the Synthroid to do an ablation or whole body scan. Another week after the RAI to see where it was taken-up, then wait 6 months or more to see if it did it's job. It sucks, it's drawn out, it's tiring enough wihtout having your TSH being shot through the roof on purpose. Uhg! Hang in there...God doesn't pick sissies to do this job.

Anonymous said...

Its been five years for me, and my last round of tests all showed negativo. It is something to celebrate, for sure. But your life is changed forever. VolMom