Today, I’ve had two coinciding momentous life events. The first was the (effective) end of something that has overshadowed my life since about December 2012. The second was a relatively minor event that marks, for me, a big step toward my future. They were, respectively, an “all clear” on my battle with insular carcinoma of the thyroid and successful completion of my first class as a university tutor. I’ll cover the tutoring in another post and cancer here.
First though, a key pop culture reference about how I’m feeling right now:
Ok, that being dispensed with, onto my final chapter (hopefully).
I’ve had a horrible couple of weeks. A low-iodine diet, followed carefully, is very restrictive. I’ve been on one for a fortnight or so. I’ve also had no thyroid medication in that time. It’s all part of the lead up to a radioactive iodine scan. I also had a PET scan to boot. Anyway, the long and the short is I have been feeling really yuck, without comfort food to help.
You know what, though? It’s a small price to pay for longer term health. And I will note, as I have in the past, that I have been very lucky compared to other cancer sufferers. I’ve railed against the term “the good cancer” before, but my experience has largely been free of major complications.
That doesn’t mean it has been smooth sailing by any means. Following the radio-iodine uptake scan, I heard the techs talking about “a large lump”. Then they came and ran another scan with little explanation. Soon after, I was ushered to a waiting room “for about ten minutes”, where I waited for 25. Needless to say, I was getting pretty panicky. Finally, a doctor appeared and told me the scan showed no indication of the cancer. The “lump” they had been discussing was just my stomach.
All good, right? Not quite. The doc was quite evasive on the results of the PET and told me I’d have to speak with my endocrinologist for more information. The next day (today, Tuesday March 11) I did just that. She told me the PET scan showed a non-specific inflammation on both sides of my neck but not to worry, the thyroglobulin levels were very low so there’s not likely to be cancer. The endo used the words, “all clear”. Some other docs will review the scan and I might need an ultrasound on it, so it’s a little provisional, but I’m taking the win.
If you want to celebrate with me, donate to the Cancer Council. Better yet, donate to my Rotary team in this year’s Relay for Life.
To be clear, I’m not getting any kickbacks from promoting these tee-shirt sites, I just appreciate the work.
3 replies on “Level Boss Cleared”
Hi Travis: Jenny and I are REALLY pleased about this. Congratulations and all power to you for your tutes and especially your ongoing good health. Oh, and f*ck the big C
Oh, and we’ll see you at Relay for Life where we’ll remember Jenny’s late husband and friends who haven’t made it.
Absolutely Ray, it’ll be a bittersweet moment for me. On one hand, I’m grateful and thankful for my own survival and on the other I’m still grieving for my nan who died only a little while before my own diagnosis.