May 1 is something of an anniversary for me – it’s a year today since my thyroid and the tumour attached to it were removed. So, what’s changed? What’s happened? What did I learn in that time? Perhaps just as importantly, what has stayed the same? I’ll start with a change. A colleague and teacher, […]
Tag: cancer
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Level Boss Cleared
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.
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Splitting Blood Cells
I came across an interesting example of pedantry this week while having the latest in my battery of blood tests. That distinction seems to be based on (a) who filled out the referral form and (b) why the test has been ordered.
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“Thyroid Goblins”
A visit to the endocrinologist went well today, but the word thyroglobulin caused Meghan some troubles, thus the title of this post. Like all good goblins, my thyroglobulin levels need to be kept low. Or, rather, if they spike, it would be an indication of recurrence. To make sure the cancer stays away, they’ll be […]
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Scar Track
For your grisly viewing pleasure, here is my scar as it has progressed since surgery on May 1. You can judge the progress by either the healing of the scar, or the growth of my beard – your choice. If you’re wondering why I’m sharing scar pics, check out the first 20 seconds of this […]
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Waiting, Dehydrating and all that
I haven’t written for a while, mostly because I haven’t known what to write. I’m in a kind of frustrating wait zone at the moment, half-way between an ‘all-clear’ and ‘more treatment’. But I had a phone call from my endocrinologist today, so that has sparked me to write something.
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Radioiodine Ablation
I’m having the first of two injections this morning of a very expensive drug, Thyrogen, ahead of my radioidine ablation this weekend. Thyrogen costs $1901.52 for two doses, but is fortunately on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS), and so only costs the patient (me!) $36.10. We were given a prescription for the Thyrogen on our […]
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Up and Down Again
It seems the good spirits of my last blog post were a little premature. A shortish time after I had got through chronicling how well I was feeling, I noticed a letter in the mail box. The letter was from my surgeon to my endocrinologist, CCd to me, and included my pathology results. Radioactive iodine […]
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What did you say?
“What?” has been Meghan’s favourite phrase this week, as I’ve had a very weak voice but still insist on saying things from different rooms or over noises like the dishwasher or television. Other than that, I’m recovering well. I’ve had some swelling in the last few days, and a bit of nausea to boot, but […]
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Blergh Continued
Predictably, following surgery I’m feeling even more unwell than I was last week. But there are some immediate upsides too. Aside from the pain in my neck, I have a pretty nasty cough and apparently my left vocal chord isn’t working because the laryngeal nerve was “stretched” to give room for the tumour to be […]