There are few statements that can light a fire under me as much as someone telling me that " Oh, you have  ( or had) thyroid cancer! That's the good cancer, right? Aren't you lucky? It is so easily treatable and the prognosis is great! " I had thyroid cancer in 2010, and have dealt with these comments for years. It was not too long before I put my Southern manners aside, and tried to educate others on thyroid cancer- specifically why it is not the " good cancer".  First the obvious. the words "Cancer " and "good " usually do not belong in the same sentence! Who in the world thinks ha ..read more

 As thyroid cancer patients, we have all certainly been through a lot! Surgeries, radioactive treatments, biopsies- in fact we still go through a lot trying to maintain our health. Constant dosage adjustments with our thyroid medications so that we can feel somewhat " normal", blood work to monitor thyroglobulins ( a predictor of  possible thyroid cancer recurrence) , ultrasounds to check for thyroid cancer spread ( I call them goblins), and for me, at least, the search for a physician who will listen to how I am feeling and is willing to work with me cooperatively to maintain good h ..read more

In 2010, I was diagnosed with stage three Papillary with Follicular variant thyroid cancer. I had a total thyroidectomy, with eleven lymph nodes and two cancerous parathyroid glands removed. A couple of months after my surgery, I had a quite large dose of the I-131 so that this would hopefully kill any remaining cancerous "rogue" thyroid cancer cells. I am happy to say that I am still in remission, thanks in great part to a wonderful endocrinologist. Here are some things that I have learned over the past twelve years. Everyone's experience is different, but I hope that by sharing what I have l ..read more

It has been a while since I posted a blog! Summer has been a busy, but unusual one for me. I have had the pleasure of taking care of our grandchildren, two of them while their parents took a vacation, and at times, all four! This has been enjoyable, but let's just say that I am not as young as I used to be. I certainly was ready for a rest after they returned home. I was and still am dealing with some health issues... but first the good news.  After several tries, I have finally found an endocrinologist who will listen to me. When I write " be your own best patient advocate" I truly mean ..read more

 I have long suspected a link between my TSH levels and my cholesterol levels. WebMD states that " If you have thyroid disease, you're more prone to have high cholesterol levels. In fact, as many as 13% of people who have hypothyroidism will also have high levels of " bad" LDL cholesterol. Hypothyroidism is also linked with too high levels of triglycerides( blood fats that are associated with cholesterol). Both of these issues increase your risk for heart disease and stroke." OK, here  is my proof! Well, part of it. I was curious about cancer patients, like me, who had a total thyroi ..read more

 I have long wondered about a possible connection between thyroid disorders and liver function tests. The following  is anecdotal evidence, primarily involving myself and another family member ( who shall remain nameless). When all was well in thyroid test/function land, our liver enzymes were in the normal range. However, when I or this other unnamed individual had a dosage change or were feeling poorly, i.e, in the very  hypothyroid range, our liver enzymes were elevated. I have also read comments on other thyroid cancer websites expressing the same concern- or, " my thyroid f ..read more

People who have been reading my blogs lately, and thank you if this includes you!, may have noticed that I am still  searching for an endocrinologist that is a good fit for me. My endocrinologist of over 20 years retired recently, and I have been searching for, to be honest, someone just like her. She was intelligent, kind, sensible, explained the reasons for treatments, and was  easy to talk to. She did not sit behind a big desk and lecture on what she was going to do. She sat beside me and we discussed my blood work, and there was a little give and take. She respected my opinion, a ..read more

 When one hears the term, PTSD or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, one immediately thinks of a person who has suffered a traumatic injury in combat. Lately there has been interest from the medical profession in PTSD among patients who have/had cancer. Sometimes this is referred to as CR-PTSD ( Cancer related posttraumatic stress disorder).  No one wants to have the "Big C." A cancer diagnosis can cause fear, physical and emotional suffering, a strain on financial stability, as well as alienation from family and friends. When the word "Cancer" is used, chemotherapy, hair loss, nausea an ..read more

 First off, I have not written a blog in quite some time! This is partially  due to the demands of the holiday season. I love having my family visit, but there is quite a bit of preparation required when one has family members and friends over to visit . It is wonderful being able to have some " safe" family and friend  time again, but it does require some work and planning. This involves the first challenge that I am going to talk about: fatigue. It is difficult for anyone with  a thyroid to imagine how much fatigue a thyroid cancer patient can be dealing with. No matter h ..read more

I am a thyroid cancer survivor, and a breast cancer survivor. Those who read my blog will know this already. When I started my thyroid cancer blog, eleven years ago, I had no idea that I would be diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years later. After my breast cancer diagnosis,  I tried writing a second blog- a breast cancer blog- but decided that it was just too much to juggle. My solution has been to write a sort of " twofer" blog and incorporate information on both thyroid cancer  and breast cancer. I do focus primarily on thyroid cancer, as there are already a lot of breast cancer blo ..read more