Jacqui’s ThyCa Survivor Story

Here is my thyca story-

In November ’08 I started feeling not that great….my hair was falling out, I was gaining weight, had no energy…  I think I spent the better part of December in my bed, which is rare for me.   I went to my primary doctor and we tested my thyroid, he did not feel my neck.   Of course, the results were normal and he asked if maybe I was depressed or eating too much, which I have learned is a common response….by March ’09, St. Patrick’s Day to be exact and still feeling lousy, I had my annual gyno exam.    My doc said that my neck looked enlarged and after feeling it, she thought my thyroid was “engorged”.    I had a follow-up visit with my primary, he in turn looked at my last chart saying that my thyroid levels were normal, I asked him to please feel my neck and whoa, yes, its enlarged!   I had an ultrasound done about a week later and I had a very large nodule on the right side and a few small ones with calcification on the left side.   My primary insisted I see a certain endocrinologist which took 6 weeks to get an appt.    I was unhappy with the doctor so I found an ENT of my own.     We decided to definitely take out the right side with the large nodule and after I had a biopsy would decide on doing a TT.    Unfortunately my biopsy was not until the week before my scheduled surgery, my results were negative so I decided to just take out the right side.   June ’09 I had my first surgery and a week later was diagnosed with follicular cancer with hurthel cells….luckily my cancer was encapsulated in the tumor and had not spread to my lymph nodes.    July ’09, a month later, I had the TT and in August ’09 my RAI.    I just had my first year follow-up scan and Thyrogen in August ’10 and I am happy to say that it was clean!     So I consider myself in remission right now and will have two more years of body scans and of course  every 3 months blood work done.    My doctor tells me that after 5 years of no recurrence they will consider me cured!!     This has been quite a journey for me with gains and losses.    I have gained 70 lbs in the last year and a half because of the disease, but have gained a strength in myself that I didn’t know existed,……I have lost my two best friends because of the disease, but gained a close relationship with my father that was not there before….I have gained a huge respect for people fighting disease and the friends and family that support them.  That’s my story in a nutshell!!