A little bit of everything...handmade items, travel, gardening, photography, and cooking.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Fleece Pet Beds
Just a quick post to show off a couple of pet beds I made. My cats are spoiled rotten, but these would be great for a smaller dog as well :) They are so easy to make and my cats love them. I added 1 to my Etsy store so far..The polka dot one apparently has been spoken for!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Thyroid Cancerversary!!
On February 23, 2002, I was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer. That date is significant for me in a couple of ways. Not only is it the day I was diagnosed, but it is also my late brothers' birthday. My brother, Joe, was 16 when he passed away in 1986. I was 11. Back in 2002, I took this as a bad sign, but 10 years later and cancer free, Feb 23rd is once again a good day!
I can't believe 10 years have passed! I was 25 years old and scared out of my mind. It all started with a lump on the back of my neck. It had been there for YEARS and nobody thought anything of it. Finally, I got a Dr who took notice and sent me for tests. I am glad he did! Since, it went undiagnosed for so long, it wasn't a simple surgery. Most cases of thyroid cancer require the removal of just the thyroid. I had 2 surgeries, lucky me. First was a marathon 13 hours of thyroid removal and a right radical neck dissection. Sounds gross, but basically they had to get in there and get all the lymph nodes. Second surgery was for the other half of my neck. In total, they removed 50+ lymph nodes with more than half testing positive for cancer. YIKES....I was left with a scar from ear to ear, and also lost my right vocal cord. That same year, I went through my first round of radioactive iodine. See, the "good" thing about thyroid cancer (in most cases) is there is no chemo! It is a 3 day process (for me at least) Day 1, you go in for a tracer dose..Day 2, you go in for scans..the tracer dose from the day before should light up any areas affected. Day 3, is the big dose. They determine how much based on the scans from Day 2. I had no side effects at all from this. The only thing I had to do was stay away from people for a week or so, and not get too close to children. No big deal for me at all..The low iodine diet before hand was a killer though! In total I have had 2 treatments of radioactive iodine. For those familiar with amounts, I have had a total 409 millicuries. It is a pretty large amount. My initial scans also showed spots in my lungs, which are now clear! I go every 6 months for blood tests and have routine scans, xrays, etc.
How has my life changed from this??? Cancer is not a death sentence..I know I had a "good" cancer, and it is highly treatable, but it is still cancer, and that is scary enough. I still have a hard time with my scar. People tell me to get over it, and be proud of it..well I am a girl, and I am super self conscious! I own many turtlenecks and scarves. It is my security blanket, and I am sticking with it. I still get nervous every 6 months going to the Dr. You never know when or if it will creep back up on you. Back then, I never thought I would be here in 10 years..that is how little I knew about thyroid cancer! So YAY for me! 10 Years!!!
I can't believe 10 years have passed! I was 25 years old and scared out of my mind. It all started with a lump on the back of my neck. It had been there for YEARS and nobody thought anything of it. Finally, I got a Dr who took notice and sent me for tests. I am glad he did! Since, it went undiagnosed for so long, it wasn't a simple surgery. Most cases of thyroid cancer require the removal of just the thyroid. I had 2 surgeries, lucky me. First was a marathon 13 hours of thyroid removal and a right radical neck dissection. Sounds gross, but basically they had to get in there and get all the lymph nodes. Second surgery was for the other half of my neck. In total, they removed 50+ lymph nodes with more than half testing positive for cancer. YIKES....I was left with a scar from ear to ear, and also lost my right vocal cord. That same year, I went through my first round of radioactive iodine. See, the "good" thing about thyroid cancer (in most cases) is there is no chemo! It is a 3 day process (for me at least) Day 1, you go in for a tracer dose..Day 2, you go in for scans..the tracer dose from the day before should light up any areas affected. Day 3, is the big dose. They determine how much based on the scans from Day 2. I had no side effects at all from this. The only thing I had to do was stay away from people for a week or so, and not get too close to children. No big deal for me at all..The low iodine diet before hand was a killer though! In total I have had 2 treatments of radioactive iodine. For those familiar with amounts, I have had a total 409 millicuries. It is a pretty large amount. My initial scans also showed spots in my lungs, which are now clear! I go every 6 months for blood tests and have routine scans, xrays, etc.
How has my life changed from this??? Cancer is not a death sentence..I know I had a "good" cancer, and it is highly treatable, but it is still cancer, and that is scary enough. I still have a hard time with my scar. People tell me to get over it, and be proud of it..well I am a girl, and I am super self conscious! I own many turtlenecks and scarves. It is my security blanket, and I am sticking with it. I still get nervous every 6 months going to the Dr. You never know when or if it will creep back up on you. Back then, I never thought I would be here in 10 years..that is how little I knew about thyroid cancer! So YAY for me! 10 Years!!!
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