Where I am at.
This will probably be a fairly short post since I am exhausted but I know it has been a while since I have said anything at all! We received the final pathology from the doctors and were quite pleased to learn that all eight of the lymph nodes removed showed no signs of cancer. Besides the main tumor in the right thyroid lobe they found two more smaller tumors – one on each lobe of the thyroid. That is irrelevant now since my entire thyroid is removed. But it did give more insight into how my cancer was spreading and how to treat it.
I went off the Cytomel medication on Friday – the medication that is regulating my body now that I do not have a thyroid- and started the low iodine diet on Monday. This is all in preparation for the Radioactive Iodine Ablation I will start on April 13th. I will go for lab work the Thursday before the ablation starts to confirm my TSH are above 35 and we can proceed with treatment. I am back to hitting a brick wall since I am in what is commonly known as hypo hell. And to think this is just the beginning of it. To be fair, my doctors did warn me that this will be an extremely difficult month to get through. On April 13th, I will go into isolation in my room. The girls will go to a hotel for at least 5 days. They can then be back in the house with me but I have to stay in my room away from them for a while longer. Then I will have the body scan to determine what thyroid cells might be left and if the cancer has spread anywhere. I am not sure of the particulars of it all but I am learning as I go!
Brian and I enjoyed a nice trip away this past weekend. We checked into the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel and barely left the property. We ended up staying club level and I was thankful I did not have to be on the low iodine diet with all the food courses they were serving. When they state continuous food and beverage service in the club level description, they are not kidding! I did sneak away to have brunch with some of my oldest and dearest friends. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to see them all in one place and I truly enjoyed their company. I will post some pictures in the next day or so.
So here’s to continuing the battle and being thankful that I have been blessed with such wonderful friends and family through it all!
