It's hard to imagine that 25 years ago today, at just about this hour, I was in my hospital room at Genesis East in the Quad Cities, recovering from my total thyroidectomy and partial neck dissection. It was (and is) the Feast of St. Joseph. My surgeon's first name was Joseph - I felt that was a good omen.
I wish I could say that as of today I am 25 years cancer free...but that's not been my story. The thyroid cancer recurred later that same year, 1996, and I had surgery again on August 16th. From there I was never really out of the woods with a Thyroglobulin (Tg, cancer marker) that was always creeping upward...ever so slowly. Early on I recall blood work that would say I had undetectable Tg, but when it was stimulated (with a high TSH), it was detectable. So, there it lurked...waiting to wake up.
The cancer did wake up in 2012. Thanks to amazing doctors at Mayo Clinic, I benefited from Ethanol Ablation and since then, I have had N.E.D. (no evidence of disease). So, I guess I'm thyroid cancer "free" for 8 and a half years, while on this 25 year journey. Bottom line - I'M SILL HERE to fight!
I had my Mayo Clinic check up earlier this week. We did it virtually by using a blood draw kit that was mailed to me. I had blood drawn locally (in Joplin, MO because I like the medical facilities there) and I had a bone density test in Joplin as well. Here are the details:
Tg undetectable (YAY!) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies are less than 1.8 (YAY).
TSH = 0.4 - too low for my taste AND I managed to skip two pills the week prior (which almost never happens...but it did)...so my TSH might actually be even lower. I will re-test it in a few weeks (around 6-8 weeks from now) and we'll decide what to do with my levothyroxine. I would like to take less! Taking too much leads to bone loss and an increased chance of A-Fib.
A1C = 6.1 - pre-diabetic. I've been here before...more exercise, fewer carbs, take off some more weight and that will be OK. The doc said there was no need for medication.
Bone Density test - I've reversed the bone loss from the hyperparathyroidism (yet another whole story, read below if interested) and things look good!
Plan: Retest TSH in a few weeks and he'll retest Creatinine too since I was a bit dehydrated when I did the blood test and he wants to make sure this ever-so-slight elevation is not a big deal. Do a neck ultrasound in 1 year at Mayo Clinic. Do a bone density test in three years.
So here I am 25 years into this journey, and to celebrate, we are eating St. Joseph's pastry that I had shipped in from NYC. We'll also watch a movie tonight. It's a far cry from 2005 when we had the "life party" to celebrate 15 years...but COVID changes everything.
I wish my Mother were still alive to see me reach this milestone. She passed away on Easter Sunday, 2020 - April the 12th. I think this is a synchronicity - but I'll have my second Pfizer COVID vaccine soon and the day I achieve 95% immunity per the CDC is April 12th, 2021. Mom's smiling from Heaven.
Well dear friends and family - stay well, continue to mask up, continue to fight the good fight, stay healthy and reach out when you can!
For more great resources on Thyroid Cancer, go to www.thyca.org and be sure to check out the 9th Edition of the Low Iodine Cookbook where I served as lead editor with two other wonderful volunteers. For questions about the diet and using it to prepare for thyroid scans or treatments with radioactive iodine, write to recipes@thyca.org.
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