after several calls back and forth to my endo, don't you just love, love phone tag? i found out that my endo HAS been using color, doppler ultrasound. as to why my test only takes about 5-10 minutes and not 45 as recommended by thyca, i can not be sure. my doctor's nurse assured me that they were using the correct test ( she called the place that i called for a second test ) which will detect small movement in blood flow around small tumors or suspicious lymph nodes. i feel better, but at my next test- in september- i am going to be armed with lots of questions for the ultra sound technician, as well as my doctor. i will resemble someone from the " show me" state, you can be sure.
it took me a long time to get my cancer diagnosis. i wasted valuable time, literally, listening to another endo tell me that my " weird " blood tests were caused by stress. after a time, too long admittedly, i left his practice to go to my current endo. she ordered the biopsy, and the rest is history, i guess. because of this, i am passionate about thyroid and thyroid cancer patients getting second opinions if they are not comfortable with their condition or treatment. patients should read books, go to respected internet sites,keep copies of their tests,just to name a few things. everyone should be their own patient advocate. think about it- you need to be able to trust your doctor of course, but what you are dealing here is your life.
i faxed the sheet from thyca with the ultrasound information to my doctor. she asked that i do so. i appreciate that she is interested, and never has used the word " stress" with me! everyone has stress of some sort in their lives, and it certainly affects our lives and overall health, but sometimes it becomes the easy out. instead of digging into what might have been causing my strange blood tests, fatigue, etc. my former doctor chose to blame it on stress. when i was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer i was already in stage three. it had spread to two of my parathyroids and lymphatic system. i wish that i had been diagnosed earlier, of course, but at this point i can just go forward. i have to pay attention to what tests are being done, how i feel, and while i trust my doctor( she saved my life) i have to still do what is best for me.
in my practice, i seem to be a magnet for thyroid cancer patients. i met another person just this past week. he came in to ask about a vitamin to boost his immune system, (FYI: vitamin D is much better for that than vitamin C ) , but on further discussion, i learned that he was a "new" thyroid cancer patient. he had just had his surgery and was facing the I-131 treatment. he did not know what kind of thyroid cancer that he had, what stage he was in, or anything at all about the I-131. i told him how the I-131 works, and what side effects he might encounter. i asked him to please come in and ask questions, and i would do my best to help him. i also asked that he please let me know how he is doing.
some people are just lucky i guess. they move through life and get the correct treatment without any effort on their part. but in the majority of cases, we must make good choices and be informed if we are to be successful in taking care of ourselves.
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