in fact, i feel like a mouse who has just had her nest turned up by a plow. despite our best efforts in planning, life seems to get in our way and turn up our little, comfortable nests. my ancestors were scottish, so a poem by robert burns seems appropriate- not just for the sentiment.
my" best laid plans" were to have my usual 6 months thyroid cancer check up starting with blood work next week. then the week following that, i would be discussing the results with my endocrinologist. i also have a bone density test and an ultrasound of my neck( to make sure there are no beasties there) scheduled on the day of my office visit. of course, now ,i have to cancel all of this. i am not sure when/ how i will reschedule all of these tests.
i am not having any problems with my neck area , that i am aware of, and of course my breast cancer issues have trumped my thyroid cancer. still, i am a little nervous missing the six month check up. my endocrinologist keeps me on a six month schedule because i not only had thyroid papillary cancer, but a small section of follicular variant- which is a more aggressive type of cancer. leave it to me to be a little different.
i am going to call on monday and cancel my appointments with the endocrinologist. i called yesterday, but the office was closed. i had hoped to make at least the office visit,tests,etc, and thought that i could if i had to have just the lumpectomy. but i am sure that i will not feel like riding for 8 hours in the car to see my endocrinologist after my mastectomy(s).
yes, i am now considering asking about a double mastectomy. i have just heard the news about the actress, Rita Wilson, and her decision to have a double mastectomy. i am not sure about the details of her cancer versus mine, but she did have the same cancer as i do- which is called invasive lobular. anyone who has met me for a few minutes probably knows that i am a " worrier" kind of person. i have dense tissue and calcifications in both breasts. i would very much like to not have to worry about the other side, or worse yet, have to go through this process twice.
if you have read my breast cancer blog, you know ,that by the grace of God, i got another radiologist who saw what the other radiologist had missed. the second radiologist did another biopsy called a sterotactic biopsy, and found that some of the calcifications were indeed cancerous. so this wonderful woman( she is my hero now) saved me from having two surgeries. i would have had a lumpectomy for the tumor mass, and then would have to have had a mastectomy to get the dastardly cancer cells. ( if you look up the word dastardly, here is the meaning: wicked, evil, heinous, villainous, diabolical, despicable, sordid, etc, ,, such a perfect word in this situation).
i suppose that i am going to have to wait and see if any "sarah palin", aka, rogue, thyroid cancer cells are causing any mayhem elsewhere in my body. when thyroid cancer cells travel, they take up residence in the lungs and bones. i know for a fact, i had to have a chest x-ray before surgery, that my lungs are fine. beautiful, actually, since i am a non-smoker.( my doctor showed me the x-ray). as for my bones, i will just have to hope that they are "rogue" free, as well. there could be some beasties in my neck or lymph nodes, but hopefully not.
i have lots of important decisions to make in the next few days. i will research everything that i can, but basically i think that i will go on my "gut" feelings, as i have so far. that and my faith, family, and friends have been getting me through what is the most difficult time in my life. and of course, i will be starting on a new nest...
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