Thyroid Cancer

31

Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo CA

Dr. Crockett, Mission Hospital CA

Total time was 18 months: 2 formal surgeries (plus an emergency ER visit from an infected incision), two rounds of radiation, then a year of "waiting it out" to ensure the final radiation had been effective.

In preparation for scans, I was on a strict no-iodine diet and a medication to deplete me of thyroid hormones. I then started on Levothyroxine as a replacement.

Cancer taught me (admittedly, in hindsight) that I cannot control the course of my life by holding on tighter. The more I try to stranglehold, the less control I actually have.

Daily vitamin regimen with probiotics

Honestly, the greatest at-home support I had was friendship. I wrote or talked almost daily to my friends. The process was less physical and more mental (although the physical sucked too). Without them, I would have tanked into severe depression and lost a lot more than hair and muscle mass.

You never have to do anything alone.

Do NOT do this alone. Friends, family, therapists. Get them, and embrace their support. The medical aspect will follow its course - the emotional aspect was what I was ineptly prepared to face.