Well, today I had the consultation with the surgeon. He was very nice and I feel like God has placed me within the perfect hands. He was very thorough and answered all of my questions, lol. A mix of questions from myself and my family. The news he had for me was encouraging. It was definitely the best news that he could have given me based on the circumstances. The type of cancer I have is called papillary thyroid cancer. It is by far the most common, the most treatable and the best one (if you're going to have any) to have. It has over a 95 percent cure rate, a low re-occurrence rate and a low metatheses rate (doesn't typical spread a lot). He says I've probably had this a while, this type grows very slowly, but he says it doesn't matter if I've had it for 10 years, the treatment is all the same and it doesn't necessarily mean anything if it's been there longer. The most common place for it to spread is into the lymph nodes right along the neck, if they are diseased, he will remove those too, it's pretty much as easy as that. I may after they get everything back from the Pathologist after the surgery have to go through some radio active iodine treatment (I'm praying I don't). Basically if it's spread to any lymph nodes or if they aren't positive if it's completely capsulized you have this radio active iodine that kills off any lingering diseased thyroid cells. He says really, it's not a big deal (easy for him to say right, haha) He specifically made it a point to tell me "this is pretty straight forward, I don't want you worrying for the next 6 weeks, we're going to get you fixed!" I will have surgery on February 16th (first day they had something available) at St. Peter's in Albany (for those of you in NY).
So all this to say that God certainly answers our prayers and he heard all your prayers. I got the best news today that I could have. I'm so grateful for your thoughts and prayers. A sweet friend of mine sent me a message this morning with a verse that brought me joy this morning, right before I went into the exam room, Isaiah 41:13 says, "For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'" It's His word that I find most settling. What's there to fear if the Lord of all the Universe is helping you? Thank you, thank you for your prayers and kind words! I'll keep you all updated.
Blessings!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
A new adventure...
It's literally been like 2 years since the last time I blogged, but now that myself and my family are embarking on something we didn't anticipate, I thought I would blog about it so I don't have to answer a million questions. This way I can keep people updated, while managing to stay somewhat sane :) Hopefully some will find something I have to say encouraging, especially if faced with trial. We're never alone! So, here goes...
Last Monday I found out that at the ripe old age of 28 (kidding) that I have cancer. Not something I anticipated hearing, especially at 28 years old. We have know for about a year and a half I guess that I have thyroid problems. When we moved back to New York from Texas I started to long process of finding new doctors to deal with this issue. The first visit at the new Endocrinologist office they did blood work, my doctor felt my throat/thyroid and felt some lumps. This is not uncommon at ALL for someone with the type of thyroid disease that I have. She was on the fence for a few minutes as to whether she wanted to do a thyroid ultrasound. She decided to do one. Afterward, she tells me that there is one nodule that she wants to have biopsied. She reassures me that over 95 percent of the time, it's just a nodule. I go in for the biopsy, once again being told, more likely than not, it's nothing. The doctor even proclaims when the ultrasound tech starts the ultrasound, "that's it?" meaning, oh that's small! I wait a little over a week and that brings me to last Monday. After hearing the news I'm kind of trying to wrap my brain around what I just heard, "you have thyroid cancer." I'm a little numb, she pauses and asks me if I'm ok and I say I think so, then I ask what's next? I will see a surgeon on Thursday to get an idea of what the next step/steps are.
Even in the midst of trial there is much to be thankful for, you just have to look for it. We get so consumed with ourselves we forget that God is wrapped up within these situations, working for His ultimate glory in our lives. He loves us more than we can ever imagine. I'm thankful for the following: that we once again live near family, that is a great comfort to me; I'm thankful for a God who loves me and that nothing comes as a surprise to him; I'm thankful that the doctor didn't "need" to do an ultrasound, but decided to anyway; I'm thankful they have seemed to find it in the early stages; I'm thankful for answers as to why I have felt like crud; I'm thankful we didn't buy a house that we thought we might because it would have been very stressful dealing with both, etc. I literally could go on an on, but needless to say, I have lots to be thankful for.
I'm not going to lie and say that sometimes my thankfulness is outweighed by worry, I have those moments too, but I choose to hold my thoughts captive, I don't let my mind wander to the "what ifs." I focus on the facts I have at hand and the fact that no matter what happens, God holds my life in His hands. A few months ago, our new "Lead Pastor" was talking about struggling well. Meaning that when life brings trials, you don't just fall apart, blame God and loose it, you trust in the Lord that on the other side, you'll be a better person, closer to Him, greater in faith. I want to struggle well, I want to honor the Lord and worship and glorify Him no matter what is going on in my life. That is the real mark of true faith and dependence on the Lord. Faith isn't real faith if you're only willing to trust in Him when times are good. It's when times aren't so good, by human standards, that He grows us and refines us. I'm thankful for these times. So as I've said to a few of you, today I choose joy.
I know this was long, thanks for sticking with me :) Our family really appreciates all your prayers and support. And that's all we need at this time, is your prayers and encouragement.
Last Monday I found out that at the ripe old age of 28 (kidding) that I have cancer. Not something I anticipated hearing, especially at 28 years old. We have know for about a year and a half I guess that I have thyroid problems. When we moved back to New York from Texas I started to long process of finding new doctors to deal with this issue. The first visit at the new Endocrinologist office they did blood work, my doctor felt my throat/thyroid and felt some lumps. This is not uncommon at ALL for someone with the type of thyroid disease that I have. She was on the fence for a few minutes as to whether she wanted to do a thyroid ultrasound. She decided to do one. Afterward, she tells me that there is one nodule that she wants to have biopsied. She reassures me that over 95 percent of the time, it's just a nodule. I go in for the biopsy, once again being told, more likely than not, it's nothing. The doctor even proclaims when the ultrasound tech starts the ultrasound, "that's it?" meaning, oh that's small! I wait a little over a week and that brings me to last Monday. After hearing the news I'm kind of trying to wrap my brain around what I just heard, "you have thyroid cancer." I'm a little numb, she pauses and asks me if I'm ok and I say I think so, then I ask what's next? I will see a surgeon on Thursday to get an idea of what the next step/steps are.
Even in the midst of trial there is much to be thankful for, you just have to look for it. We get so consumed with ourselves we forget that God is wrapped up within these situations, working for His ultimate glory in our lives. He loves us more than we can ever imagine. I'm thankful for the following: that we once again live near family, that is a great comfort to me; I'm thankful for a God who loves me and that nothing comes as a surprise to him; I'm thankful that the doctor didn't "need" to do an ultrasound, but decided to anyway; I'm thankful they have seemed to find it in the early stages; I'm thankful for answers as to why I have felt like crud; I'm thankful we didn't buy a house that we thought we might because it would have been very stressful dealing with both, etc. I literally could go on an on, but needless to say, I have lots to be thankful for.
I'm not going to lie and say that sometimes my thankfulness is outweighed by worry, I have those moments too, but I choose to hold my thoughts captive, I don't let my mind wander to the "what ifs." I focus on the facts I have at hand and the fact that no matter what happens, God holds my life in His hands. A few months ago, our new "Lead Pastor" was talking about struggling well. Meaning that when life brings trials, you don't just fall apart, blame God and loose it, you trust in the Lord that on the other side, you'll be a better person, closer to Him, greater in faith. I want to struggle well, I want to honor the Lord and worship and glorify Him no matter what is going on in my life. That is the real mark of true faith and dependence on the Lord. Faith isn't real faith if you're only willing to trust in Him when times are good. It's when times aren't so good, by human standards, that He grows us and refines us. I'm thankful for these times. So as I've said to a few of you, today I choose joy.
I know this was long, thanks for sticking with me :) Our family really appreciates all your prayers and support. And that's all we need at this time, is your prayers and encouragement.
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