Thyroid cancer at 18

In the fall of 2001, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer after my pediatrician found a lump in my neck while treating me for a sinus infection. I was 18 years old and living on my own. I have also always been deathly afraid of needles and all things relating to blood, so the thought of having my throat slit open and a pretty important little gland removed was pretty much my worst nightmare. My boyfriend, who was two years younger than me, was still in high school and a football player. He had the entire football team sign a card for me, and he and his family took the best possible care of me. I survived the surgery but was then sent for high-dose radioactive iodine treatments. In 2001, that consisted of going to the hospital, consuming a pill that everyone treated like anthrax, and then hanging out in total isolation in a completely plastic-wrap covered room for two days while the only people who came to check on you were wearing biohazard suits. I still have nightmares about it. Fortunately, I only had to take the iodine pill while staying at the hospital twice. I had to take two more of the pills over the next decade, and have two more surgeries due to lymph node spread, but with time and medical advancements, all of that was much less traumatic. Well, the second surgery left part of my shoulder numb, and the healing process for that one was terribly painful, but ultimately, I’m now cancer free. 

I’ve always been absolutely ridiculous about needles. Once, when I was at the pediatrician’s office for an annual visit, and I had to get a routine immunization, a large nurse threatened to sit on me if I wouldn’t sit still and let her give me the shot. Being fidgety, though, was nothing compared to how that fear would progress as I aged. It seemed like the older I got, the worse it got. Super unhelpfully, I have horrible veins that are way better at hiding than Waldo, so it makes everything super stressful when they’ve poked me twice in each arm and have nothing to show for it, and by then, I’m typically starting to see gray, and once that happens, it’s only a matter of time til I hit the floor, or worse, have a seizure. Yes, it’s THAT bad.

I often wonder when I realized I’ve never really felt like I fit in anywhere, and sometimes my mind wanders back to the cancer years. Thyroid cancer is the best cancer to have because it’s curable, or so that’s what everyone has always told me. What I know about thyroid cancer and having the entire thyroid removed is that it’s miserable. That tiny little gland controls so darn much. I constantly have to have my blood drawn to keep up with the daily medication I have to take to replace the work my thyroid used to do. The normal medicine that everyone else typically takes doesn’t work properly for me. For years I was on the highest possible dose and my labs were showing me as severely undermedicated. Fortunately there is a more natural option that works fantastically well for me. Unfortunately last month I received notice my health insurance will no longer be covering it. Along with issues with the medication, I almost immediately started gaining weight–and never really stopped. My hair falls out in clumps. My skin is a disaster. I’m exhausted all of the time. So if you are ever diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and your doctor or medical professional, or whoever, tells you “at least you got the easy cancer to cure,” I suggest you punch them in the face. Okay, please don’t do that, but I guarantee there will come a time in your thyroid cancer journey when you’ll want to. Granted, I have witnessed much more horrendous cancer journeys with not so positive results, so I know I am fortunate to have beat my cancer.