It’s been about a month since I’ve checked in. In case you haven’t followed me on social media, I’ve had a bit going on. As many of you know, I developed thyroid cancer with my second pregnancy. Had surgery in 2020, and then 2 lingering lymph nodes with remaining cancer were found. So, on April 22, I took a radioactive iodine pill to kill it all.
Radioactive Iodine- if you were wondering what it’s like…
Prepping my body consisted of a low iodine diet and then 2 injections to spike my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). Next was the main event. I went into a lead lined room with a lead container (which holds the pill) and is heavier than I can lift with one hand. The doc opens it and quickly hands me a plastic container which holds the capsule; I transfer it into my mouth and wash it down. In the process of handing the pill over and me taking the pill (maybe 4 seconds) an alarm detecting radiation goes off. About 2 minutes later, the doc scans me with a handheld device that already shows that I’m emitting almost as much radiation as the pill I ingested. And Lord willing, it’s doing it’s thing to kill any cancer cell in me. Sci-Fi movie?? I think so. Oh you know, just another day.
What came next? For 4 days: I had to be at least 6ft away from people with preferably no contact. Each hour I had to drink a glass of water and pee. (It flushed out of my system mainly through the bladder.) For 10 hours a day I had to suck on lemon wedges, hard candy or gum. (Salivary glad dysfunction is the most common side effect.)I had to shower and wash my hair daily. After 4 days I washed all clothes and linens that I touched. From days 4-8: I could have very limited contact around people. But then transferred back into normal life.
As I was in “isolation”, I was trying to be somewhat intentional about my time. And oddly enough, having an alarm go off every hour telling me to suck on a lemon wedge, drink a glass of water, and pee, comes faster than it would seem. Regardless, I tried to be intentional and have some quality time with God in the minutes between the alarms.
You might be thinking that it’s crazy I would have to still be intentional, as I really didn’t have much else to do. But I was given a stack of books, coloring (yes, for grown ups), sudoku, and puzzles. I could easily fill my time and not give God a second thought. Yes, I’m still doing some of those things and have also been watching a great series called The Chosen (check it out on YouTube). Yet I keep reminding myself that I’m here because God gave me a miracle in this treatment before going down the surgery road. And like this cancer, I’m trying to make this time count for something more than merely passing the time. Even if you aren’t in “isolation” and life is busy, take some time to spend with God.
On April 26, I got to hug my babies!!!! It was harder to be away from them than I thought. I cried. They cried; at least Asher teared up. As my deep thinking child, he struggled a lot with being worried about me and just watching me from afar during this whole process. Although only 7, he often understands much more than I have given him credit for.
And second to that, the hardest thing about this journey day to day was the low iodine diet. I never really understood this until it happened, but I ate to sustain myself. I was not satisfied. I even dreaded meal time. I know so many- even in my own family- who have extreme diet restrictions due to health reasons as a part of everyday life. It’s not temporary, as it is for me. They get severe gut issues, autoimmune flare ups (with flu-like systems) or already have autoimmune diseases where eating certain foods can lead to physical disability, cancer, or both. And the depression creeps in. It’s real. I would eat in another room leading up to my “isolation” because I couldn’t handle watching my family eat and enjoy their food. It made me frustrated- although they had done nothing wrong. So to those with forever diet restrictions- I tip my hat and my heart goes out to you!! (Although I don’t eat gluten, I consider that minor as there are so many alternatives.) May you find things to eat that you enjoy, sweet friends. And beyond that, let’s all learn to find daily joy in other things, not just food.
I had my initial scan on April 30. It used gamma radiation to detect where the iodine went. 35 minutes for the first one; 10 minutes for the second. I probably should have been offended as they strapped me down across my arms per standard procedure. (Moving would ruin the image collection.) But as a mom who gets very limited time to just be still with a warm blanket draped across me and told not to move (restraints be darned), I fell asleep. Naturally. It was a lovely experience overall. Ha!
The doc then showed me my scan on the computer. It was all yellow showing normal cells, but then dark red showing where the iodine absorbed into cancer cells. He said he could tell that I followed all protocols- and that diet wasn’t for nothing!! It was a clump of red right where my thyroid was. Some cells, but mostly microscopic lymph nodes. And they all had cancer. Scary to think about, yet he feels it was the best possible outcome and radioactive iodine was the right way to go, versus surgery. Praise Jesus for that! I honestly still feel that it was my miracle the surgeon had me go the iodine route before going through surgery. Turned out the radiologist agreed.
So now I wait and just continue on the path God has for me. And waiting can be so darn hard. I go back in 4 months for a follow up scan to see if it worked; if the cells are dead. I’m told to just live my life as “normal” until then.
I’m feeling good- thank you to so many who have reached out to check on me. I fatigue easily, but that will decrease in time. If you are a praying person, I’ll take all the prayers I can get that this did, in fact, work to make me cancer free.
In the meantime, you’ll find me enjoying my family time, taking a couple short trips, working out, eating lots of ice cream (it’s summer, you know), and filling lazy weekdays with memory making activities with my kids. I don’t intend to take my time with them for granted.
Enjoy Life