How My Experience With Thyroid Cancer Affects My Emotions

I think there are mixed emotions when you have experienced thyroid cancer. After I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma 5 years ago, it really surprised me. I felt shocked, worried, scared, lost for words, and deeply depressed. It caused me to have anxious thoughts, fear, anger, and sadness after finding out about my thyroid cancer diagnosis. Sometimes, when you experience thyroid cancer and all the emotions that come with it, it can make you feel guilty, resentful, and as though the enemy is trying to turn your whole world upside down with negative thoughts about experiencing cancer. It can make us lose faith and lose focus on our relationships with others and with God.

This is how I felt while facing thyroid cancer. It made me feel isolated, hurt, angry, rejected, betrayed, lonely, and depressed. I even found myself numbing the pain with food and feeling like the enemy was trying to distract me from God’s plan and purpose for my life instead of keeping my focus on God. I felt haunted by the “ghosts of cancer” and struggled with guilt, blaming myself for having cancer and for losing both of my jobs during the COVID years. I dealt with fear, worry, doubt, and anger while facing the unknown and uncertainty of thyroid cancer treatment.

At the same time, I questioned how God would help prepare me for having thyroid cancer and going through treatment, and how I could allow Him to help me overcome my fears and emotions so I could stay focused on Him. When we are facing cancer and going through treatment, it can help us focus on God and put our trust in Jesus. That is what happened for me after going through thyroid cancer and treatment. It helped me see the importance of giving all my emotions to God and letting go of my fears, worries, doubts, struggles, challenges, and trials.

When you have cancer, it teaches you how important it is to let go of your emotions and seek God for help by putting your faith and trust in Jesus. When we are overwhelmed by the emotions of cancer, we can still find peace and overcome fear because Jesus is stronger than our fears. He is our hope and our anchor through every storm, challenge, and trial, and He will help you overcome your fears about cancer.

As I reflected on my 5-year cancer-versary on August 28th and being 5 years cancer-free from thyroid cancer, it taught me to be grateful to God for giving me another 5 years of life. I do not have to worry about another recurrence of thyroid cancer, and I am grateful for everything God has done for me after my diagnosis and treatment. It has helped me find peace, comfort, joy, and gratitude, and reflect on all the things I have accomplished by overcoming thyroid cancer.

Sharing my thyroid cancer story and testimony with others who are going through cancer treatment has helped me encourage them to overcome their fears and see who Jesus really is. Knowing my identity in Christ has helped me understand that God can help us let go of negative thoughts and mixed emotions, and cope with the enemy who tries to distract us when we are struggling emotionally through cancer. It is okay not to be okay, and you are not alone in this journey.

As a 5-year thyroid cancer survivor, I still reflect on the emotions connected to my experience. Sometimes I still feel unloved, vulnerable, hopeless, rejected, or betrayed by others who have judged or criticized the way I share my thyroid cancer story, testimony, and cancer-versary milestones. I have always wished that celebrating these milestones could include small acts of support, like treats, cake, or cupcakes. It can make me feel hurt and left out when others do not understand how important these milestones are to me or how deeply they affect me emotionally. Sometimes, because of those feelings, I completely shut people out of my life.

Celebrating my 5-year cancer-versary this year showed me how important it is to be grateful for everything God has done for me throughout my thyroid cancer journey. Jesus helped me fight thyroid cancer, stay strong, and stay focused on Him. I am thankful that He has been my healer, my hope, and my anchor, and that He did not allow fear to win. He has given me peace and helped me overcome my fears about cancer.

If God had not been there for me during my thyroid cancer journey and treatment, I would have felt lost, hopeless, abandoned, and desperate for healing. I know I need God to help me. Having Jesus in my life has given me peace, comfort, joy, and happiness. Placing my faith in Him has helped me overcome fear, doubt, challenges, and trials connected to thyroid cancer. It has allowed me to experience freedom, peace, and joy after cancer.

One important thing I have learned is that God will always be there for you. He will guide you through challenges, struggles, emotions, grief, and cancer treatment. He is our anchor through every storm and brings hope, joy, peace, and comfort. When we struggle emotionally after cancer, our fears and survivors guilt can haunt us, but we are not alone in this journey. You are stronger than your fears, and fear does not have to win over your life because Jesus Christ is always fighting for you through every battle.

My thyroid cancer journey has taught me how to overcome fear and stay positive while staying focused on God. It has helped me become more grateful and let go of negative thoughts and emotions. It has reminded me that I am strong, confident, loved, worthy, and alive in Jesus. It is important not to lose faith or hope in Him and not to let fear or negative thoughts define who you are. Your identity in Christ matters.

It is also important to share your struggles with God, trusted friends, family, your church community, support groups, and pastors. We all need people to pray for us, encourage us, and support us through storms, challenges, grief, and emotions. We should also support others who need to hear the truth about who they are in Christ — that they are loved, worthy, valued, and deeply loved by God.