What I Wish Someone Told Me About Thyroid Cancer

I think there is nothing that anyone, including myself, could do to prepare ourselves for thyroid cancer. How can we give advice, share information about our own past, validation and self-awareness pre-diagnosis with thyroid cancer? Sometimes I wish I knew about thyroid cancer right before I had my total thyroidectomy surgery. Since I was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma thyroid cancer at the age 36, I wonder if my doctors could’ve caught it before my total thyroidectomy surgery. Right after they announced the “c” word it was like surprising me with a Christmas present of really bad news.

I wish they could have told me before I made a decision to remove my whole thyroid, maybe they could’ve prepared me for my total thyroidectomy surgery. It would have given me peace of mind to help me focus on my diagnosis. My thyroid cancer was treated with RAI treatment right before they noticed my enlarged thyroid gland. I am lucky and grateful that they took all my thyroid cancer and my whole thyroid. It really did save my life. It would’ve spread and my thyroid cancer tumor would have blocked my vocal cords or esophagus, so having a total thyroidectomy surgery was the best decision to make for myself.

I am so grateful to have an amazing endocrinologist who has helped me fight thyroid cancer. If there was a pamphlet to help me to learn about a thyroid cancer diagnosis as well as what going through radioactive iodine treatment was like, it would have been helpful. Also how to manage my thyroid medication, monitor my thyroid levels, my thyroglobulin levels, and get my routine neck checks and ultrasounds to make sure that I don’t have any recurrence of thyroid cancer. I would also love to learn how to maintain my healthy lifestyle and diet before and after thyroid cancer and how to make sure that I find a good support group to help me get through it. It helps to get encouragement from other thyroid cancer patients and survivors.

It is important to give others good advice and information to help them to learn and be a self-advocate for thyroid cancer awareness month. It is important to spread the word and tell people about the early detection of thyroid cancer and to find resources to support thyroid cancer patients and survivors. I would put a butterfly to symbolize September which is thyroid cancer awareness month and include the thyroid cancer awareness month ribbon. I would put my artwork piece that supports thyroid cancer awareness month by spreading the word about thyroid cancer and early detection.