Cancer...yuck!

For those of you who don't know.  I just found out that I have cancer and will be getting a second surgery on Tuesday.  I am just going to copy and paste an email I wrote to my family that explains what is going on.  It will be easier than retyping the whole ordeal.

To catch you up, I had surgery on August 15th to remove the left side of my thyroid due to nodules that were bothering me.  They had been biopsied prior to surgery and the biopsy came back negative for cancer. I found out about my nodules while pregnant with Kendi, but the doctors recommended that I wait until she was born to have the surgery since my biopsy was negative for cancer.  The left side of my thyroid apparently does not have cancer, but the right side of my thyroid (which has looked normal on ultrasounds this whole time) is presumably the culprit.

Here is the email I just sent my family.

Hello everyone, 

I figured an e-mail would be an easier method to relay information about my cancer and what I found out today so that everyone gets the same info and is on the same page. 

I went to see Dr. Rothman (my ENT/Surgeon) this afternoon for my pre-op appointment.  My surgery is Tuesday at 12:30pm.  I have to be at the hospital at 10:30am that morning. 

When talking to me about the cancer, he let me know that the type of cancer I have is Papillary Thyroid Cancer which is the most common thyroid cancer and my prognosis is that this type of cancer is 95% curable (YAY!).  When doing my surgery he noticed a lymph and decided to remove it even though he thought it looked normal, but he just decided to take it out during the surgery "by chance" even though it didn't look suspicious or cancerous to him.  (Jereld & I don't believe this was chance at all.  Heavenly Father has helped us through this whole thing and we feel very blessed.) The portion of my thyroid that was removed did not show any traces of cancer according to the oncologist that biopsied it.  The lymph node is the only location that they found cancer cells and they were metastatic thyroid cancer cells meaning that the cancer came from somewhere in my thyroid.  Thus, they need to remove the other half of my thyroid as the first step of treatment.

Here is a link that explains more about the type of cancer I have and the treatment/prognosis if you are interested.

http://columbiathyroidcenter.org/staging.html

Because they did not find any cancer in the portion of my thyroid that has been removed, and also because ultrasounds show that the right half of my thyroid appears to be normal, the doctor said that he wanted to prepare me for the possibility that they may never find the source of the cancer.  He said that it's possible that the cancer may be small enough that it is microscopic or something or it's possible that it was somehow overlooked in the left half of my thyroid.  But, because of the cells they found, they are sure it exists somewhere in my thyroid. The doctor again said that it's just by chance that they found my cancer. Jereld & I would call it a miracle and blessing.   

After my surgery, I will have to follow up with my endocrinologist (Dr. Wadwekar) within 1 month.  My endocrinologist will then be responsible for the remainder of my treatment.  Dr. Rothman explained that my treatment would most likely entail getting a full body scan as well as being treated with Radioactive Iodine. I have included a couple links that explain the treatment if you're interested.  But the highlights are that the thyroid cells absorb iodine so they use radioactive iodine to kill all wayward thyroid cells that may have metastasized to other locations in my body; I won't be allowed to be around anyone for around 8 days or so depending on the half life of the radiation; I could lose my sense of taste and have tear duct problems at least short term; Anything I touch will be radioactive and can't be touched by anyone else...etc.  Also, I won't be allowed to have another baby until I get the green light from my doctor which will be anywhere from 6 to 12 months after treatment.   

Short Synopsis: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/thyroidcancer/overviewguide/thyroid-cancer-overview-treating-radioactive-iodine  

Longer more detailed explanation: http://www.thyca.org/pap-fol/rai/   

The time that I spend alone during the treatment will probably be the most miserable time as I won't be able to have contact with anyone except by phone really.  It will be the hardest not to be able to be around Jereld or my kids.  I could see Jereld briefly but cannot touch or kiss him and have to be at least 3 but most likely 6 feet away from him at all times. The kids cannot even come in contact with me at all. 

I asked the doctor if he would be using the incision that I already have from the surgery I just had or if he would be making a new incision.  He said he will use the incision I already have.  He will reopen it. He said my recovery should be similar to the recovery I had this time if not faster.  YAY! This recovery was not bad at all for surgery, in my opinion.

I did ask if this whole ordeal puts me at higher risk for other cancers (i.e. breast cancer, etc.).  Dr. Rothman said, "Absolutely not!"  He said it does not affect my chances of developing other cancers in the least. 

I do want to let all of you know that even though this whole process has been hard, Jereld & I have both felt like we have received so many blessings throughout this whole ordeal.  We do not believe in "coincidence" or "chance." From the very start of this whole thing we have felt that there have been many tender mercies and many people who have helped us and been a great blessing to us! Even though it is a tough situation, I feel very peaceful.  I have had many "doubting" moments in the last couple days, but the majority of the time I feel like everything will be just fine.  

Thank you all for your prayers and concern and help.  It makes it easier when you know you have people cheering for you and concerned about you! 

Love, 

Al 

Finally...updated pictures!

You'd think since I actually have a nice camera and enjoy taking pictures that I would take my own kids' pictures more often...nope.  Taking my own kids pictures is harder than taking pictures of other families' kids.   Here they are! Glad I got at least a few good ones! 

My sweet little peach!

If your brother leaves a peach on the floor it's fair game...right!?!?!?  

What a mess!

I gave Beau one of my homemade hot dog buns to eat this morning (he loves bread!).  I went in the other room and the next thing I know, Beau came walking into the office holding not one but 5 hot dog buns!!! He decided to help himself.  As I tried to take them away, he bit into 2 of them.  Sort of a "you won't want to eat these after I've taken a bite" sort of thing! Silly kid.

In other news about Beau, I could not for the life of me figure out what he was talking about when he kept saying "nose" and pointing to his book (that did not have a nose on it).  Then I realized,  he is trying to say "snow!"  Nose...Snow...same thing, right?!?!

Kendi is Here!

I've been a slacker and haven't updated, but McKendrick was born 10/24/12 and weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20.5 inches long.

 

Enjoy the pictures! More updates coming soon (hopefully)!

 

Almost done!

Not much is new here!  We're just trying to pass the time while we wait for Kendi to arrive.  I am FINALLY off of my modified bed rest or whatever you want to call it.  YAY! I am so tired of sitting around...and eating things like chicken nuggets all the time. Beau is getting bigger and bigger all the time.  He is always trying to copy things we do!  Here he is wearing Jereld's flip flops. He thought he was funny!

 

Beau is constantly getting into trouble, climbing things, trying to use the computer, etc.  A few days back, Jereld caught him emptying the kleenex box of tissues.  When Jereld told him, "no, no," Beau started shoving them back in the box as quick as he could saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" and then started clapping.  I tell him "Thank you!" when he does something good. 

 

Today, as I was leaving our office, I told him, "Come on! We're going out!" He ran to the computer chair, climbed up, and then said "Bye!" while waving at me.  Rotten little stinker :)

 

I don't know if it's just coincidence, or if he knows that he will have a little sister soon, but lately he has had a major fascination with babies.  He loves giving them hugs and kisses.  He always points out if there's a picture of a baby on something or a baby nearby.  Let's hope that he still loves babies when Kendi gets here and takes some of the attention away from him!!!!

 

I haven't posted a picture of myself in a long time!  This one was taken on September 3rd.  I was 32 weeks 2 days.  This is the most recent picture of me.  I don't enjoy having my picture taken when I'm pregnant.  Who does?!?!?!?

 

As for Jereld, I think he's relieved that I can do a little more around the house.  He's been struggling to do the work of 2 people (poor guy!)  He has also had a few challenges while this whole thing has been going on.  He's done a ton of work on our car (the dang thing keeps breaking!)  He has also had to do work on our AC...did I mention that the garbage disposal is also broken and waiting its turn to be fixed?!?!?!?  YIKES! (I don't mean for this to come across as whiny...we have been very blessed that everything that has broken--pretty much--has been something that Jereld can fix.)

 

 

Mostly we're just crossing our fingers that Kendi decides to make her appearance somewhere around 37 or 38 weeks!  That would mean we only have 1 or 2 weeks left.  Full term is almost 4 weeks away. Blah.

Three Quarters!

Yep! That's right! I'm 3/4 of the way done with my pregnancy...and I can definitely no longer see my feet.  I have also started having contractions (but as long as I lie down they go away...phew) but they can be classified as Braxton Hicks for now.  Jereld is pretty nervous about the whole thing (and to be honest so am I) because of my pre-term labor with Beau and has given strict instructions to take it easy (which I am trying my best to follow, but there are so many things to do--meaning for the next 2 months or so my house cleaning and such will be kept to a minimum.)

I have already started losing plenty of sleep. Between the fact that I get up 2 or 3 times a night to tinkle and the fact that Kendi has sharp elbows or knees or feet or maybe she's actually got some knitting needles in there...who knows.  My insides are paying the price though and my sleep is being cut short as a result. 

What else has happened?

My sister Amy came over and helped me can some cherry pie filling.  I went over to my sister Jennifer's house for a sisters' back to school lunch.  There was LOTS of yummy food.  If I hadn't been wearing maternity pants I probably would have had to undo the button on my pants :). Jereld went to a place in Patagonia where they are trying to preserve seeds that have been used in this area for hundreds of years.  He said that the drive to Patagonia was BEAUTIFUL and that I missed out.  I was bummed I couldn't go, but big elevation changes just aren't okay when I'm pregnant...especially when I'm getting towards the end of pregnancy.  Jereld also attended his AZPDC club meeting.  They actually had it at Bass Pro instead of all the way across town. Speaking of Bass Pro, Jereld has been putting in LOTS of extra hours there since it's their Fall Hunting Classic.  Beau and I have missed having him home on his days off from the hospital.

As far as Beau is concerned, the kid is ALWAYS GOING...unless he's watching Curious George.  I tip my hat to Curious George.  I wouldn't be able to shower or load the dishwasher or cook or whatever without George's existence.  Beau is a dare devil and will try anything that remotely looks dangerous. 

Usually, by the time Jereld gets home I am about to go nuts! I am too pregnant to get on the floor and play with Beau anymore, so he goes a little stir crazy in the evenings until Jereld gets home and can wrestle with him or play horsey with him (see picture below--can you imagine a pregnant lady doing this?? I didn't think so, but this is what this kid needs basically on a nightly basis.)    

Beau loves being able to do things on his own.  He can't dress himself yet, except for his ties, and so he LOVES his ties.  I left them down one Sunday in my rush to get us out the door to church.  After church Beau found them and this is what resulted.

This is the closet in our office.  It has diapers, food storage, some baby clothes, you know...a mish mash of storage.  I guess it's the perfect jungle gym for a little monkey.  Can you see him in there?  Yes...that's him on top of my boxes of applesauce.

Last, and CERTAINLY NOT LEAST.  Beau saw Jereld climb up the ladder and get on the roof.  Apparently, it didn't look too difficult, because he had a little shadow in no time at all.  YIKES!  Had to document this scary event! The ladder will now be stored far far away from his chubby little reach.