Blessed to be 60 day 2

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to day 2 of the Blessed to be 60 hop.  If you are just joining us and want to start at the beginning head to Kathie.  Make sure to check out the day 1 projects also.

Today is all about Cancer education.  I want to talk to you about thyroid cancer.  I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2007.  I was having "girl" issues and my OBGYN wanted me to get checked out one last time before they took care of them. My doctor happened to feel something in my neck and had it checked out.  After 2 surgeries and a week in the hospital, it was found that I had Anaplastic, follicular and papillary cancer in my thyroid.  I am so lucky to be alive.

All this info was taken from  Public Med Health.  I am highlighting just a few things, please head to the site to learn more.

Thyroid cancer is a cancer that starts in the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is located inside the front of your lower neck.

Thyroid cancer can occur in all age groups.

There are several types of thyroid cancer:

• Anaplastic carcinoma (also called giant and spindle cell cancer) is the most dangerous form of thyroid cancer. It is rare, and does not respond to radioiodine therapy. Anaplastic carcinoma spreads quickly.
• Follicular carcinoma accounts for about 10% of all cases and is more likely to come back and spread.
• Medullary carcinoma is a cancer of nonthyroid cells that are normally present in the thyroid gland. This form of the thyroid cancer tends to occur in families. It has been linked with several specific genetic mutations. It requires different treatment than other types of thyroid cancer.
• Papillary carcinoma is the most common type, and usually affects women of childbearing age. It spreads slowly and is the least dangerous type of thyroid cancer.

Symptoms

• Cough
• Difficulty swallowing
• Enlargement of the thyroid gland
• Hoarseness or changing voice
• Neck swelling
• Thyroid lump (nodule)

Treatment

Treatment depends on the type of thyroid cancer.
Surgery is most often done. The entire thyroid gland is usually removed. If the doctor suspects that the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the neck, these will also be removed during surgery.
Radiation therapy may be performed using external beam (x-ray) radiation or by taking radioactive iodine by mouth. It may be done with or without surgery.
After treatment, you need to take thyroid hormone to replace what your glands used to make. The dose is usually a little higher than what your body needs, which helps keep the cancer from coming back.
If the cancer does not respond to surgery or radiation and has spread to other parts of the body, chemotherapy may be used, but this is only effective for a small number of patients.

Expectations (prognosis)

Anaplastic carcinoma has the worst outcome of all the types of thyroid cancer. It is usually deadly despite aggressive treatment.
Follicular carcinomas are often fast growing and may spread to other tissues, but the outlook is still good. Most patients are cured.
The outcome with medullary carcinoma varies. Women under age 40 have a better chance of a good outcome.
Papillary carcinomas are usually slower growing. Most people are cured and have a normal life expectancy.
Patients who have treatment for thyroid cancer must take thyroid hormone pills for the rest of their lives.

Complications

Complications of thyroid cancer may include:

• Injury to the voice box and hoarseness after thryoid surgery
• Low calcium levels from accidental removal of the parathyroid glands during surgery
• Spread of the cancer to the lungs, bones, or other parts of the body

 Another great resource is Thyca.  It is a thyroid cancer survivor's group and it is full of information.

Now, on to the project...

• Causes, incidence, and risk factors
• Symptoms
• Signs and tests
• Treatment
• Support Groups
• Expectations (prognosis)
• Complications
• Calling your health care provider
• Prevention
• References

So, me being ditzy...lol  I cut all the pictures for this sketch and knew what I wanted to do, but I don't have any paper that I like for it. GRR! I hate when that happens.    It got morphed into a digital layout.  i would have liked to use different colors, but I had to work with the digital papers I had.  i still like how it turned out though.  A few weeks ago, my husband went out of town.  While he was gone my BFF, who is my partner in crime, took me to get a tattoo.  I had wanted one for years, since I was first in remission, and always chickening out. These are pictures she took during the process.

This project was based off this sketch from sketches in thyme.
  Don't forget to become a follower, and leave a comment for a chance to win some blog candy.

Update, i'm a total dingbat...lol  I forgot to tell you to hop over to Amy.  Sometimes I would forget my head if it wasn't screwed on.