Sunday, October 23, 2011

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...


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.

9 comments:

CRAZY4 CHRIST said...

Wow you really are a survivor!! Thanks for all the info, love the layout, i would get a tattoo but i don't like needles and i have a low pain tolerance, i love the look of them on the top of the foot, but have hurt it really really hurts!!
Kristan
sierrababy08 at hotmail dot com

kathlee said...

WooWooo..you go girl! Great Job Jessie!! So happy that you have joined me in that wonderful club ..SURVIVORSHIP! We really have kick some a#& haven't we! :-)
Thank you so very much for being a great sport.forgiving me for overlooking you and joining right in with such a great attitude! I admire you!
{{hugs}}

Unknown said...

Way To fight the battle and win. What an amazing story. Love the layout and love the tattoo! It is Beautiful with the ribbion inside the butterfly. Very cool. Thanks for sharing your courageous battle!

Jessica Buffa said...

Congrats on being a survivor and wow, what a lovely tat! I keep chickening out, too...LOL! Love your digi layout and thanks for sharing all of the wonderful statistical info on thyroid cancer!
:O)
Jessica

Kathy said...

Congratulations on fighting and now you have a permanent reminder of where you've been and who you are! Thanks for sharing with us!

Kathy
http://kathyand3kids.blogspot.com
kmgillon at yahoo dot com

Anita Braddock said...

beautiful layout love the color. thanks for sharing your story. Congrats for being a survivor of this nasty word cancer.thanks for the info because so many of us don't know what to look for. thanks
www.anita-craft-corner.blogspot.com
abbraddock@msn.com

K Clark said...

wow... a couple of my friends had the same cancer. so glad you are bringing education to everyone about this!!!

great hop and I love all the ideas! TFS
http://leokc34.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

love the colors. Great photos!
kacee

Vicki said...

Lots of great info on the thyroid cancer..thank you for that.
I see you have survived the tattoo..lol I'm still entertaining the idea.

transport7800@aol.com
http://mawmawsthoughts.blogspot.com/
follower