2009 in Review

So what has happened in a year?  Let’s look back…

January – I brought in the new year with some hockey and some girl time… oh yeah, Katie and Brian were there too! It was a great way to start the

year – spending time with some of my favorite peeps! As soon as the celebrations were over it was back to work full force as I said goodbye to one of my staff and interviewed to fill her position.  At the end of the month my mom had knee replacement surgery and I took a week off to help her with recovery and therapy.

February – Was all about scrapbooking!  We held Crop for  the Cure 2009 to raise some funds for the 3 Day… we were all planning on crewing this year so we had no fundraising minimums.  The weekend after that, we attended Gwen’s weekend crop!  I got a ton done at hers, not so much at ours… c’est la vie!  Oh yeah, and Katie and Brian moved into their new house!

March – I decided I deserved a break and headed off to sunny Florida and the magical world of Disney. I should probably mention that my place had been on the market at this point for about a year… sigh… I was just trying to cut my commute by 20 miles.

April – My fabuloso birthday month!  I FINALLY sold my  place so of course i was consumed by finding a new place, packing, moving!  Also celebrated this month were Katie’s birthday, Grandpa’s birthday, Murt’s birthday, Jodi’s birthday and Easter!  Definitely a fun filled month with tons to celebrate!

May – Moved in May 1st and felt sore and achy after… while trying to massage out a knot, I found a lump on the front of my neck.  When it didn’t go away after a couple days I ended up at Urgent Care with the urgent advice to get an ultrasound and biopsy.  Within a week I was at the surgeon’s office and discovered I had a cystic tumor in my neck that was compressing my carotid, esophagus and trachea.   Even though the ultrasound showed it was most likely benign, I  needed surgery right away. Surgery happened May 26th.  The tumor was affectionately named “Bob.”  We also had a surprise baby shower for Ashley and I made my first “diaper cake”.

June – I had my postop appointment and found that Bob had been sent to the Mayo Clinic for further review – the local pathologists found what they thought was “Cystic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.” On June 12, 2009 I got the call that confirmed my cancer diagnosis.  Later that month we had to decide if I would be going back for more surgery and radiation – 2nd surgery was scheduled for Sept 1st.  We also welcomed Ethan Michael to the family and had a baby shower for Lacey.

July – Made the very tough decision to not participate in  the 3 Day.  I couldn’t pass the medical check because of my very recent diagnosis and surgery. Spent some time with Lacey while she was in from CO and had a superfun 4th of July.  Checked out Gilda’s Club and found it to be an amazing place for people affected by cancer.

August – Cheered for Vanessa and the Coconutter Strutters at the 2009 3 Day!  Also visited Aunt Pat on medical crew and Mayme at the hydration station.   I signed up for 3 Day 2010 to WALK all 60 MILES for the 3rd time and started brainstorming fundraising ideas.  Attended my first Thyca (THYroid CAncer) Support meeting, got my first mammogram (which had to be repeated), planned and prepped for surgery and RAI…

September – Surgery # 2 – this time my whole thyroid was removed to make sure every speck of cancer was OUT.  Had some complications with my calcium levels so my best friend became TUMS. I attended Bluebird Cancer Retreats and made some wonderful new friends.  And sometime mid month Chad and Allison got married! I began to experience the full effects of Hypo Hell as I anxiously awaited a date for my RAI – Radioactive Iodine Therapy. The date kept changing because of the worldwide RAI shortage but…

October – 1st – I got my megadose of RAI 200 mCi.  Spent the better part of 2 days at the hospital in the nuclear reactor dep… I mean nuclear medicine department of the hospital. Then I went into  isolation for a week.  The doctors say there are no side effects to RAI but you can tell immediately they have never taken it themselves!  I was experiencing a range of radiation sickness symptoms – NOT FUN.  My post RAI scan showed diffuse uptake in my lungs as well as my thryoid bed – was it metastasis? That is still up for debate…

November – brought with it my most favorite holiday EVER – Thanksgiving!! At this point I had so much to be thankful for… surgery & RAI being over, starting on thyroid meds and coming out of Hypo Hell, being back at work, appointment with my new endo, my 3 Day team growing to a size of 9… Life was starting to speed up again even if my body wasn’t quite there yet!  My TSH level is still hovering around 16 which means i’m still extremely hypo.  My blood gets drawn every 6 weeks.

December – Merry Christmas! This month was all about reconnecting to friends, family.. the whole world really.  The last 6 months have revolved around cancer and I'm so ready to get back to some semblance of normalcy.  Held my first individual fundraiser – Breakfast with Santa- which was so much FUN and raised almost $400!   Went back to the Endo and got some med adjustments, found out my tumor marker is undetectable (!!!), and that the uptake in my lungs is being considered metastasis but that my mega RAI dose killed that too!

It’s been a good end to the year and I'm looking forward to what 2010 will bring!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!

Good Riddance!

Yesterday was the 3rd annual Good Riddance Day in Times Square.  People showed up from everywhere to bring that techie gadget that never quite worked right or wrote down their annoyances and problems from 2009 and tore, shred, or literally bashed them to pieces!  All this so they could usher in 2010 with clear goals and a renewed perspective. 

So in honor of Good Riddance Day, here are the things I am looking forward to leaving behind from 2009:

• The thought: "I can't"
• Pessimism - may need to be called out on this from time to time
• Clothing I haven't worn in forever and/or will never wear
• Disorganization & Procrastination - these often go hand in hand for me
• The 30lbs I gained from having my thyroid ripped out and metabolism obliterated
• Active Cancer Cells in my body

Now tell me, what would you like to bid Good Riddance to?

Merry Christmas!

I am spending the day hosting my Grandpa, parents and PBS & UB for Christmas dinner and I'm sure my first ever attempt at cooking a turkey and making stuffing from scratch will turn out beautifully. (crosses fingers) And that the turtle pumpkin pie I made tastes as good as it looks and smells... Mmmmm!

I love the holidays because of the extra time you get to spend with family and friends. Some people find happiness and fulfillment through their work and don't focus on their relationships. I often wonder if those people who focus on career above people will wake up one day and feel utterly lost and alone. I hope that that they have people who care and will be there for them when the brutal business world isn't. Personally, I think the relationships you have can reward you in ways a job never could.

My family and friends bring joy to my life and mean more to me than anything. This year, they have shown me they will be there for me when I am at my worst and have helped me forget my sorrows even if only for a few moments. I am so thankful that each of you are in my life. I truly hope every one of you feels as blessed as I do this year!

Have a very Merry Christmas and remember to give your friends and family an extra hug or two!

To Do List Revised

It is now about 11am on Christmas Eve… crunch time!!  My mission should I choose to accept it is to complete all these tasks by Jan 1st. GO!

Key: red complete 12/17, green complete 12/19, Blue complete 12/23 @ 11am

Christmas List: start shopping,  buy wrapping paper, Damstra party, plan food item for Slagter Christmas party, buy table decorations/plates/napkins, wrap presents, assemble/wrap employee gifts, finish shopping, attend immediate family Christmas on the Eve, attend Slagter Christmas, do Christmas cards, write year in review letter, Plan menu for Christmas Day Dinner (I'm hosting), ask Christmas guests to bring a dish to pass, buy groceries for Christmas Day menu, cook Christmas dinner, clean house for Christmas company.

3 Day Team Captain List: make Crop needs list, order cookbook kit, inventory event supplies, inventory raffle items, make a Crop for the Cure to do list, continue to drum up raffle donations, write letters to family/friends, design team logo, check in with team members, help team member make a plan for fundraising,  gather & type recipes for cookbook, design cookbook, pick up donation from Splurge Salon, collect garage sale donations from Lindsay.

Personal List: get blood drawn, pick up new script, endocrinology appointment, figure out what the heck I'm doing on NYE, movie with the fam, do laundry, organize files, print 3 Day 2008 photos, charge camera, clean out closet for garage sale, eat, sleep, email, facebook, blog…

Doctor Day

Well, PA Day really… I had my labs drawn last week and today was my appointment with my endocrinology PA (I see the actual endocrinologist every 6mos). 

I knew my TSH number was bad because I was called within 12 hours of getting my labs drawn to up my levothyroxine meds.  Today I found out my TSH was 16 which was up 3.0 from 3 weeks before that – not great.  What does that mean?  Well it means I was going more hypo which means any possible thyroid cells (cancerous or not) left after the radiation were/are working overtime trying to compensate which means they are overproducing/growing/replacing themselves.  This is why my meds were immediately increased. More meds (synthetic thyroid hormone) = tricking the leftover thyroid cells into not working overtime to produce the hormones that keep your body running. More meds = good thing!

The other big number that was announced today was my Tg or thyroglobulin level.  Thyroglobulin is produced and used by the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormones. This test is also the tumor marker test for thyca patients meaning you need the Tg to be undetectable in your blood…

My Tg is undetectable! Very good news!

The PA said that means the mets to my lungs were also killed by my dose of RAI.  Very, very good news!

Its too early to be declared cancer free of course.  Normal cancer patients need 5 years of clean tests before you can claim that milestone.  For thyca patients there is some debate in the medical community on when we can be called “cancer free” because it is relatively common for it to come back 10, 20, even 30 yrs later. 

For now, the news of my undetectable Tg brings tears to my eyes. I have a feeling no present under the tree will measure up to that news this Christmas.