Just a quick update with some positive news. There are a number of possible reasons why I’ve been experiencing chronic pain in my upper body for years, and how it might relate to my thyroid cancer. One of my biggest fears was that cancer had formed lesions in my bones. Well folks, after some recent tests I am happy to say that my bones look to be healthy and cancer-free! If you are playing the at-home game, you may have noticed that Bone Metastases drop the survival rate significantly. So this is very good news (assuming you were betting on survival) 😛
And I will temper that excitement with a big dose of –there is still a lot we don’t know about my current stage of cancer and how far it’s spread. AKA we’re far from out of the woods.
Bone scans and scanny scan scans
Last week, I was subjected to a fun day of more poking, prodding, and scanning. One of the tests was called a bone scan which sounded like an awesome band name. It also sounded a little scary but turned out to be just another scan. I’ve had loads of MRIs, Xrays, CT Scans, Ultrasounds, TSA Full body scans, PET Scans, and now a Bone Scan.
You think I’m joking about the TSA scan, but last month I was given a pat-down at the airport because the Millimeter-wave scanner showed an anomaly on my neck… exactly where my largest lymph node was… this was pre-diagnosis. You can’t make this stuff up.
It boggles my mind how many variations of scans they can do on the body and still have mixed results. Every time it’s slightly different and every time they pump me full of some radioactive thing or other. At least my skin has a wonderful glow now. I used to think that you could go in and just do one scan of your whole body, and the results would be a definitive list of every possible ailment. This is not the case. The vast majority of scans I’ve had did not show Thyroid Cancer. Let me say that again but in bold. The vast majority of scans I’ve had did not show Thyroid Cancer. Think about that for a minute.
Next steps
On Monday, my crack team of oncologists will be meeting with the Tumor Board to discuss my case, analyze all the data and start to form a plan of action. I’ll be meeting with them on Tuesday to blankly nod at them while they tell me lots of big words. Thankfully, Josephine will be by my side taking notes and explaining it all to me later. I’ll also be meeting with a genetics counselor on Tuesday to further investigate the possibility of my cancer being familial.. which could have some really not-so-good implications for the rest of my family. :/
