Frustration … that’s what the last few weeks have felt like. On the one hand, my last thyroid biopsy came back benign, … breathe. My March CT scan was clear, … breathe. My genetics testing is in process and likely to confirm I have the PTEN mutation, one more piece of the puzzle falling into place … breathe.
Read moreCategory: Survivorship
-
Genetics … the missing puzzle piece?
It turns out that even a routine referral to your periodontist can loop back to your cancer journey. Who knew? The interesting thing is that it may connect some dots. I have a ‘cobblestone’ pattern on my gums—tiny little clusters of bumps I’ve had forever—that my new dentist thought were worth evaluating ‘just to make sure.’ Cue the referral to an oral pathologist.
Read more -
On anniversaries, monitoring, and more waiting …
I’m discovering that anniversaries bring up interesting emotions. I expected to be writing about my 5k race for this post, but didn’t realize just how many feels it would create, falling as it did almost exactly a year after starting chemotherapy. And because I’ve been busy, since race day I also had my six month monitoring appointment for my thyroid nodules, with mixed results. So yeah, all the feels.
Read more -
2024 Wrapped
January is a time of reflection, and I’m no different in looking back at the year that was. It is common while you go through cancer treatment to feel like ‘it’s all a blur,’ so I’m glad my notekeeping habits let me review what happened.
Read more -
It’s been a year: Contemplating survivorship
It’s been four weeks since I wrapped my EBRT sessions—and my flu and Covid vaccine boosters were two Fridays ago. The flu shot was the thing that made me pause—because I’m no longer on active treatment. Yesterday, I saw my radiation oncologist for my first follow-up visit and I won’t see them again for six months. A whole new chapter is beginning to unfold—survivorship.
Read more
Running from hysteria 