The "C" word:
I remember it was a Wednesday morning in October around 9:00 am when I got the call from my doctors office. The receptionist asked if I was busy and could I talk. There were no students around and I told her it was no problem. So I went back to the student worker area so that we could talk and I could have some privacy. The receptionist proceeded to ask when I would be able to come in to meet with my doctor. I told her I could either Thursday or Friday, I just needed to make sure I had someone to cover the front desk. The receptionist went on to say, no I need you to come in today.
Now, I have watched enough tv shows and movies to know when the doctors office calls and says "You need to come in today", it can't be good. I remember asking why it had to be today and she told me I would have to wait to speak with the doctor. Of course I was in tears because I knew this could not be good. And, if you know me you know that I did everything I could to get the lady to tell me what was going on.
I checked with my co-workers to see if one of them would cover for about an hour or so, I called the doctors office back and said I could be there within the hour....and yes, I asked again what was up and again she wouldn't say a word. I hung up and immediately called my parents. I know what your thinking, why my parents and not my husband. Paul works nights...I call it being part-time married. With it being around 9 in the morning, there would be no way I could wake him up, have him get dressed and be at the doctors office within the hour. I left work, went and picked up dad and we headed to see the doc. That was the longest hour of my life....thankfully dad and I are sports fans, so we started talking about the football season to try and pass the time.
We got to the office, I checked in and we sat and waited....thankfully it didn't take to long. We went back to the examining room and a few minutes later my doctor came in with my chart. She took a seat and said, Sharlene I have the results from the MRI. Dad and I were like....okay and........she said the radiologist found something that didn't look right. There is a nodule that shows signs of cancer in the neck area.
WHAT? CANCER? Wait......I looked at my dad and I immediately started to cry. I looked at the doctor and I said, but I was having neck and should pain, how does that turn into cancer. She proceeded to explain that they (those who were reading the MRI) looked outside of the area that the pain was and they found the nodule. However, just to make sure when need to schedule an Ultra Sound and take another look on the right side of your neck. That was the area where the pain starts and shoots down my shoulder and arm.
I remember sitting there just stunned...My dad and I were in complete shock. There is no way I have cancer. My next thought...how am I going to tell the family. In 2006, a month or so before my wedding, my Aunt Sharon (married to my dad's oldest brother) had passed away. She had been battling breast cancer. It's been just over 2 years since she died, how on earth can I tell everyone that it looks like I now have cancer. My doctor said she would get the ultra sound scheduled and we will wait to see what that has to say.
Dad and I walked out of the office got in the car and it was quiet. This is where things get a little fuzzy. If I remember right, dad called our Pastor and I called work. There was no way I was going to be able to work today....Cancer, they think I have cancer is all I could think about. How is that possible. I told my boss and a friend what was going on and that I would like to take the rest of the day off....they said no problem. I'm not sure if dad called mom or we went straight to the house to tell her. All I remember walking in and mom and I hugging and crying. We then started making phone calls. I also remember dad and I going to the church to talk to Pastor and we prayed. Then mom and I called her mom (granny) to tell her, we told grandpa (dad's dad), I think I saw my sister and at some point I went home to tell Paul.
When I finally got home and walked in, Paul yelled that he was waking up. He was still in bed, so I went into the bedroom and layed down with him and told him I just saw the doctor and got the results of the MRI. He was like....okay, what did she say, I turned to face him and said....they think they found cancer. Yep, that woke him up. I told him everything my doctor said. He was like, well before we jump overboard, lets do the ultra sound and get those results. I finished making calls...I knew my dad was also calling people but I knew I needed to follow up. I wanted people to know that I was fine (yep, that is what I told everyone) and that everything would be okay. The two hardest calls for me was to my cousin Cheryl and Uncle Jr (Aunt Sharon's husband and daughter). For some reason right now I can't remember if I called my cousin Trish (Sharon's other daughter) or not. Last thing I wanted (and in my opinion they needed) was for them to worry about me. Then that night I went to church, and that is when my church family found out that I might have cancer and I was prayed over.
I have to be honest...at that point in my life everything seemed like is was moving in slow motion. I did the ultra sound, which confirmed the MRI and then I had to do a CT Scan to confirm the ultra sound. I have to kinda laugh here, when I went to do the CT Scan is when I found out I am allergic to the iodine contrast. I went back to work after that test and was talking to a friend and we looked at my arm and I had broke out in a rash. Hey, it gave me something to laugh about. A few days later my doctor called and said that yes, it is cancer....Thyroid Cancer. All I could think at that time was...what is Thyroid Cancer? So she then referred me to the Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor here in Stillwater and I started goggling Thyroid Cancer. My paperwork was sent to the new doctor and the appointment was made.
On the day of my appointment, I came home from work to get Paul and we were off to a new doctor. We still couldn't believe what we were faceing. Cancer...it seemed like a really bad dream. There is no way. I remember one of the question my primary doctor asked was...who in your family has a Thyroid problems. My only response was...apparently me. We couldn't think of anyone on either side of the family that had any type of Thyroid issues.
So, we get to the ENT's office, I check in, sat down and filled out some paperwork. We got called back and I met the doctor. We went over all the tests and he told me what the nodule appeared to be, what to expect if it is cancer, ect...I then turned to the doctor and said, I don't care what this is...let's schedule surgery and remove it. I mean come on, I have something foreign on my Thyroid. But, of course we couldn't because of insurance. We had to prove that it really was cancer so we scheduled a biopsy.
Now, the biopsy really wasn't all that bad...don't forget that I'm already have issues with my neck and shoulder and the position I was in for the procedure was horrible. By the time it was over, my neck was stiff and I was in some pain and uncomfortable by the time it was over. The procedure itself wasn't all that bad, it's just the way I had to tilt my head. He told me it would be a few days before we would know anything, so I left, Pastor took us out for breakfast and, once again, I was waiting on a phone call.
Speaking of my Pastor....I honestly wasn't expecting him to be there for the biopsy...or my cousin Cheryl. I truly have an awesome supporting family and church.
I have to admit I wasn't very patient waiting on the phone call. I waited a couple of days before I called to see if the results where in and of course they weren't. The within a day or two I got a call...it was the doctor and the biopsy was clean.....NO CANCER!!! Talk about relief. While I was on the phone don't think I wasn't doing the happy dance. I then asked, what is on my Thyroid and the doctor wasn't sure. I was then given two options: be tested every three to six months to see if it grows or have it removed...I opted for surgery. In my opinion, we don't know what this is so let's just take it out.
Surgery was scheduled for November 5th, 2008.
Friday, June 29, 2012
The Journey Begins:
In my introduction I had mentioned that my husband and I don't have any children...so, I think that will be good place to start my story. Just a warning, you will end up wondering what all this has to do with Thyroid Cancer...just follow, I promise it will all tie together. Be patient.
I finally graduated college (transferred colleges three times) and moved to Oklahoma City. I was able to find a job at as a teacher at a Day Care Center in a Domestic Violence Shelter....really enjoyed it. Loved working with those kids even though some of the kids stories were heart breaking. I was there for almost two years, was injured on the job and ended up being let go. Which turned into a great blessing. It gave me the opportunity to go back to school at OSU-OKC and start working on an associates degree in the Crime Victim/Survivor Services field. While attending classes, I started working on campus as a work-study and ended up obtaining a full time saff position in the Admissions office. I never thought I would ever enjoy working on a college campus....I really love Higher Education.
To back track just a little, while I was in college I was told that I would more than likely never be able to have children. It was discovered that I had cysts on my ovaries. It was never really explained why they developed, how to stop them....nothing. So when Paul (my husband) and I decided we were going to get married I went to a gynocologist to see if this was true. She ran some tests and then informed me that she felt that I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/polycystic-ovary-syndrome/DS00423). She said that in order to have a baby there would need to be medical intervention, so she suggested and referred me to a fertility doctor.
In Feburary 2006, 2 1/2 weeks before my (our) wedding I was rear ended while at a stop sign. I was at a complete stop waiting for traffice to clear so I could turn and get to work which was less than a block away. I look in my rear view mirror and see this car coming at me at full speed coming off the interstate. All I could think was I'm about to get hit. I had to decide to either go and get side swiped by a truck coming from the left or to take my foot off the break and get rear ended. Well, you know what happened....I got hit. I watched my bumper fly off the car and land in the grass and thankfully that truck swerved to miss me. I was holding on that steering wheel with everything I had. I don't know of a time when I was ever so tense.
I was already late for work and the girl that hit me tried to take off and go to class because she was late (she wanted to meet back when she was done for the day). I told her that I wasn't going to leave...besides, she wasn't the only one late. She got so mad....oh well, what other choice did she have....unless she wanted a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident. We stayed and we waited for the police. Ugh, waiting for the OKC officer took forever. The officer finally arrived, wrote the statement, the car was towed and I ended up in the emergency room with whiplash. Oh grand, I'm getting married in about two weeks and I have whiplash. Nothing like being on pain pills during my wedding, reception and honeymoon...and to top it off, I was dealing with the insurance company who was wanting me to settle.
While I was dealing with them all I could thinks was...you want me to settle and only offer $500? The damage to the car was over $5000 (the care was only a couple of months old) and really should have been totaled. I told them that due to some issues I was still having due to the wreck that I didn't want to talk about settling until I got checked out when we got back from our honeymoon.
Once we returned, my doctor sent me to physical therapy, then I had x-ray's, bone scan, and three MRI's to see what was going on with my neck and shoulder. Nothing was ever found, and as a last resort I was sent to a pain management doctor who did his own tests. He also did two nerve block procedures and a nerve burn procedure (not doing that again on the neck)...on top of numerous different medications. The pain became more manageable, but never really went away. The doctor finally said that I have permanent nerve damage and I would have to learn to live with it.
Since there is nothing more that could be done about the neck and shoulder...Paul and I decided it was time to start trying to have a baby. I was so excited that we finally got to go see the fertility doctor and that was when I was told that I do have PCOS. The doctor ran tests, put me on prednisone and clomid, we scheduled many doctor visits, did lots of blood work and had two procedures...it was all crazy. I didn't care, we finally have started the process and hopefully we will have a baby before long.
We were about 8-10 months into this when Paul and I decided to move back to Stillwater. He wanted to go back to school and get his degree and we both were ready to leave the City.
In March of 2008, I left my job and we started the moving process back to Stillwater. Paul was able to transfer, we found a house and we moved. Time to go back home. I finally got a job on campus in April 2008 and was excited that we could start once again trying to have a baby. We both are working, we have insurance, so I made an appointment with my fertility doctor and the trips back and forth from Stillwater to OKC started. Everything was going great.
September 2008 is when everything started to change (now things will start to come together). I was sitting at work, talking on the phone with a student when it happened. I hung up the phone, turned my head to talk to a co-worker and my neck popped and all the sudden I was stiff and I really couldn't move. Oh my Lord the pain that shot down my neck and into my shoulder. I haven't felt pain like this since physical therapy after the care wreck...and I was in tears. I called my primary care physician to make an appointment. When I went to see her I told her car wreck, the tests, procedures, ect. She said let's do an MRI to see what's going on.
About a week or so after my appointment I had a MRI and waited for the results. Paul and I really thought at worse I had a buldging disk, slipped disk or even a pinched nerve. I would more than likely have some type of surgery and everything will be fine. Not that big of a deal, right?
Hubby and I were talking about traveling to the bowl game...depending on what was found on the MRI and we were trying to guess which bowl the team would go to. Now, if I remember right in 2008 the worse case would be the Holiday again or best case scenario would be the Cotton Bowl. We had decided if it was the Cotton Bowl then we would go. If it was the Holiday, it would be hard but we were hopeing to figure out a way that we would be able to go.
Then I got the call that would change everything....
In my introduction I had mentioned that my husband and I don't have any children...so, I think that will be good place to start my story. Just a warning, you will end up wondering what all this has to do with Thyroid Cancer...just follow, I promise it will all tie together. Be patient.
I finally graduated college (transferred colleges three times) and moved to Oklahoma City. I was able to find a job at as a teacher at a Day Care Center in a Domestic Violence Shelter....really enjoyed it. Loved working with those kids even though some of the kids stories were heart breaking. I was there for almost two years, was injured on the job and ended up being let go. Which turned into a great blessing. It gave me the opportunity to go back to school at OSU-OKC and start working on an associates degree in the Crime Victim/Survivor Services field. While attending classes, I started working on campus as a work-study and ended up obtaining a full time saff position in the Admissions office. I never thought I would ever enjoy working on a college campus....I really love Higher Education.
To back track just a little, while I was in college I was told that I would more than likely never be able to have children. It was discovered that I had cysts on my ovaries. It was never really explained why they developed, how to stop them....nothing. So when Paul (my husband) and I decided we were going to get married I went to a gynocologist to see if this was true. She ran some tests and then informed me that she felt that I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/polycystic-ovary-syndrome/DS00423). She said that in order to have a baby there would need to be medical intervention, so she suggested and referred me to a fertility doctor.
In Feburary 2006, 2 1/2 weeks before my (our) wedding I was rear ended while at a stop sign. I was at a complete stop waiting for traffice to clear so I could turn and get to work which was less than a block away. I look in my rear view mirror and see this car coming at me at full speed coming off the interstate. All I could think was I'm about to get hit. I had to decide to either go and get side swiped by a truck coming from the left or to take my foot off the break and get rear ended. Well, you know what happened....I got hit. I watched my bumper fly off the car and land in the grass and thankfully that truck swerved to miss me. I was holding on that steering wheel with everything I had. I don't know of a time when I was ever so tense.
I was already late for work and the girl that hit me tried to take off and go to class because she was late (she wanted to meet back when she was done for the day). I told her that I wasn't going to leave...besides, she wasn't the only one late. She got so mad....oh well, what other choice did she have....unless she wanted a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident. We stayed and we waited for the police. Ugh, waiting for the OKC officer took forever. The officer finally arrived, wrote the statement, the car was towed and I ended up in the emergency room with whiplash. Oh grand, I'm getting married in about two weeks and I have whiplash. Nothing like being on pain pills during my wedding, reception and honeymoon...and to top it off, I was dealing with the insurance company who was wanting me to settle.
While I was dealing with them all I could thinks was...you want me to settle and only offer $500? The damage to the car was over $5000 (the care was only a couple of months old) and really should have been totaled. I told them that due to some issues I was still having due to the wreck that I didn't want to talk about settling until I got checked out when we got back from our honeymoon.
Once we returned, my doctor sent me to physical therapy, then I had x-ray's, bone scan, and three MRI's to see what was going on with my neck and shoulder. Nothing was ever found, and as a last resort I was sent to a pain management doctor who did his own tests. He also did two nerve block procedures and a nerve burn procedure (not doing that again on the neck)...on top of numerous different medications. The pain became more manageable, but never really went away. The doctor finally said that I have permanent nerve damage and I would have to learn to live with it.
Since there is nothing more that could be done about the neck and shoulder...Paul and I decided it was time to start trying to have a baby. I was so excited that we finally got to go see the fertility doctor and that was when I was told that I do have PCOS. The doctor ran tests, put me on prednisone and clomid, we scheduled many doctor visits, did lots of blood work and had two procedures...it was all crazy. I didn't care, we finally have started the process and hopefully we will have a baby before long.
We were about 8-10 months into this when Paul and I decided to move back to Stillwater. He wanted to go back to school and get his degree and we both were ready to leave the City.
In March of 2008, I left my job and we started the moving process back to Stillwater. Paul was able to transfer, we found a house and we moved. Time to go back home. I finally got a job on campus in April 2008 and was excited that we could start once again trying to have a baby. We both are working, we have insurance, so I made an appointment with my fertility doctor and the trips back and forth from Stillwater to OKC started. Everything was going great.
September 2008 is when everything started to change (now things will start to come together). I was sitting at work, talking on the phone with a student when it happened. I hung up the phone, turned my head to talk to a co-worker and my neck popped and all the sudden I was stiff and I really couldn't move. Oh my Lord the pain that shot down my neck and into my shoulder. I haven't felt pain like this since physical therapy after the care wreck...and I was in tears. I called my primary care physician to make an appointment. When I went to see her I told her car wreck, the tests, procedures, ect. She said let's do an MRI to see what's going on.
About a week or so after my appointment I had a MRI and waited for the results. Paul and I really thought at worse I had a buldging disk, slipped disk or even a pinched nerve. I would more than likely have some type of surgery and everything will be fine. Not that big of a deal, right?
Hubby and I were talking about traveling to the bowl game...depending on what was found on the MRI and we were trying to guess which bowl the team would go to. Now, if I remember right in 2008 the worse case would be the Holiday again or best case scenario would be the Cotton Bowl. We had decided if it was the Cotton Bowl then we would go. If it was the Holiday, it would be hard but we were hopeing to figure out a way that we would be able to go.
Then I got the call that would change everything....
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Introduction:
I was suppose to do an interview for a Thyroid Cancer organization yesterday that ended up falling thru. To be truthful, the whole process started by me agreeing to write an article for this organizations newsletter and then turned into an interview. I have to admit, when I agreed to do it, I was hesitant. People have a hard time believing me, but I'm actually a shy person. Yes, at times I come across being an out going fun loving person, but in all actuality, I'm really am shy and a little reserved. It takes me a minute or two to get use to people. I'm not the first one to raise my hand, I never sit in the front row, and really I don't seek people out. So for me to agree to do an interview and now start a blog is huge step for me and is completely out of my comfort zone.
Considering the interview didn't happen, I was talking to my dad about how frustrated I was. I was wanting to tell my story...I thought being that I'm from a "small town" that isn't as technology advanced as the big cities, and what all I had gone through might help someone else. My dad then suggested that I might want to start a blog. I had actually thought about that and told him I wish I had when all the cancer stuff first started....he said it's never to late. So, I thought about it off and on through out the day yesterday and decided...you know, it reall is better late than never. I emailed a good friend who has her own blog and she helped me get started.
I guess I jumped a head a little so let me slow down and introduce myself:
My name is Sharlene and I grew up in a little town call Stillwater Oklahoma (Go Pokes!). Now Stillwater really isn't all that small, but when you compare it to Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Chicago, ect...it is. I'm a Stillwater High grad and I graduated from Oklahoma State University. Yes, I'm a proud orange wearing Cowboy. I am married to a wonderful guy and we are complete opposites. Now, remember I said that I was shy, at least I can fake being out going...my husband, no way. He is nowhere close to being a people person. He grew up in Norman and we met while we were both attending college in Stillwater. Yes, I know a Norman Oklahoma guy going to Oklahoma State in Stillwater. It's a good thing he is more into pro sports than college. We dated for five years before we got engaged and got married on our seven year anniversary. We don't have any children and I will get into that later.
I am a Thyroid Cancer Survivor. I have been cancer free for almost three years and have had one of the most interesting, yet frustrating journeys. I really hope my story will help those of you out there who are from a small town and dealing with cancer.
I was suppose to do an interview for a Thyroid Cancer organization yesterday that ended up falling thru. To be truthful, the whole process started by me agreeing to write an article for this organizations newsletter and then turned into an interview. I have to admit, when I agreed to do it, I was hesitant. People have a hard time believing me, but I'm actually a shy person. Yes, at times I come across being an out going fun loving person, but in all actuality, I'm really am shy and a little reserved. It takes me a minute or two to get use to people. I'm not the first one to raise my hand, I never sit in the front row, and really I don't seek people out. So for me to agree to do an interview and now start a blog is huge step for me and is completely out of my comfort zone.
Considering the interview didn't happen, I was talking to my dad about how frustrated I was. I was wanting to tell my story...I thought being that I'm from a "small town" that isn't as technology advanced as the big cities, and what all I had gone through might help someone else. My dad then suggested that I might want to start a blog. I had actually thought about that and told him I wish I had when all the cancer stuff first started....he said it's never to late. So, I thought about it off and on through out the day yesterday and decided...you know, it reall is better late than never. I emailed a good friend who has her own blog and she helped me get started.
I guess I jumped a head a little so let me slow down and introduce myself:
My name is Sharlene and I grew up in a little town call Stillwater Oklahoma (Go Pokes!). Now Stillwater really isn't all that small, but when you compare it to Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Chicago, ect...it is. I'm a Stillwater High grad and I graduated from Oklahoma State University. Yes, I'm a proud orange wearing Cowboy. I am married to a wonderful guy and we are complete opposites. Now, remember I said that I was shy, at least I can fake being out going...my husband, no way. He is nowhere close to being a people person. He grew up in Norman and we met while we were both attending college in Stillwater. Yes, I know a Norman Oklahoma guy going to Oklahoma State in Stillwater. It's a good thing he is more into pro sports than college. We dated for five years before we got engaged and got married on our seven year anniversary. We don't have any children and I will get into that later.
I am a Thyroid Cancer Survivor. I have been cancer free for almost three years and have had one of the most interesting, yet frustrating journeys. I really hope my story will help those of you out there who are from a small town and dealing with cancer.
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