Surgery Tomorrow

Well, friends, tomorrow is the big day. My Mom, Tom and I will head to the hospital around 11 for my second surgery. Two weeks ago, before we knew I had cancer, I had the left side of my thyroid and two tumors removed. My surgeon said that since my biopsy came back benign, that only one side of my thyroid had to be removed. The reason doctors do this is to save any unaffected thyroid tissue in hopes that whatever is left will be enough to provide my body with normal thyroid hormone. This prevents one from having to go on thyroid replacement medication for the rest of their life. It's standard practice to remove your entire thyroid if you have cancer, but at the time of my first surgery no one knew.

Deja vu. There is a part of me that's pretty damn angry that I have to do this all over again. I mean, really? Again? I'm finally starting to feel back to normal and now I have to start all over. Having your neck sliced open is NOT a walk in the park. Not to mention I'll be off work for another two weeks to recover. Stupid if you ask me! But, when cancer calls, you best answer the damn phone.

I picked up my perscription for my thyroid hormone replacements today. I had a conversation with the bottle in the car. "So, guess you're with me forever, huh?" "Well, if we are in this for the long haul, you better act right and not make me feel like shit, or make my hair fall out like your directions say you might."
It's amazing to me all the important things your thyroid does for your body. Two months ago, I didn't even know I had a thyroid, much less its function. Apparently, your thyroid regulates body temperature, controls blood pressure, and regulates your metabolism. Tomorrow that important gland is coming out, and I'll be relying on a little white pill forever.

I'd like to take this monent to thank my thyroid gland for jumping on the cancer granade. For sparing my other glands and major organs, I award you the purple scalpel. R.I.P Thyroid. I'll miss you.

I'll try my best to blog tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks again for all the calls, texts, and cards. Getting the mail has taken on a whole new meaning! Love you all!

Needed: New head.

Maybe I need a head transplant. I woke up yesterday morning with a swollen cheek and the mother of all fever blisters. I crawled out of bed and walked into the bathroom to have a look at my aching face. What I saw was a gigantic fever blister that had baby fever blisters on top of it. Awesome! Happy Thanksgiving to me! I thought well, it's a good thing I don't have to be around anyone today. Oh wait, I do. Ha! Tom never misses an opportunity to laugh at my expense. He would stop, look at my lip, jump back, and say "HOLY SHIT". He's a gem.

Yesterday continued the same way it started. I had to take a pain pill before we even left the house to head to my Mom’s. In true two year-old fashion, Maxwell refused to nap and was a nasty guy all day.

I had a good time at my Mom's, and it was great catching up with family. We had dinner with my family and headed over to Tom's parents’ house. As soon as Tom's Dad saw me he said, "What the hell is wrong with your lip?" Oh, nothing Mr. Huppmann, just a fever blister. MORTIFIED. I'm not kidding when I tell you this thing is huge. Looks like I got in an early black Friday brawl and lost. 

That's not gravy!

I felt much better today. We got up, had breakfast, and went couch shopping. Maxwell and I had a nice afternoon nap, while Tom went to lax it up with his friend.

We got this beauty for the basement.

I'm trying to enjoy this weekend. My second surgery is scheduled for Tuesday and I know I’ll be out of commission for a good week after. Trying to squeeze it all in. The house is a wreck . That's on the to-do list tomorrow. I'm waiting for one of my super caring friends to offer to help with something, so I can ask them to come clean this house. :) I'm a famous blogger now; I don't have time to clean anymore. Haha!!

Like I said before, I'll be having surgery Tuesday at 1:00pm at Howard County General in Columbia. I'm not sure if I'll be staying overnight or coming home. I'll ask Tom to blog Tuesday with my status.

Hope everyone saved lots of money on the Christmas gifts they got me! ;) Happy Black Friday.

How i got here...

Yup, you read that title correctly, I have cancer.

January of last year I started having this weird facial pain and swelling on the left side of my face. I went to numerous doctors (Dentists, Ear Nose and Throat specialists, and even my primary care doctor) and no one was able to tell me why my face and neck hurt. By process of elimination we decided that perhaps it was a tooth. I had a root canal in May. The pain never really went away. Defeated, in August I called my ENT once again thinking this HAD to be a sinus infection. I spoke with the receptionist, who told me my doctor was on vacation, would I mind seeing the new doctor at the practice. When Dr. Beningfield came into my room, he looked at my file, which I’m sure is a mile long, and said; “WOW, Miss. Mayfield, where do we begin?” Hah!

I had a "new patient exam" and about half way through he said, "Has anyone told you that you have a nodule on your Thyroid?" Ummm, no? Wait, what the hell is a Thyroid? He went on to explain that Thyroid nodules are very common and usually not a problem, but that it might be a good idea to have an ultrasound to have a closer look. On my follow up appointment after the ultrasound, Dr. Beningfield told me that my nodule was pretty large and he thinks that we should do a fine needle biopsy. I had my biopsy and was told that as they suspected, I did not have cancer. Whew! What now?  I have something growing in my neck that is the size of a golf ball... do i want to have surgery to remove it? Um, yeah. Ha. Can we do it today? I had surgery November 11th at Howard County General to remove the left half of my thyroid. The surgery went well, and my recovery was easier than I imagined it would be. A week later, during my follow up visit, my surgeon warned me that my" tumors" looked funny and that a pathologist was looking them over. We'll know more when my pathology report comes back. Three days later I got the call. “I’m sorry, Miss Mayfield, you have CANCER!”

I’ve come to learn that if you're going to get cancer, thyroid cancer is the kind you want! The 20 year survival rate for thyroid cancer is 98%. Awesome! Now what? Now, i have to have yet another surgery. After my second surgery, I’ll have a treatment called radioactive iodine.

I’ve tried to call most of my friends and family, but there are so many of you.  I wanted to start a blog because i think it will help keep everyone informed, and to be honest.. I kind of feel bad for Tom. All we talk about anymore is my thyroid and cancer. Poor guy.  Tom says that if anyone asks, he likes Qdoba. I've told him that it's okay for him to play the cancer card, too!

In closing, I wanted to say that while I’m scared and a little angry, I’m very hopeful. I will win this fight. I want us to laugh our way through this together. We're in this together after all, aren't we?

The happiest of Thanksgiving to all of you. This year, I’m thankful for Thyroid cancer, thankful that I didn’t get some kind of other, less manageable cancer.