Too long and stressful.

brittanyb13

Im 17 years old, I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer 2 years ago. Since then I've had 2 surgeries, 1 RAI treatment, 1 bioposy and that horrible low iodine diet. The doctors just informed me a couple weeks ago that I have to have surgery again in october, do another treatment and go from there. I feel like this is all my life revolves around now. I also hate pain, and sometimes I feel like i have no one to talk to because no one my age is going through this. Im in my graduating year of high school now and I actually want to do good. Last year in school my grades dropped because I could never fully think about school. Also I just seem to never be as happy as I use too. Do you think that my thyroid pills could be affecting me in a way? Also do you think I will ever be able to seperate thyroid cancer from my life, and after this surgery and treatment is it likely to go away? I'm just so tired of dealing with it.

please help.

JAWsSavannah

Your feelings are probably
Your feelings are probably the result of several factors. You're young and young folks tend to feel separate and apart...different from their parents and family...it goes with the territory.

You've been through a lot of medical procedures which are stressful on your body and your mind. Your thyroid medicine is moderating the bad things, though, not making them worse. If you're taking too much or too little that will affect your feelings negatively so make sure your blood work is frequent and thorough.

This is a great place to talk about your thyroid issues but there aren't many of us on here compared to some of the other forums; with fewer people it will be harder to find others your age. I also post on another site where hundreds of people post every day and I believe you might find more young folks there. I don't know if it's OK to post links to other forums on here but if it is I'll give you a link.

Hang in there, young lady. You have your whole life ahead of you. And please take care of yourself.

daughdx19

Too Long and Stressful
Hi Brittany,

You are very young to get this disease, but as scary and stressful that it is the doctors have always told us that because of your ages the prognosis is very good.. I know it sounds redundant, but I have to believe it.. I have read alot of info about thyroid cancer and the best website for kids under 18 is thykidz.. Many kids and teenagers have their stories documented.. Below is a brief description of what my daughter has gone through. Please stay strong and if you have questions don't hesitate to ask the doctors. It's your body and you have every right to know what is happening and why..

My daughter was diagnosed in Dec. 2007 at 19 years old. Total Thyroidectomy, Parathyroid Glands Removed and 1 transplanted, Bilateral Neck Disection w/90 lymph nodes removed w/56 papillary cancer including Mediastinum area. 2nd Surgery in April,2008 to remove another 2 cancerous nodes(left clavical and mediastinum). She had a 200 dose of RAI in May,2008.

I am not going to talk about all the blood tests, and Ultrasounds, and CT scans. Hyper and Hypo. You know the routine.

I want to celebrate with you and the CSN that her last ultrasound showed no evidence of disease, a CT scan had 2 small calcified nodes in mediastinum which srunk from 2008 RAI, and on August 14, she had a RAI-WBS with no uptake... Her endocrinologist is thrilled. Her Nuclear Medicine Dr was presently suprised.. I am ecstatic, because for today I know my daughter has no sign of living thyroid cancer. I know it's not over, but I feel confident.

She has to be followed very carefully, because of the original amount of her disease. The reoccurance rate is high because of this same reason..

God Bless

Rita C

2nd Opinion
Perhaps, you should get a 2nd opinion, if you haven't already? You are dealing with a lot of stuff and you need information. Please consider calling the Cancer Treatment Centers of America for an evaluation. God bless you.

mely

life can be just as sunny as it was:)
Hey girl, so I do not know you but of all the posts that I have read yours caught my eye. See I am a young mom 27 to be exact and I just had another baby and imagine my shock when I was told that I had thyroid cancer. You are so right it does seem to take over your whole life. I have had more needles and scans and blood than I ever thought I would have to have in my life. there are so many different emotions that you face day to day, although I am not as young as you are I often look at healthy people and ask myself why on earth is this happening to me. I am the picture of health I run eat smart and love the gym. I have had many opinions from diff Drs. Of course any Dr that you go to is gonna say that you have to have drastic surgery radiation etc etc. I have chosen to take a natural approach and as you can imagine did not get support from mainstream Drs. I have 3 tumors and 1 is quite large. I am working with a natropath Dr in Texas. I am on what is called a Yeast Free diet and I will tell ya it is not exactly what it sounds like. I had to make up my mind to just jump head first into it and I will have to say that once you get the hang of it I almost wonder why I would go back to eating the way I use to. I know that you have already had surgeries etc. but if you would like for me to share some of my natropaths info with you I would be more than happy to along with anything else you might want to know. I have to say that before I had cancer I always associated the word with death, but now that I have it I am using it as a new way to view life. I know that there are many throw your hands up and want to just cry or scream moments but it is only as bad as you make it and now I am thinking that there could be alot worse things to be going through in life. Stay strong and tough. take care and keep in touch:)

Mely