Not a real cancer?

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Comments

  • kitandkat
    kitandkat Member Posts: 11
    #42
    Opportunity to educate
    I've had people say stuff like this to me before, and brush me off by saying "well, at least you didn't have chemo", as if my experience wasn't as important as the person who did have chemo. I was complaining about this to one of my friends and she told me instead of getting offended, I should use this as an opportunity to educate the person. I thought this was a good idea, and people would probably be taken aback by a serious comment that what they are saying is inappropriate and an explanation of my real situation. Since then I have not had a comment like this (it's been years since my thyroid cancer and it usually only comes up with old friends), but I plan to use this advice the next time I do. Doctors especially can be unaware of the extra problems that can come with thyroid cancer and its treatment, especially RAI side effects. It's not always physically as easy as they think - and then of course, with any cancer diagnosis, there's a lot of emotional turmoil.
  • nowrinkles
    nowrinkles Member Posts: 2
    #43
    Ignorant statement
    It is a very ignorant statement. It is cancer, plain and simple.
  • nasher
    nasher Member Posts: 505 Member
    #44
    kitandkat said:

    Opportunity to educate
    I've had people say stuff like this to me before, and brush me off by saying "well, at least you didn't have chemo", as if my experience wasn't as important as the person who did have chemo. I was complaining about this to one of my friends and she told me instead of getting offended, I should use this as an opportunity to educate the person. I thought this was a good idea, and people would probably be taken aback by a serious comment that what they are saying is inappropriate and an explanation of my real situation. Since then I have not had a comment like this (it's been years since my thyroid cancer and it usually only comes up with old friends), but I plan to use this advice the next time I do. Doctors especially can be unaware of the extra problems that can come with thyroid cancer and its treatment, especially RAI side effects. It's not always physically as easy as they think - and then of course, with any cancer diagnosis, there's a lot of emotional turmoil.

    yes i do my best to educate
    yes i do my best to educate people as well

    RAI knocked me out and hard when i had it.

    and now even though i am basicaly recovered i keep haveing other issues in my body (most recently my knee gave out) and i am wondering if any of them might be thyroid cancer or RAI related

    I know that i have some problems definatly caused by RAI and thyroid cancer.

    Luckly i have a good support group in my local area.

    it dosnt matter what type of treatment or what type of cancer you had and what other issues you had to deal with its still cancer.

    myself i have been doing my part to spread the word and help work for a cure for any/all types of cancer. http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/ is a distributed computing site that is working on a cure for cancer's and may be something some of you might want to look into to help cure cancer while you educate people

    every day has its trials and i am doing my best to keep going.

    Remember you are a survivor.. every day
  • EuropeanGirl
    EuropeanGirl Member Posts: 9
    #45
    I must say that all the
    I must say that all the doctors I have been in contact with, have taken my cancer serious. They have said that it is not the worst cancer to have, but I think that is ok to say. None of them have minimized the diseased.

    However, I have been told by others that it is not really a disease. A leader of a thyroid organisation I am a member of told me (when I told her I have had thyroid cancer) that “luckily the cancer is benign”. This provoked me quite a bit, and when I told her that it is definitely not benign but malignant and that approximately 10% of those who get this cancer dies, she was surprised.

    This was the leader of a private organisation meant to take care of the members interests regarding diseases in the thyroid, both politically and medically. Members with thyroid cancer are of course a minority compared with those with normal hyper- or hypothyreodism. But I think it is not much to ask that the leaders of such an organisation knows at least the basics.
  • LBlackman
    LBlackman Member Posts: 113
    #46
    EuropeanGirl said:

    I must say that all the
    I must say that all the doctors I have been in contact with, have taken my cancer serious. They have said that it is not the worst cancer to have, but I think that is ok to say. None of them have minimized the diseased.

    However, I have been told by others that it is not really a disease. A leader of a thyroid organisation I am a member of told me (when I told her I have had thyroid cancer) that “luckily the cancer is benign”. This provoked me quite a bit, and when I told her that it is definitely not benign but malignant and that approximately 10% of those who get this cancer dies, she was surprised.

    This was the leader of a private organisation meant to take care of the members interests regarding diseases in the thyroid, both politically and medically. Members with thyroid cancer are of course a minority compared with those with normal hyper- or hypothyreodism. But I think it is not much to ask that the leaders of such an organisation knows at least the basics.

    Cancer
    My Dr. said the same thing that if you have to have it it's the best one to have....what a crock! I am six years out and it's just hitting me that I have cancer. All my symptoms afterwards were thrown off to stress or something else. Yes I have alot of stress in my life, but I was able to manage a full time job, being a mother and caretaker of elderly parents. Now it's difficult then to find out my husband has been less than honest about some things, but you know what, thanks to everyone's support on here I will survive. I have cancer and I am a survivor and damn lucky! I will deal with the side affects one hour at a time and am seriously thinking about looking into the Mayo clinic here in Jacksonville where I have heard they take peoples health more seriously. It really infuriates me when people say that, espescially an endocrinologist. Yes I am sure they see people diagnosed and have a worse prognosis, but it is what it is. That is VERY unprofessional.
  • nasher
    nasher Member Posts: 505 Member
    #47
    LBlackman said:

    Cancer
    My Dr. said the same thing that if you have to have it it's the best one to have....what a crock! I am six years out and it's just hitting me that I have cancer. All my symptoms afterwards were thrown off to stress or something else. Yes I have alot of stress in my life, but I was able to manage a full time job, being a mother and caretaker of elderly parents. Now it's difficult then to find out my husband has been less than honest about some things, but you know what, thanks to everyone's support on here I will survive. I have cancer and I am a survivor and damn lucky! I will deal with the side affects one hour at a time and am seriously thinking about looking into the Mayo clinic here in Jacksonville where I have heard they take peoples health more seriously. It really infuriates me when people say that, espescially an endocrinologist. Yes I am sure they see people diagnosed and have a worse prognosis, but it is what it is. That is VERY unprofessional.

    1 year out
    Well my Endochronologist takes it serious about the thyroid cancer and he thinks it looks like it is in remision.

    for the thyroid support group remember that you are
    1) thyroid cancer
    2) hypothyroid <-- probably no thyroid

    @europeangirl - you should also let the "leader of a thyroid organisation" know that benign means - Pathology . not malignant; self-limiting.
    Thyroid cancer ,like all cancers, is Malignant.

    ---
    US Mortality
    From 2003-2007, the median age at death for cancer of the thyroid was 74 years of age4X Close
    Table I-13 (http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/ 1975_2007/results_single/ sect_01_table.13_2pgs.pdf). Approximately 0.1% died under age 20; 0.9% between 20 and 34; 2.3% between 35 and 44; 8.1% between 45 and 54; 17.5% between 55 and 64; 24.1% between 65 and 74; 30.3% between 75 and 84; and 16.8% 85+ years of age.

    ---
    no one at my cancer support group thinks any cancer no matter what type or how early it was caught or anything... is good or easy or the type to have or not real.

    alot of people think its a good cancer because they see people living healthy after haveing the cancer. Also most of us who get thyroid cancer do not need to go through chemo.

    Craig

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