ivyblossom: (Default)
[personal profile] ivyblossom
So. Here's the recap of the last few months of my life, in case anyone missed it: I had a total thyroidectomy a month ago, and it was rapidly determined that it was a darn good idea. Inside my thyroid they found a 1.5cm cancerous tumour. Thyroid cancer is curable, and I am now continuing on a recovery path that should lead me to total cure in fairly short order.

Cure, as it turns out, is a lot more involved than just plain having a non-invasive, asymptomatic cancer. But still, better out than in, and of course I'm happy to undergo whatever treatments my doctors consider necessary. The total thyroidectomy was the first part (ie, removal of the thyroid gland, which, in case you're curious, lies at the base of your neck and controls things like your body temperature, your energy level, your ability to digest carbs, sugars and proteins, your mitochondrial function, the condition of your skin, hair and nails, etc., and yes, I have a very large incision scar/war wound now), the second part was inducing a deep hypothyroidic state (not replacing the hormone that thryoids produce). The third part is radiation.

I'm currently pretty hypothroidish. You can tell by the 15 shirts I'm wearing under this blanket I'm wrapped in.

Tomorrow, I am checking into the hospital to be irradiated in isolation for three days, four nights. Everything that goes in with me will likely become radioactive, so I'm only taking things I don't like very much (old underpants, etc.), or things purchased specifically for the moment (ie, books!). They don't have the internets at the hospital, so I will go into radio silence. If you're used to seeing me on some form of IM, you won't see me for a bit. Since I haven't done so well at keeping up with my LJ, I guess a few days of no posts won't shock anyone too much.

For the most part I'm not too worried about the radiation. It's not done with a machine, it's just a couple of pills I take and then they lock me away in the attic. (Well, possibly it's not the attic, but I can't be sure yet.) The pills contain radioactive iodine, which I'm told will not hurt at any time, but will emerge from me out of my pores and through my pee. So my pee and my pores will be dangerous to others for a short time. I'm a bit worried about my kidneys and my bladder, but I guess the rule is, shower lots, drink lots, pee lots. That is my general plan. I'm bringing [livejournal.com profile] naominovik's books in with me. I know that she will help me through.

See you on the other side.
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Date: 2008-03-06 01:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ixchelmala.livejournal.com
Keeping you in my thoughts other good things.

Date: 2008-03-06 01:13 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Why thank you! :D

Date: 2008-03-06 01:13 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] twilightbyproxy.livejournal.com
Good luck with the treatment, and let us know how it turns out.

Date: 2008-03-06 01:14 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Will do, thanks!

Date: 2008-03-06 01:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dine.livejournal.com
I'll be sending positive vibes your way!

be sure to let us know if your pee glows in the dark

Date: 2008-03-06 01:22 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Dude! Let's hope so.

I'm hoping this experience will finally release my superpowers, and I can finally don the Radioactive Girl unitard in my closet.

Date: 2008-03-06 01:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] applekid.livejournal.com
ohmygod, sounds kind of scary, but not nearly as scary as surgery... and that blows that they don't have intertubes! :(

on the other hand, i am so so so glad they got that thing out of you, and that you are on the way to being all better. ;_;

Date: 2008-03-06 01:30 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
I hear it's mostly just boring. But I'll have my salt scrub and my nice smelly shampoos and body washes. I'm going to town at the drug store tomorrow and just picking up the most ravishing things. And then I will laze around in an old pair of pajamas reading about dragons.

The intertubes would just make it any other normal long weekend. ;)

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] applekid.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-03-06 02:00 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-03-06 02:05 am (UTC) - Expand

Date: 2008-03-06 01:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] anamchara.livejournal.com
Good luck and *hugs*!

Date: 2008-03-06 01:31 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you!

Date: 2008-03-06 01:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bloodquartz.livejournal.com
I just wanted to say I wish you all the best, you're being incredibly brave and strong - and just generally awe inspiring ^_^ I hope everything goes well and I know you don't know me but i'm sending hugs your way. Take care of yourself and stay strong. *hugs*

Date: 2008-03-06 01:33 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Hmmm you wouldn't call me brave if you see me when they try to get blood from my arms, let me tell you. :P Thanks for the hugs though, they're always needful and wonderful. :)

Date: 2008-03-06 01:29 am (UTC)
twistedchick: mountains, Jackson Brown quote: You do what you can to keep your love alive -- try not to confuse this with what you do  (love alive)
From: [personal profile] twistedchick
I'll be thinking good thoughts in your direction.

Date: 2008-03-06 01:34 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you!

Date: 2008-03-06 01:32 am (UTC)
ext_14294: A redhead an a couple of cats. (Default)
From: [identity profile] ashkitty.livejournal.com
Take it as an opportunity to spend some time by yourself with the books. :)

Thinking of you, love.

Date: 2008-03-06 01:36 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Oh yes. Me, books, salt scrub, and old pajamas. Maybe I'll start doing personal retreats at regular intervals, minus the radiation pills after this. :)

Date: 2008-03-06 01:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] blackholly.livejournal.com
Have a good rest and enjoy the reading.

*hugs*

Date: 2008-03-06 01:38 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thanks, Holly! YA fantasy fiction == perfect treatment for cancer. Perfectly distracting, perfectly entertaining. The next time anyone asks you about the value of that audience that you're addressing, that's my perspective on it at the moment. :)

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] blackholly.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-03-06 01:41 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-03-06 01:46 am (UTC) - Expand

Date: 2008-03-06 01:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bombaygin.livejournal.com
You will do wonderfully. Sending all my best thoughts and hopes your way, sweetie. Give love to the boy. I know he'll be there with you every step of the way.

Date: 2008-03-06 01:40 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Haha yes, in spirit from Chicago. :) He arrives about a week after all this, right in time for me to start to get better! Hopefully I have enough energy left not to be completely boring. But if I'm boring, he can get some work done on his dissertation, so it won't be a total loss.

Date: 2008-03-06 01:50 am (UTC)
ext_18224: (*hugs*)
From: [identity profile] novembersnow.livejournal.com
I'm sending good thoughts your way. ♥ I hope everything goes well for you over the next few days.

Date: 2008-03-06 01:53 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you!

Date: 2008-03-06 02:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] boniblithe.livejournal.com
Right there with you in spirit :D

Date: 2008-03-06 03:56 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Yes, I will be thinking of you as I read. :)

Date: 2008-03-06 02:31 am (UTC)
zorb: (Default)
From: [personal profile] zorb
Good luck! Enjoy the books. :)

Date: 2008-03-06 04:12 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you! I will certainly do my best!

Date: 2008-03-06 02:38 am (UTC)
venivincere: (Default)
From: [personal profile] venivincere
Best of luck on your odyssey, Ivy. You'll come 'round just fine, I'm sure. *hugs*

Date: 2008-03-06 08:31 pm (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you!

Date: 2008-03-06 02:52 am (UTC)
kerri: (*kitten snuggle*)
From: [personal profile] kerri
Will be thinking of you! *rubs noses*

Date: 2008-03-06 08:32 pm (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
*rubs noses back*

Date: 2008-03-06 02:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dominonermandi.livejournal.com
Best of luck, Ivy! We all love you. (Even though some of us *cough*me*cough* don't poke their heads about your LJ like they used to.

A random word of advice, from someone who has also been irradiated for medical reasons. A slightly gross word of advice... Eat things that are likely to be incredibly gentle on your stomach. I had digestive problems for a few months after I was treated for something with radiation. I wish someone had warned me. :) It's no big deal, but I just figured I'd tell you just cause, well, the more you know, right?

Much love!

Date: 2008-03-06 04:14 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Hmmm curious. Pills, or machine? I'll definitely watch out for that. My stomach is good against drugs that are supposed to make you sick, but terrible with stress. So who knows!

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] dominonermandi.livejournal.com - Date: 2008-03-06 03:20 pm (UTC) - Expand

Date: 2008-03-06 03:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aome.livejournal.com
I saw your comment at Peg's journal so I had to come over and see what all this was about. Ack! I'm glad it seems so treatable, but still not something fun to deal with. Will they eventually re-thyroid you, with medication?

Btw, I agree with you that a short hospital stay - as long as you're not really sick and miserable - does actually make a reasonable retreat. Not the most ideal location, but I still got a mental break in a lot of ways during my long-weekend stay in 2006. (The only real bummer was not being allowed to leave the ward, and thus walking around and around the ward multiple times to stretch my legs.) Btw, bring a spare blanket for your bed, if you have one you don't mind getting radioactive, and especially if you've been cold - hospitals get cold at night.

Hope all goes smoothly!

Date: 2008-03-06 04:05 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thanks!

A week after radiation, they will give me a tracer dose of radioactive iodine, and then they will look to see if it's concentrating anywhere in my body. If it is, I need more radiation, or they need to look into where that concentration is. Because my nymph nodes all came back testing negative, there is no real suspicion that there will be any other surprise cancers in my system, but the likely stops are lungs and bones. Because the originating cancer is thyroid tissue, it will still behave like thyroid tissue, even in my lungs or bones, so it will be identifiable. If they identify more trouble spots, they will take action on them. Radioactive iodine treatments have been known to destroy even thyroid cancers that have proceeded to the lungs, it's very powerful and very targetted. Once I'm scanned and clear of any additional concentrations, I can start on thyroid hormone. My endocrinologist fully expects me to be starting on thyroid hormone in the 14th. My tumour was buried deep inside a calcified nodule on my thyroid, and with the negative lymph nodes, they're pretty certain I'm likely already cured, but the radiaton treatment will ensure and underscore that. Should all go well, of course.

I'm fairly confident all will go well.

I should be back to my regular self in about a month. Or, really, I should be back to better than myself. I suspect my thyroid has been underperforming for some time now. It will be nice if I get a good jolt of renewed energy out of this.

Thanks again!

Date: 2008-03-06 03:10 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nightbluesprite.livejournal.com
Best of luck, and many hugs. I hope the whole process ends up being very spa-ish. :)

Give us an update when you're back to the intrawebs, plzkthx.

Date: 2008-03-06 08:34 pm (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Will do, thanks!

Date: 2008-03-06 03:19 am (UTC)
ext_48929: (daiken-holding hands)
From: [identity profile] eternalblue.livejournal.com
Warm wishes and thoughts going your way!

Date: 2008-03-06 08:34 pm (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you!

because i don't know what the hell else to say,

Date: 2008-03-06 03:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] twistedm.livejournal.com
i'll be praying for you.

Mi sheberakh avoteinu mekor habrakha l’imoteinu
May the Source of strength
Who blessed the ones before us
Help us find the courage
To make our lives a blessing,
And let us say: Amen.
Mi sheberakh imoteinu mekor habrakha l’avoteinu
Bless those in need of healing With refuah shleima:
The renewal of body,
The renewal of spirit,
And let us say: Amen
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you so much! I appreciate it. :)

Date: 2008-03-06 04:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] max-ambiguity.livejournal.com
That sounds incredibly boring for you. I hope you get a tv or a radio or something. Although I suppose one interesting way to look at it is to say you'll be a biological weapon for a short period of time. Or would you be a chemical weapon? Now I'm confused.

Date: 2008-03-06 04:18 am (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
I get a tv, though a radio would be nice as well. But they give you the option of a tv, and my doctor strongly recommended that I take the tv. I can understand why.

I am totally a biological weapon! Beware radioactive libraries!

Date: 2008-03-06 04:24 am (UTC)
ext_6866: (Pyrograph)
From: [identity profile] sistermagpie.livejournal.com
Good luck!

I spoke to someone once who'd had this same treatment--including the radiation and she was healthy by the time I met her. She said the radiation treatment wasn't bad at all--just weird being in isolation with only people in space suits coming in to see her! (And a strange lady who brought her an egg salad sandwich, ignoring the sign on the door.)

Date: 2008-03-06 08:35 pm (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Hahha whoops. Yeah, I'm not worried about it really, just making sure I have everything I'd want, so I don't spend the whole time going, dammit how hard was it to remember to bring a disposable razor! :D

Date: 2008-03-06 06:18 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aldiara.livejournal.com
*big hugs* Good luck, I'll keep sending good vibes your way!

Date: 2008-03-06 08:35 pm (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you!

Date: 2008-03-06 06:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chrismm.livejournal.com
Good luck! Hopefully you'll be all better and can start taking the meds that make the hypo go away soon. Sending get-better mojo...

Date: 2008-03-06 08:35 pm (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you!!

Date: 2008-03-06 07:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] airemay.livejournal.com
Also sending good vibes!! Enjoy the book and the salt scrub!

Date: 2008-03-06 08:35 pm (UTC)
ext_22302: (Default)
From: [identity profile] ivyblossom.livejournal.com
Thank you!
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