#oh thyroid cancer is the best cancer to have! they said oh we caught it so early it’ll be nothing! they said | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aisyahyussof · 1 year

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Cancer Pt 1.

Where do I even begin? Well, how about when I found out I had cancer.

Yes I have cancer.

"I don't have good news. What we found from your biopsy are some traces of cancer cells. You have Stage 1 papillary thyroid cancer."

Not to sound dramatic but this was the moment when I felt like everything was a blur and well, just like in the movies I could not really recall what happened next. Except for one thing, remembering I had an infant back home and I felt like a failure if I wasn't even given the chance to raise her.

My next thought was, how could I leave my husband with such a big amount of responsiblity?

I didn't think how cancer would actually effect me. I didn't have the time. So instead of being in a blur, I tried my best to concentrate on what the doctor was actually trying to tell me.

"Well, the good news is we caught it early. The survival rate after treatment is almost 90%. We have an action plan for you and that would require surgery. You would have to remove your whole thyroid and ..."

My phone rang.

"I'm sorry, doctor. It's my husband."

"Oh yes, please go ahead."

Mizi had been waiting with my 4 month old daughter in the car. It has been almost an hour.

"Hey dear. is everything okay? Are you going to be long?"

We had thought that this trip to the doctor's would be about thirty minutes max. We definitely did not expect me getting life changing news.

"Hey dear. I have bad news. The doctor says I have cancer."

"HUH? WHAT? Eh dear, this is not funny seh. Ahhh... dear. then how? Do you want me to go up? But ahh, Amelia is with me."

Oh yes, I found out I had cancer when the world was thick with covid.

"I don't know. The doctor says I need to go for more tests for my surgery... so might take awhile."

"A while... i can't be staying here with Amelia right... ahh this is not funny seh. And I promised the sticker seller, I'll be there in ten mins."

I didn't recall saying this as a joke but I understood why he reacted that way. It was his coping mechanism. What was mine?

"It's okay. You go ahead first. Or maybe I can go down. Let me check with the doctor."

Oh yes, that was mine (coping mechanism). Blocking my reality and thinking others'.

"Can I come back for the test, doctor?"

"Well, it's not really advisable."

"It's just that I have to fetch my daughter from my husband."

"Ahh, I see. Sure, you go to the nurses' station and tell them, how long you'll be."

"Okay, thanks doctor."

Give me about an hour and I'll be back. That was me, just finding out that I had cancer, making arrangements for my normal life. My supposedly normal and healthy life.

I guess, it has always been that way. Mizi had been fighting for his life for the past three years. Having a block artery, he had been in and out of hospital and going through multiple ballooning surgeries just so he could save his leg. I was supposed to be that pillar of support. A rock solid support for my ever so strong and courageous husband.

So, that was what I aimed to be. A supporting role, not the leading cast. I did not have time to process what the doctor had said. So I had to turn to google.

5-year relative survival rates for thyroid cancer

These numbers are based on people diagnosed with thyroid cancer between 2011 and 2017.

Papillary thyroid cancer

SEER Stage

5-Year Relative Survival Rate

Localized

near 100%

Regional

99%

Distant

75%

All SEER stages combined

near 100%

Does that mean I didn't have to panic? Was this like a flu? Would surgery solve everything? The doctor said I had to go through some radioactive therapy. Would I be losing hair? What about my daughter? I had to stop breastfeeding. I had to be away from her for a certain amount of time. Would she be ok?

Would everyone be ok?

"Ah, okay. So what now? I send you back to the hospital then I head back and ask Abah to take care of Amelia?" Mizi asks me. He knew what my answer would be.

"It's okay, dear. You just head back and I'll take the bus home. I'm not sure how long it will be."

The phone rings.

"HI, are you Nurul Aisyah?"

"Yes. oh yes I am heading back to the hospital."

"Yeah. your number has been called yeah. Please hurry as the doctor needs you to go through the tests."

"Okay, sure. I'm on my way back."

Mizi turns to me.

"I want to be there for you. But... this is just a lot. Just tell me how I could be there for you. What can I do?"

He tried to hold back tears. I didn't have any. In my mind, I had to beat it. This was not going to define me. I will go through the surgery, the treatments and I am going to be fine.

I had to be fine.

I reached the clinic, bid farewell to Mizi and went into the room. As I waited for the machine to warm up, the doctor stood beside me.

She looked at me, as I looked at her.

"I know this must be scary but don't worry, you're going to be okay."

"Thank you, doctor. I'm just worried for my family."

"Oh yeah, you have a daughter right."

"Yes"

"Is there anyone to take care of her when you're going to the surgery?"

"My husband."

"That's good."

"So after going through the surgery and the treatments, I will be cured?"

"Hopefully. But you would have to come in for checkups even after that. Lifelong checkups and since we are removing your whole thyroid, you would have to be on lifelong medicine too."

"Oh."

"Yes, cause generally when someone has been diagnosed with cancer, we would have to keep testing your cancer markers every year just to make sure it hasn't spread to any other parts."

"Oh, i see."

The phone rang.

"Oh sorry, doctor. It's my husband... yes dear?"

"How are you? Have you gone through the test yet?"

"No, not yet. Still waiting for the machine to turn on."

"Oh okay, i told Abah. I just couldn't hold it. I cried in front of him."

I wish I could say the same. I wish I could have some time to process and cry. But i couldn't, I didn't have time to.

To say out loud that I have cancer... It would make everything real and I still wanted to be in denial that it wasn't a big deal. That I'll fight it like I fought the flu.

I will get better.

I will, won't I?

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kansascityhappenings · 5 years

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Raytown High sophomore surprised at school with news she’s cancer free

RAYTOWN, Mo. — A local teen is extra thankful this year after she got a big surprise last week.

Fifteen-year-old Emily Sadler was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in March 2017.

“It was scary. It was overwhelming, just worried, wanted to make it better,” her mom, Amy Sadler, said.

“It was kind of rough. I had to have a round of chemo/radiation,” the Raytown High sophomore said.

After multiple surgeries, doctor visits and complications, doctors told Amy that her daughter was cancer free. The Raytown mom kept it a secret for a few days while getting approval from the school administration.

“My mom told the nurses not to tell me if I`m cancer free or not because I told her months in advance that, if I am, I want a surprise party,” Emily said.

So her mom did just that. She notified friends, family and Raytown High teachers — and told everyone to keep the secret.

“I said, ‘If there`s a chance that the news is really good today, I need him somehow not to tell her, but to tell me,'” Amy said.

On Friday, Emily got the surprise she was looking for. At school, Emily was taken out of class and was told everyone was going to take a yearbook photo.

“As soon as she walked out in the hall, everybody hollered, ‘Emily is cancer free!'” Amy said.

Watch the emotional moment caught on camera in the video player above.

“I went out there, and I cried a lot,” Emily said. “I walked out, and I didn’t know what was going on. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ All my best friends were there. All my teachers were there, and my whole family was there. It was just amazing to see all the support I had because they’ve all supported me through this.”

“I lost it. I ugly cried,” Amy added. “I hadn’t been that emotional when we found out because I worked so hard keeping it a secret, but it was really emotional. It was amazing. It just made me see what an awesome place it is where my daughter and my sons have gone to school.”

Emily said it’s hard but she considers herself a very positive, upbeat person.

“Not really much gets me down. I was really concerned about it, but I feel like all my friends and family being there for me really helped me through it and really helped me not get down about it,” she said.

The Raytown High sophomore will continue to take medication, but she’s officially cancer-free.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2018/11/21/raytown-high-sophomore-surprised-at-school-with-news-shes-cancer-free/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2018/11/22/raytown-high-sophomore-surprised-at-school-with-news-shes-cancer-free/

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