Hey everyone!
so I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've just had my 6 month follow up and thought this would be a great resource to continue to keep everyone up to date! The past 6 months for me have actually been great! i've been recovering wonderfully and been able to return to pretty much everything I'd been missing out on and my voice is really starting to get back to where it was with my singing!
However, I am back in Boulder for the week to get a follow up and make sure everything is as it should be health wise. After several days of tests and ultrasounds I've just returned from Denver with somewhat frustrating results. the good news is that all of my levels seem pretty good and I only need a slight medication tweak. Bad news is that in the ultrasound, one of my lymph nodes looks suspicious. Also, My thyroglobulin levels also seem to be a bit higher, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it shows that there is probably a small amount of diseased cells still in there as well.
What this means is that the next step is to get a biopsy to confirm anything. If the biopsy is negative I will fly back to Australia for my second semester of classes and return to Denver in 3 or 4 months for a body scan just to double check everything. (unfortunately since it's the 4th of July weekend i wont be able to get my biopsy until next week so I'm already missing my scheduled flight back to Australia, but we've decided to let that go and not worry about the time frame as my health is the number one priority right now)
If the results are positive, I will most likely get another extensive surgery (woohoo more cool scars). This time on the side of my throat instead of the center around where my thyroid was. luckily the wonderful surgeon who did my previous surgery is still the best guy for the job and sounded very willing to work around my schedule to get it done! THey also made it clear that they would be sure to not only remove the lymph node but fully "clean out" that area of my throat to insure nothing would be left behind! They probably wouldn't do more radioactive iodine any time soon as that can linger and I probably still have it in me a bit. And if that last dose didn't kill it they can't garentee more would make a difference at this time, and they dont want to have to expose me to any more of it than they have to!
Luckily both scenerios are still a stage 1 in cancer and have very promising prognosis! so, although it still sucks, things could be a lot worse and there are still plenty of things I can do and the odds are in my favor! And things still look optimistic for me to return to Australia and even take semester two classes (although I may miss the first week or two)
Over all it's been a hard day, but I am so lucky to have so much support! and my horoscope promised a 5 star day! so although I got told the cancer might still be there, a bird pooped on me, I spilled my lunch all over a poor hospital worker, and I found out i'm allergic to hazelnuts (no more nutella :(),I can't imagine what it would have been like if it was only a 3 star day! And at least I get more time in the beautiful Colorado summer with my beautiful friends and family!
I'll be sure to do my best to update this with any news we get and I really appreciate all the love and support!
Katy
