thywarrior2013and2025

I Did Not Choose…

November 25, 2025

(Triggers – Depression, Anxiety, Cancer, Fibromyalgia, Asthma)

I did not choose to have CANCER again after 12 years. Not knowing if we can cure it again.

I did not choose to get illness induced asthma after COVID. Not being able to take a deep breath as my body feels it is sick with this cancer in me. Running out of breath simply walking from my car into work or from my classroom to the bathroom. Feeling as if I can’t breath at all at times which is scary as F*%$.

I did not choose to get FIBROMYALGIA with it’s never ending list of symptoms (ongoing pain, migraines, bathroom issues, bone pain, whole body swelling, overheated to freezing in the snap of a finger, lack of appetite where I barely eat much anymore, etc.). To know that it will never leave me and that the symptoms change day to day.

I did not choose to barely make it through my teaching day which is normally 7:30-5. To wonder if I will make it to my truck after work due to the pain, breathing difficulties and feeling like my body is cement and I can not even move. To struggle around school and to not be able to have the energy to game with the Game Club students at lunch.

I did not choose to sit in my truck before work and cry as I am afraid of the pain I will incur from going to work.

I did not choose to sit in my truck after work and cry as I in fact do hurt so bad I fear getting home safely.

I did not choose to fall asleep crying after work fully clothed, to wake & eat a bit, & then fall asleep again at 7:00 or 8:00 PM as sleep is all I can handle. To miss time with my husband, miss time reading or playing games on tv. To then sleep 12 hours and cry upon waking at the time I feel I wasted.

I did not choose to be forced to sit and rest so my pain lessens on my off days. To not be able to work out as I want. To not be able to go places I want as if I do not rest I won’t make it to work then next day.

I did not choose finally falling asleep to wake and then NOT be able to go back to sleep many nights. My mind in a neverending reel of ‘What ifs…. Did I finish…. I need to do….’ thoughts.

I did not choose this never ending feeling that my world is gone forever. That this anxiety and depression won’t ever leave. That these scared feelings will never leave. The horrendous fear that I am failing at my life.

I did not choose any of this. This is NOT living. This is barely surviving.

Yet…

I DO CHOOSE my husband who gives me endless support and love. Who sits with me as I cry, who calms my anxiety attacks, who cooks delicious gluten free healthy meals for me – researching new recipes that will be good for me right now. Who makes me yummy iced coffee in delicious mixes even when he hates coffee. Who reminds me that we have only been together 7 years and married for 2 years and that we have a LOT OF TIME left together and lots of things to still do. Who reminds me to not give up.

I DO CHOOSE my parents who help me as much as they can and who are always there if I need them. My Mom who watches Hallmark movies with me when I can stay awake and who leaves me notes with the names of good ones to watch if I fall asleep. My Dad who in his own quiet way supports me through all the decisions I make in this difficult time.

So to everyone out there with even ONE of the many illnesses I have PLEASE remember what you do have. What you do choose. For while the bad definitely outweighs the good while we are fighting for our lives the good means more. So much more. For it is the good and the people who love us that give us strength to fight. A reason to fight.

For me? I choose to fight all of this, to live through it, to enjoy the little moments every day, to come out stronger than before, to have my time here on earth to do what I want to do, to not feel so much pain-anger-fear every day. I choose to give myself permission to lean on my family as needed, to accept help when needed, to use mobility aids when needed without feeling less than so that I can truly LIVE in the future no matter what I may still be fighting.
Road Block

October 8, 2025

I was always tough. I could handle anything. In my life I have almost died multiple times and always bounced back. I supported, and still support my parents, I worked multiple jobs and did it all as a single woman. I never let my emotions get in the way. I would tamper them down and keep on chugging. Life was NOT going to stop me.

When I was in my early 30s I was not only working 3 jobs yet I was also very active. I exercised 7-10 hours a week- bowling, weight lifting, walking, and water aerobics. I was happy and while I was still considered obese medically I was fit. Then my first life as I called it ended.

In 2003 I had a car crash where a semi turned in front of me and I could not stop. My laser red Mustang against a semi-truck. My car was totaled and the police said that if I had hit the truck a foot to the left I would have slid under the bed of the truck. My engine was pushed into the cab of my car and my left leg was squished somewhat. However, other than bumps and bruises and a neck mark from the seatbelt I was ok! I was back to work in a week and back to my busy life.

Yet less than a year later in 2004 I lost another life. I developed a deep-vein thrombosis to mid-thigh in my left leg and a saddlehorn pulmonary embolis. I did water aerobics for 2 hours the night before I ended up in the ICU. Yet while I was side-tracked for 10 days in the hospital and 4 months after, I kept chugging. I even taught myself knitting as I recuperated.

In 2011 I felt at my best as I had lost over 100 pounds and completed a ½ marathon in 3 hours 42 minutes and 49 seconds. I was still working multiple jobs helping to support my parents and I. I felt AMAZING. I even started acting in local theatres from San Jose to Gilroy. Yet in December 2012 as I was rehearsing for a play and training for my second ½ marathon I was again sidetracked.

This time I learned I had gallstones which are common in women losing over 100 pounds. Who knew? Not me! Of course life was not done throwing me curveballs and during surgery they realized they could not intubate me. I was out and not breathing for precious time as they had to use a flexible tube to intubate me. I call this another life lost event. Yet while stretching my neck back they saw a lump in my throat. This led to my diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer.

From January 2013, through my remission in Spring 2014, I continued to charge. Before and after surgery I continued walking and became active in Relay For Life events. I even created a team at my main school. I was not going to be stopped! I often walked 15-20K steps a day.

Then in 2020 I got COVID before it was even a thing. This led to fibromyalgia and weight gain of all I had lost. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. I tried medication for the severe ongoing pain yet it led to weight gain of over 60 lbs. I stopped it against medical advice. I kept charging with my husband and family’s help. I thought my life could not get worse. I was WRONG.

This summer 2025 as I have shared I am facing a recurrence of cancer after 12 years. I am still baffled by the fact you can have thyroid cancer while having NO THYROID. Now I am struggling. I have ongoing pain from the constant flares, I am depressed and anxious, I cry at the drop of a hat, and I am tired. A bone deep fatigue that sleep does not abate. I am barely functioning. This, THIS cancer, is blocking my road and I must find a way to break through.

Silver Lining? While good, and bad, I have two months until surgery. My cancer surgery will be 12/3/2025. So for now I am making a promise to myself to NOT give in completely. To rest when needed, yet keep eating healthy, do my job the best as I know I can, and even add in some stretching to my daily life.

To you all? Please take this as a reminder that feelings add up. They can stop you in your tracks. Do NOT deny them. Acknowledge them and take care of yourselves. Yet there is a light at the end that if we keep working towards, we can reach.
3 Times a Charm!

September 17, 2025

FINALLY on September 16th at 7:45 pm we got some good news! After 3 neck biopsies with the most recent, and most invasive, this past Friday we have good news! What is it you ask? Well, it was so good I had to put on my Wonder Woman toppers in celebration! The most recent biopsy of the left side of my neck showed ‘No Malignant Cancer Cells’!! All three of the enlarged lymph nodes on the left are CANCER FREE.

WAIT! Why is she so excited? Doesn’t she still have cancer? I am so confused!

Yes, I still have Papillary Thyroid Cancer on the right side of my neck even with having no thyroid which was removed 12 years ago. I know this. However, this most recent news means so very many good things such as:

1- Length of surgery will be much less and will only be on one side of my neck.

2- The cancer nodes on the right are more easily accessible. The three enlarged nodes on the left were under muscle and near large veins.

3- Recuperation while still going to be very difficult based on health factors will still be less with only one side affected.

So let me take a quick pause to change my toppers on my glasses….

There! I changed to ‘8-Bit Boos’ which not only matches my dress and the season yet also my mood. See I love, love, love Autumn. (Side note- my husband forbids the word fall as I am very clumsy, haha!) Yet I love pumpkins, pumpkin spice, sunflowers, crisp air when you wake in the morning, Halloween all of it.

Now with this good news I feel I have a shot at beating this cancer. I will be honest, this past week prior to hearing the good news I was feeling very beaten down and very depressed. All the ‘What Ifs’ were getting to me. Unfortunately this led to many tears and fibromyalgia flares. Trying to recuperate with the stress was exhausting. Now I can relax just a bit and focus on healing this week before I face the reality again of all that remains such as:

1- Figuring out my disability insurance for time off work.

2- Making my list of questions for when I meet with the surgeon on 10/2.

3- Uploading my will info to Kaiser giving medical control to my husband when I am in surgery as well as documenting my ‘what if’ desires.

4- Prepping excellent therapy lessons, squeezing in as much as I can before I leave for surgery.

Yet all that can wait. The rest of today will be playing Animal Crossing New Horizons on my TV (I hooked my switch up to it) and finishing reading and reviewing an ARC book I signed up for called ‘Hot Four Teacher’, haha! Then tonight a movie and maybe homemade popcorn with my husband Charlie.

HAVE A HAPPY BEGINNING OF FALL EVERYONE!
Halloween, Fall & Another Biopsy

August 17, 2025
Green Slime Toppers on my PAIR Eyewear Quinns

HALLOWEEN? Halloween you say?? WHAT?? Well for those of you who get the heebie jeebies when people celebrate holidays early then STOP READING now! You see, Fall and Halloween are my favorite holidays. They make me happy… pumpkins, fall leaves, fall colors, zombies, werewolves, etc., etc.… So I decided that with my emotions so out of whack lately that I am going to enter my HAPPY PLACE. Hence from now moving forward I am wearing all my favorite clothes and accessories! In fact as you might have seen from my class pictures I have decorated for Fall amongst the school mascot stuff. I am sneaky that way. Fall color trees, Fall figurines out, the scent is fall. In fact it looks like I will even get my favorite Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino before any surgery! Now to keep things in perspective I am also doing Thyroid Cancer (ThyCa) colors (pink/blue/purple) as I find it emotionally strengthening to wear my WARRIOR colors at certain times. Which leads me to my next topic…

BIOPSY. As I suspected after hearing that I had three suspiciously enlarged lymph nodes on the left side of my neck, we are heading to another biopsy before any surgery. This coming Friday 8/22/25 mid-morning I will go into the hospital Nuclear Medicine surgery unit. Yeah, sort of weird name yet it seems anything to do with thyroid cancer has NUCLEAR in it. Which since your world implodes with cancer diagnosis this makes sense in a way. Yet I digress.

Biopsy. The word alone makes me scared. Not simply because it might come back that I have cancer on the left side of my neck as well as the right but also because of the procedure itself. “A Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) biopsy for suspicious enlarged lymph nodes in the neck is a minimally invasive procedure that involves inserting a thin needle into the node to collect a sample of cells for analysis. It’s often guided by ultrasound to ensure accurate needle placement. The collected sample is then examined under a microscope to determine if the cells are benign, malignant, or require further testing.” (from Bay Area Endocrinology Associates)

Here is the procedure from my viewpoint-
1. I am taken into the Nuclear Medicine surgery unit, given a bed, and a gown is placed over my top. I have learned over the years of many scans and tests that the best top is a bandeau as this leaves my neck and shoulders free. This way a gown is simply placed over my clothes and I do not have to disrobe. Then I wait, alone, scared.
2. When the time is right they wheel me into the surgery room and explain the procedure. The room is kept very cold for the comfort of the Drs all gowned up. Yet the cold seems appropriate to my mood. The room is full of equipment and next to where they wheel me is a tray with carefully laid out long thin metal needles.
3. When they are ready they use ultrasound to give me shots to numb my neck as much as they can. It dulls the jabbing yet be prepared to feel some of the jabs a bit as the numbing can only go so far in. The shots are in my opinion the most painful part as the needle insertion and the stinging of the meds is quite painful. To be honest tears usually fall down my face at this point.
4. After I am numb they will use the needles to jab into each suspicious lymph node. Now keep in mind that it is not like a shot. No, they insert it and basically ‘plunge’ it up and down gathering a sample. For best results they will do this 6-8 times for EACH suspicious lymph node. Why? They need to ensure they get samples from all over and around it in order to make an accurate determination of possible cancer.
5. When it is all over I get wheeled back to the main room to calm down. At this point Charlie is allowed to come in and sit with me. When I am deemed ready I get discharged.
Sounds scary, right? Well it is yet it is a necessary and vital surgery for accurate diagnosis. If you are facing this in the future simply know that even though it is scary you will be all right. As I have fibromyalgia and am on blood thinners the after effects are a bit more pronounced. Last time this summer after one lymph node biopsy my neck swelled, was tender to touch, I could not turn my head easily, and my skin turned a pretty black and blue shade in the small needle area. This time? Let’s just say I am glad it is on a Friday so I will have time to rest before work. I am expecting it all to be quite amplified including the pain as it is three spots.

SILVER LINING? If I bruise 3x more than last time then my neck will look AMAZING with my Halloween themed clothes on Monday!! To be honest though, I scheduled a day to write reports as I will still be in some degree of pain and I will not be physically up for a day of speech sessions all day. I will be dreaming of my 1st Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino on Tuesday which is my day off work!!
Not the news we wanted

August 9, 2025

(My 1st day back at work picture. Teacher meeting day.)

Well as the title states we got the news of the CT scan back. I wish it was like a Hallmark movie where you get a scan and suddenly you have the whole picture whether good or bad. Then you magically had the solution, and BOOM just like that you are healing and all is well. However, life is NOT a Hallmark movie.

My scan had good and bad.

The good? Pharyngeal mucosa (nasopharynx, oropharynx, and hypopharynx) are all normal. The oral cavity including my tongue and the floor of my mouth are all normal. My larynx (supraglottic, glottic, and subglottic) are all normal. Salivary glands all normal, vessels and carotid spaces normal. Bones normal as well as visualized lung apices are clear and normal. I should be jumping for joy, yes?

But I’m not. I wanted to have it all besides the one cancerous lymph node on the right side be ALL CLEAR. Yet on the left side of my neck they found 3 enlarged lymph nodes. They range in size (1.4 x 1.3, 1.2 x 1.0, and 1.9 x 1.1) and they are all in various levels of the neck. The result stated “multiple rounded mildly enlarged cervical lymph nodes”.

Excuse my language but what the H#**?

I received this news on the Kaiser app and proceeded to wait one week before emailing the surgeon. I will say this, he responds right away! The next day I got a response that he is waiting to confer with my Endocrinologist who is my cancer dr. He wrote that he ‘is concerned that we haven’t sampled the left sided lymph nodes as of yet.’ I responded back that I agree we need more information. Remember? No Hallmark movie here. Looks like once they confer I will be heading back to biopsy for more information.

Now I am not a normal person. In fact I am proud to be weird! But I wish I were a bit more normal when it comes to my health. Why? Because this means once they talk we schedule a biopsy a few weeks away. In the 5 days prior, I have to NOT take my blood thinners & give myself 2 heparin injections am & pm, and hope that my blood thinness level is ok on the day of the biopsy. After the biopsy I continue the shots as I wean back onto my pills.

Sigh…. It is all so complicated and in fact quite painful. It is overwhelming. On my 1st day back at work a teacher passed me and said “Wow! You look like summer!” I smiled, walked to my room, and collapsed into my husband’s arms. Missed the 1st meeting as I was sobbing uncontrollably. I never thought it would be this hard to get my class ready knowing that I may or may not return. No clue as to the outcome of having cancer again.

Yet I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and completed my new classroom. I am ready for the 1st day of school on Monday. That Wednesday night last week my husband even made me gluten free waffles with berries on top & whip cream! School colors are maroon and gold and we are the broncos so I bought curtains. Perfect as it represents Harry Potter too, haha! As you can see a TON of work, & my own money, went into prepping this amazing Speech and Game Club room! A shower curtain covers built in falling apart shelves. My husband is always there when I need help. I plan to start next week happy and do my best to be 100+% present for my students. What will come next and when is out of my control. I can only hope for the best and in my off time watch more happy ending movies.. or may even Zombie movies!

All I can say is I will never give up striving for my own happy ending.
Self Care

July 28, 2025

I knew today would be hard. I woke up to nightmares and a feeling of dread over the CT scan tomorrow. To be honest, yes I am worried about how far the cancer has spread, yet I am even more worried about the IV for the contrast. I have horrible veins that roll and getting an IV in is nigh impossible. Yet one can’t live in fear all day so I dragged myself out of bed and have spent all morning on self-care.

Up 1st? A photoshoot! I HAVE PAIR eyewear in the Quinn frames and I can change the toppers depending on my outfit, mood, or both! I saved my new toppers for today knowing I would need a pick-me-up. At my advanced age of 54 I have enough stuff that finding something new to collect was tough, and these glasses fit the bill. I love being unique and weird!

Next? A manicure! I wanted something to go with my medical bracelet and rainbow fitbit band so I chose a Halloween BLOOD RED and I have to say I am very happy with it.

Next? Browsing my favorite clothes sites for Halloween wear. This is my favorite holiday and I wear stuff from Halloween year round. Yup… I am weird! I found a black cat sweater and some leggings. Just a few staples to keep me excited for after surgery.

Now? I think it’s time to relax in front of the TV and watch some Virgin River on Netflix, maybe play some Harry Potter and Animal Crossing on my Switch. I am spoiled, my husband hooked it up to our TV, haha! Then after dinner I will play some World of Warcraft with Charlie, my husband. Head to bed early as I need to be at the hospital by 8 AM.

In summary, I WILL get through this stressful day, get some sleep, and survive the test.

Have a great day everyone and remember- no matter how stressed you get SELF CARE is real and vital.
Life Goes On

July 17, 2025

Waiting…. Waiting….. And more waiting…. There is very little in the world that is worse than waiting for more bad news. Waiting for answers to how your future is going to map itself out. I go between despair and uncontrollable crying to manic happiness over what I still have and trying to fit in as much as I can before surgery.

I work for a local public school system and it is crazy planning out for the next year when I do not even know when I will be out yet. How long will I be out? Can I get into the school to finish my new class setup before surgery? Planning must be done. So my calendar is prepped with what knowledge I have now. I am working on organizing therapy stuff on my computer a bit every day.

But remember, it is also SUMMER BREAK! So what am I doing?

1- I am resting and taking lots of naps as my body is exhausted from the stress. I have to say I love waking to the sounds of nature outside our bedroom window when I wake up late in the morning or after an afternoon nap. Having my kitty Jake on top of me is so special. He is a wonderful companion!

2- I am keeping up with the gentle purple color wash on my hair. NO GREY for me yet! I cut it short for summer and in preparation for surgery. I am doing my nails for fun and getting fresh air outside.

3- I am watching tons of Netflix and Prime Video shows. Catching up on old series, watching new series and even rewatching Jurassic Park movies and Star Wars Saga! Staying up so very late is a huge thrill!

4- I am playing on my new Nintendo Switch and having fun yelling at the TV, haha! I am more of a board gamer so learning how to fight on the switch is a bit challenging.

5- I am reading when I can and putting free books on my Kindle for later when I will need to recuperate. I am blogging here and letting my thoughts flow out.

6- We are visiting new Gluten Free bakeries around us, most at least an hour away. We even found GF DONUTS!! Yummy!

So in a nutshell, yes waiting is hard. However, I am doing my best to keep busy and not simply dwell on the bad thoughts for myself and for my family. To find the Silver Linings every day.

Yet the thoughts are there, lurking in the back of my mind waiting to crush me again. Reminding me I do need to prepare for the ‘what ifs’. Only by making a concerted effort to choose to be happy every day can I keep them at bay.
The Surgeon

July 14, 2025

The morning of my surgical consult I felt like it was the end of the world. I had barely slept the night before, and what sleep I had was dotted with dreams of my world ending. My anxiety was in high gear and I was up and ready a full hour and a half before we needed to leave. We needed to fill our truck up with gas so I pushed my husband out the door as soon as I could and we got to Kaiser 40 minutes early! My husband ribbed me a bit yet we headed in. Remember everyone, hit the restroom BEFORE going into the office. You never know how long an appointment will be.

Unfortunately being there early did not help my anxiety or feelings of doom at all. What made it the absolute worst was that this Kaiser is very old and had armed limited width chairs in the waiting room. I had forgotten my ‘Magic Stool’ in the truck and did not want to walk back. Luckily by the bathrooms in the entry were a few plastic armless chairs. See, I am a fluffy person, have been my whole life. It is absolutely maddening that waiting areas do not have chairs of various sizes and some with no arms! Yet that is another blog.

So I sat there with Charlie playing on his phone. I sat holding the health history I had printed out for the doctor. Waiting. As I waited I occasionally looked at what I had printed out. As a Speech-Language Pathologist I feel that in order to create a treatment plan one must know the whole story behind every student. We treat the whole not just pieces. The same should be true of all doctors yet not all care. Yet I bring it anyway for the endless lines of text in the Kaiser files do not adequately describe my complicated history. Would he even look at it?

“Sandra Aranda?” When we heard my name I called out “Here!” as we were in the entry around the corner. The nurse gave us a genuine smile and welcomed us. Even better, she did NOT want to weigh me or take my blood pressure! She took us to a small room with a recliner chair for me attached to equipment and a regular chair for Charlie. My chair was actually quite roomy and comfy. I ribbed Charlie a bit that I had the better chair. We laugh everyday. But then…

BAM… the world broke even more and I started to have an anxiety attack. I did not want to be crying when the doctor came in. Charlie counted for me and supported me through it and I was as ok as I could be when the doctor came in.

The door opened and a smiling man came in with a genuine welcome. He stated right off he had read all of my history yet he also said he loved the one I printed as I put all the info together and had photos, haha! It was like the sun was trying to peek through the clouds of doom. The appointment went as well as could be expected and we found out:

*BAD NEWS – I can’t avoid surgery. We need to take the cancer out. I have to have a CT scan with contrast of my neck and chest to see if it has spread.
*GOOD NEWS – Based on where it is known right now the risk of damage to my voice or swallowing is reduced.
*BETTER NEWS – While my weight is a risk factor the surgeon stated he could definitely get the cancer out.

Then the surgeon said “So after the CT scan we can do the surgery over the phone.” So I said as I laughed “REALLY? Over the phone? That is so cool! What kind of machines do you use for that?” He looked at me for a second or two as he processed what had transpired and then he started laughing! A loud ongoing laugh! Pretty soon we were all laughing. He then clarified he meant we could “talk over the results and discuss the surgery on the phone after the CT scan”, haha!

So, was it what I wanted to hear? Not all of it. Am I still scared out of my mind? YES! Is there a tiny ray of hope now? Coming in like the sun after a storm? YES, YES!!

Remember always, one can not live in despair alone with cancer. One must always strive to find rays of hope. Moments of laughter.
The World Crashed Down

July 8, 2025

I had such high hopes for this Summer. I wanted to rest, read books, paint, and mainly exercise. Ride my stationary bike, walk with my husband. Perhaps take a few weekend get aways. Have fun. As a helper for my older parents, with a full time teaching job where I work 9-10 hours a day, and with 2 cats and a dog finding time is hard. Yet this summer the planets aligned and I was to get ME TIME. Maybe even a Honeymoon I had never gotten after getting married for the first time at 53 years of age!

Let me step back and say that at the end of the school year I found out I had to switch rooms at my Middle School. I had to move 29 years of therapy materials and all 100+ games for the Game Club upstairs with one student helper and my husband. It was exhausting yet a week after school closed we finished and even got 1/2 the boxes unpacked. I was excited about the new room after all that and ordered curtains and some new posters. I thought to myself ‘Next year is gonna ROCK!’ When I left the school that final Friday I was there I was ready to rest a week and then start FUN!

But that was not to be.

On Thursday June 19th my Endocrinologist called out of the blue. I had recently had my yearly neck scan yet in the chaos of moving my class I forgot about it. Usually the doctor simply sends an email saying all looks well. After 12 years post cancer, 11 years officially in remission, the tests were ‘no biggie’. However, when the phone rang I cried out in fear. She was not supposed to call! I did not expect that sound to come from me. I answered the phone and she told me that I had a suspicious, large, irregularly shaped lymph node in my neck. It was missing what is known as the fatty hilum which could mean something was going on. I was told that I would have to have a biopsy in the hospital nuclear medicine surgical site.

What followed was 10 days me dealing with the Coumadin Clinic and Kaiser Hospital to get a plan in place to wean off blood thinners and give myself Enoxaparin injections to prevent clots in my blood for the 5 days prior to the biopsy on Monday 6/30/2025. Ten days of increasing anxiety and severe depression. Ten days of emotional mood swings and many, many tears. The biopsy procedure, while painful, went as well as could be expected. I went home with a sore neck that swelled significantly the following few days. I had a migraine and my fibromyalgia went nuclear with the stress. I rested and with the love of my family set about healing. Telling myself that all would be fine.

Then BAM!

On Thursday July 3rd at 6:30 PM my cell phone rang. It was Kaiser. It was my Doctor. I knew then that my world as I knew it was ending. I answered and was told that I had a “Pathologic appearing right cervical lymph node with microcalcifications.” That the biopsy results came back positive for CANCER. At first my doctor was like “So we just go in and take it out. No worries, it’s done in outpatient and you go home the same day.” Now I LOVE my Endocrinologist who always stands up for what I need. I know that she has hundreds of patients. So I gently reminded her of my health issues in the past and the many times I have almost died. I brought up all my concerns regarding whether I could even take some of the pre-tests she had mentioned. She immediately looked up more of my history and agreed that we would need a team approach towards fighting this. I emailed her my concerns and needs and informed my primary doctor as well.

I made the conscious choice to not tell my parents until after the holiday weekend as Friday was my dad’s 83rd birthday. I wanted them to have a good weekend. I also needed time to process through everything and get mentally ready. Now they know and now I have my first surgical meeting with one of the surgeons to be involved this Thursday morning. Now I sit back and wait for the rest of my WORLD TO CRASH DOWN.

Yet I will not give in easily. I will always fight hard for my life.

#thyroidcancer #fibromyalgia #anxiety #depression