Up until this year, I had no idea really what a Thyroid did. I knew it was in your neck, I didn’t know what it looked like, but I knew that a lot of people suffer with thyroid related problems and that it can be quite debilitating. September is Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month and that’s why I wanted to tell a little bit about my story, what this month means to me and to raise people’s awareness about Thyroid Cancer.
In 2020, I was one of the unfortunate people to catch Covid and now over a year later, I’m actually really glad that I did. After I had Covid, I noticed that the glands in my neck were really swollen, something that I and my GP figured was normal following a virus. I didn’t think anything of it and sure enough by the summer the swollen glands had gone. In the Autumn I was getting ready for work and noticed that the right side of my neck was swollen again, I felt fine just tired, which I just put down to being a Mum to a very lively 4-year-old and having covid earlier in the year.
Because the swelling often changed from day-to-day, I didn’t think anything of it, but by Christmas I noticed it looked a bit bigger. My friend had just been diagnosed with Lymphoma and she very bravely shared her symptoms and diagnosis on social media…I’m so glad she did because it was the push I needed to get my own symptoms checked out, which were vaguely similar to my friends. I sat on it throughout Christmas but in my mind, I knew I needed to get checked. I was packing away the Christmas decorations and I suddenly thought, what if it was bad and that this was the last time, I would pack the decorations away?
On New Year’s Eve I went back to the GP, had routine blood tests (which all came back fine) and was fast-tracked to ENT (ear, nose, and throat specialist). I was reassured that given I had no other symptoms, and my blood results were normal everything should be OK. My appointment came through two weeks’ later and then began months of scans, biopsies, and more tests to determine what was wrong.
Thyroid Cancer can be quite tricky to diagnose and each test and scan failed to diagnose what was wrong with me. So, I was referred for surgery to remove the lump. About a month after my surgery, I was finally diagnosed with Hurthle Cell Carcinoma, which is a rare type of Follicular Thyroid Cancer. This meant further surgery to remove the remaining thyroid and treatment known as radio-iodine therapy.
Here’s what I found out. Thyroid Cancer is very different to other cancers, it is slow growing, many people can live with it undetected for years and pass away from other causes. Follicular and Papillary Thyroid Cancer are the most common Thyroid Cancer’s and Anaplastic and Medullary are less common but more aggressive. Most importantly though it can come with very few symptoms, the most common symptom is a swollen neck or a visible lump, but many people don’t have any noticeable symptoms at all.
There are many misconceptions about Thyroid Cancer, such as that it is mainly the middle-aged or elderly that are affected, but recently a young reality star from Love Island was diagnosed at aged 22. Thanks to her speaking out about her diagnosis and treatment more young people have come forward and the NHS reported a significant increase in referrals to investigate neck lumps.
I wanted to speak out about my cancer and urge people to check for any signs or changes in their neck and please, please do not hesitate to contact your GP if you do notice anything suspicious.
Despite having an amazing support network of family and friends around me, a cancer diagnosis and its treatment is still an isolating and lonely experience. But it doesn’t always have to be; since speaking out I’ve connected with people going through the same illness and the same treatment or who have been through it in the past. I can’t tell you how much that has helped me so I would urge anybody to speak out and get checked.
I completed my treatment and received my scan results a week early and found out that my scan showed they had successfully got all of the cancer and there has been no spread! I have to have follow ups now and I’ve still a little way to go before we can establish that the treatment saw off any remaining thyroid tissue, but my consultant said that it was very unlikely it would return. I have now been left with Hypocalcaemia and Hypothyroidism as a result of my surgery, which means I now have to take 9 tablets a day…possibly for the rest of my life, but this is a small price to pay to still be here.
Signs of Thyroid Cancer can be a sore or hoarse throat, a lump or swelling and tight feeling in your neck. I had none of these signs, just a slightly raised area in my neck. This is why Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month and the “Check Your Neck” campaign are so important to raise further awareness of Thyroid Cancer. You can also find information and follow my journey on my blog.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.