Years ago, my husband and I only connected problems with your thyroid to your weight, never realizing that thyroid problems can affect your entire body. Two years ago, my most active, in a man who did not stop at nothing, began to feel tired and exhausted all the time. After several trips to the doctor and a lot of blood work, they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. So he continued to take vitamins, but added some herbs to try and get his energy back. Nothing seemed to work. Over the months he became weaker and weaker. Walking to the mailbox was a path of denial for him. He saw his doctor twice a week to try and determine what was wrong. He had done so much blood work that the veins began to collapse. Nothing could yet be found to cause him to degenerate. The doctor also needed blood to determine if he had cancer. All blood work came back negative.
We were fortunate that the lady’s doctor is very persistent. He tried everything he could to figure out what was wrong, but to no avail. The tests ordered for every disease combined with their symptoms. He contacted his colleagues to get their views on the situation. Sometimes they thought it was the cause, they found medicine prescribed for him, but they didn’t. The doctor ordered several thyroid tablets, all of which common problems never showed. He had been put in the local hospital a couple of times, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with him.
Meanwhile, my husband reached the point where he could not even get out of bed. The stress from all of this was taking a toll on both of them. In my heart I knew my husband was slowly leaving us for unknown reasons. He finally said goodbye to medical-jobs to go to work. The most difficult thing is getting up in the morning, and from that not knowing if he could act by himself. Good friends and family who helped me with things around the house but also we were all determined not to release him.
Then one day the doctor called me at work and said that he had admitted him to another hospital in another town, where they had several artists. His attending physician at the hospital told my husband that the man was very ill and that he should not leave the hospital until they knew what was wrong. It was refreshing to hear that most insurance companies want you out of the hospital as quickly as possible. After these, the attending physician arranged for all the workers to see my husband. The disease affected every part of the body, from the heart to the lungs, to the kidneys, liver, nerves, and memory; He became like an Alzheimer’s patient unable to remember anything. Every morning at about 5:00 a.m. I want to be in the hospital when the doctors do their rounds so I know what’s going on. I want to stay a few hours, leave there, go to work for a few hours, then to the hospital it goes back until 11:00 or 12:00 at night. I want to go home, get two hours of sleep, then start all over again. This was done for 81 days. Every day blood work and tests. Then on the 8th, while they were scanning the heart and lungs, they explored deeper, and his throat ascended to the floor. There was a swelling in the joint. Surgery is scheduled to take place next week to remove the tumor and the thyroid gland. The journey of the doctors to get the results of the surgery was awesome. When the doctor says “I have good news and I have bad news”, you know the next words you will hear are the “C” word. The result was that the tumor was benign, but they found 3 cancer cells in the left colon. The doctor felt that if the cancer was in one side, then in the other. The following week they removed the right hand again and found 2 more cancer cells there.
After thirty days they treated him with a single dose of radiation pill at a time. They started him on synthroids to control his thyroid. Because the cancer took such a toll on his body, he now has diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. none of whom had previously had cancer. Now 2 years later and lots of ups and downs, on the road to recovery.
Thyroid cancer is one of those cancers that most people have never heard of, but it’s also one that once your thyroid gland is removed your chances of returning the cancer are very slim. To be safe, my husband continues to see a cancer doctor on the line. Through this we have learned to depend on your body to let it go. Thyroid or your body just needs to be regulated. We are constantly recommending to friends and family who have similar symptoms as my husband did, to be persistent and see their doctor and request a thyroid test.
Cancer, regardless of its type, has a terrible effect on both the patient and their loved ones, and early detection can be the difference between life and death.
