From the moment I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, I was told “if you are going to get a cancer, this is the best one to get”!
My doctor told me, my surgeon told me, my family and friends told me…”Dr Google” told me!
But to be honest, this is a two edged sword…so to speak….
On one hand, yes, it is extremely good news to find out the cancer I have is easy to treat and get control of. I have Stage 1 Papillary Thyroid Cancer, which is the least aggressive, and ironically the most common.
At the moment, I don’t need chemotherapy or radiation therapy. I may need to have the radioactive iodine treatment…will find out in the few months…but that no where near as bad as what other cancer treatments entail.
So yes, from that view point, it is a good cancer to have. And I am very. very thankful for that!
But I DON”T want to have cancer, full stop!
How can the words “good” and “cancer” be used together?
Eight Weeks after Surgery
No matter how you look at it, its still a cancer….one which left untreated will cause health issues and potentially an untimely death.
No one wants to hear they have cancer….it is a horrible word and means you are now ill, even if you don’t feel any symptoms. I was feeling unwell for months before my diagnosis…but it wasn’t the cancer making me sick, it was the fact that my thyroid wasn’t working. It was only through further routine investigations that my cancer was found.
I went from having to get my mind around the fact that I had thyroid issues, to the fact that I have cancer as well!
The diagnosis meant I had to have surgery…something that I was not afraid of, but a reminder that this indeed is serious and needs to be dealt with.
I think of it as a nasty gremlin that has been let loose in my body for whatever reason. Fingers crossed that gremlin has been controlled and removed…as it isn’t cute and I definitely don’t want to keep it!
So while I do agree that my sort of cancer is a “good” one to get, I would actually prefer not to have it at all….