It’s been a minute - my thyroid journey

It’s been a few months since my last post, and in that time, I was almost able to forget that there were any problems with my health.

In August I had my consult at the PAH with Dr Ian Bennett, the endocrinologist in charge of my care.  That visit came as something of a shock, as the story he told was a little different to the one that was painted by my GP and others who I’d spoken with about my diagnosis.

Dr Bennet explained that there was only a 15-30% chance that I did indeed have cancer.  Instead of a full thyroidectomy, he recommended a hemi-thyroidectomy (the left lobe, where the trouble nodule was detected).  The tissue removed would be sent to pathology for testing.  If I’m in the 15-30%, dependent on the type of cancer, I would have to have the other half taken out, followed by radiation.

As a result of his review, I was downgraded from a Category 1 (surgery within 30 days), to a Category 2 (surgery within 90 days).  I’ve been waiting since August for dates for my surgery, and following a phone call from the elective bookings coordinator at PAH, found out I was going to be part of the Surgery Connect program, where my surgery would be done as a public patient at a private hospital.  My surgeon operates out of the Wesley Hospital, so I was referred to the Wesley for my surgery.

I thought it would be at least a month to get through the process of referrals and bookings.  But they called me last Tuesday, booked me for a consult Friday and I had my surgery yesterday (Tuesday).

Due to my thyroid levels being a little skewed, and with a risk of anaphylaxis under the general anaesthetic, my surgeon prescribed Neo-mercozole to regulate my levels and reduce that risk.  After only a few hours of my first dose, my brain fog had lifted, and for the first time in years, things seemed clearer.  I can only hope that post-surgery my levels balance, or I can continue with the meds to maintain the balance I found.

So here I am on Wednesday, one day post-op, resting at home, comfortable with some potent painkillers if needed.  Apart from some issues with blood pressure (genetics apparently), everything went well with the surgery, and next week we will find out the next steps.  I feel cautiously optimistic with whatever the outcome may be.  I’ve spent the last couple of weeks speaking with other women who have travelled this same road, and who have been very generous in sharing the ins and outs of their diagnoses and treatments.  To those women (they know who they are), I want to say a huge thank you. They will never know how much their advice meant, and how it allayed my fears leading up to surgery.  I love you guys!

I can’t praise the Wesley staff enough - my surgical team was fantastic, my nursing team first class (shout out to Sarah, Laura and Raksha who were not only professional but friendly and comforting) and the operational staff were lovely.  The food was pretty amazing (soft diet meant lots of mac and cheese, cheese omelettes and delicious custards and ice creams.  The grilled barramundi was world class!)

Only a single overnight stay, so it was on the street waiting for Brendon this morning after a quick trip to the pharmacy and monitoring for any of the list of symptoms they’ve given me to identify any complications that may arise.  Glad to be home, as much as the hospital feels safe (and it was nice to have a private room), it’s nice to be in my own environment where I’ve not stuck in a bed with compression calf sleeves and don’t need to buzz to go to the loo.

Stay tuned for more news next week - here’s hoping it’s all good from here.