Went For Deviated Septum, Came Out With Cancer

Hello there, if you are reading this I am guessing that either you have Thyroid Cancer or you know someone who has it. Well that is the reason I am writing this Blog, so that more people can find the information that they want and need. If you are one of my friends and this is the first you have heard of me having Cancer that is because I don't want a huge fuss being made about it, asking if I am OK is fine but lets stop it at that.

Included in this Blog will be information on how to find out if you have Thyroid Cancer, the tests you have to endure, the operation and some of my own personal experiences with dealing with Cancer. I hope reading this will help you and I will try to keep you updated on everything that is important.

Where did it all begin?

It was the summer holidays for us students and I was living at my boyfriends as his lovely parents decided to give me a place to stay after finishing my first year of Animation. I started to notice that I had a cough and was not able to breathe properly through my nose for a while which stopped me from having a good nights sleep. I also had a sore throat that seemed to want to be persistent. I left it thinking it was probably just a cold lasting a little bit longer than usual or my Hay-fever until a lump in my throat started to form. I could only feel it when I swallowed  but it was not painful and did not bother me too much so I left it for a while. However I did moan about it to my boyfriend who attempted to put up with my complaints. A few months later I decided to go to see a Doctor about not being able to breath properly.

2nd August- first time seeing a Doctor

I went to Omskirk walk in centre where the Doctor told me I had a deviated septum and to go and see my Doctor in Preston. She gave me some nasal drops which did not work, I still can't breathe as well as some antihistamines that made me feel sick.

16th August

I managed to see my Doctor in Preston on the same day that I was handing all of my work into university. He was as happy and helpful being his usual self. I told him my symptoms and he agreed that I had a deviated septum. I told him that I could feel a lump in my throat so he felt it and said he thought I had a swollen thyroid so took some blood tests and arranged for me to see an ENT specialist for my septum. 

30th August- ENT appointment 

This is where things start to get interesting. I went to the hospital and the Doctor did a nasal scope exam where she sprayed this horrible tasting numbing spray in my mouth and up my nose. Then she put a scope in my nose and down into my throat to check if my septum was deviated. Afterwards she told me to swallow then looked at me and asked if she could feel my throat so I looked puzzled and said yes. She looked at me and said she was going to order an ultrasound and possibly a biopsy if I needed one as she could feel my thyroid was swollen and could also feel a lump. She then got me to sign some forms and ordered for me to have some blood tests for my septoplasty to fix my deviated septum.

On the same day I also got my test results back from the 16th August saying everything was normal.

11th September- Ultrasound and fine needle aspiration biopsy 

I went into the hospital with my boyfriend for my ultrasound which I was waiting quite a while for. I did not have a very good experience from the hospital that day as the nurse I was with would not talk to me at all or smile as well as a few things going wrong. I got called in for my ultrasound, this was very simple and did not take long. All that they do is get you to stretch your neck out over a pillow, put gel on your neck and use the probe to see if your nodule is solid or not. If it is solid you have to have a fine needle aspiration. 

I had to wait over an hour to get this done and felt as though they had forgotten about me. When I finally managed to get it done I was not asked to fill any consent forms and was not told about anything that was about to happen during the procedure. For me this was rather painful, my eyes were almost watering. The doctor did not wait long enough after injecting the numbing needle so I felt the first two samples being taken and he took a lot longer than just a few seconds. Not to mention him accidentally cutting my chin with the third needle! I left that day with two plasters on my neck and a bruise, felt like a child again.

My neck showed a bruise on the first day which grew bigger after a few days.
Obviously this is not the case for a lot of other people and the fine needle aspiration is usually less complicated.

I probably had someone who was new or learning as I was at a teaching hospital so they must have been nervous which might have been the reason they did not smile or talk to me.  Here is a video of how it should actually be done:

19th September- Results day

I went to the hospital for my fine needle aspiration results and blood test results. Despite having an appointment at 10:30am I was still waiting an hour later to be seen, obviously the boyfriend was not happy (bless him) as he was dying from boredom. Anyway we was finally called in to be seen. She told us just to sit down outside the door a few minutes whilst she showed the Doctor my results. I must admit I got a bit worried but was telling myself don't be silly its probably just what they usually do.

We was called into the room and it was really quiet for about a minute until the Doctor looked up at me from the results and said:

 "OK Janelle, I have your results........ I am afraid it is bad news"

I just looked over at my boyfriend and he looked back at me and I looked back at the Doctor whilst replying with a simple "OK". 

The Doctor continued to talk.

"Your results show that you have thyroid cancer".

For some reason the first reaction I had was to look over to my boyfriend who had his head in his hands and ask him if he was OK.

The Doctor just looked at me waiting for a reaction, I told her to carry on talking and she did.

" We think that you might have papillary cancer which is the most common type of thyroid cancer, we will have to operate and remove the whole of your thyroid and you will have to be on tablets for the rest of your life"

By this point I started crying so she stopped talking and passed me a tissue. I was apologising for crying and she told me it was a normal reaction. I told her to continue with what she was saying. The nurse was looking over at me like her little heart was breaking and she wanted to give me a cuddle, she kept almost getting up off her chair. She must have only been in her early twenties. 

The Doctor continued talking.

"Your cancer is in the centre of your thyroid which means it could be resting on the nerve to your vocal chords, we won't know if it is until we operate but if it is we will have to cut it and you won't be able to talk again"

I started crying again being a little softy and apologising for crying, now I was given the box of tissues to make sure I had enough for the trickling tears and runny nose. At this point my boyfriend was by my side for support stroking my back whilst the Doctor was talking. The Doctor decided she would talk about it in more detail when I go back for my surgery consultation with my parents and to sign the forms to have my thyroid out. She also told me I would have to have an MRI scan to see if it has spread and exactly where it is. 

My Doctor called in a cancer key worker who had a little chat with me about what to expect and he told me my emotions will be all over the place for the next month or so. He also said if I need to talk about anything he is there or can put me into a support group. He then gave me a folder with some books on understanding thyroid cancer which I have not read yet as well as a diary to write down pretty much everything you could possibly think of. It is split up into sections for everything from what you eat to your medication. 

By the time I left the hospital I was no longer crying and felt as if nothing had happened, completely normal. I might have and might still be in shock or I might just be coping with the news like a boss, we will find out when things start to get a little more serious.

My next post will include how I broke the news to my family and how I am currently feeling about the whole ordeal. If you have any questions feel free to ask by leaving a comment and I will try to help or give advice on the experiences I have had so far. Just remember to smile and keep your head up.

Here is a link to the NHS website that has a lot of information on thyroid cancer  from coping with the news to how common it is and the different types of thyroid cancer. 

NHS Thyroid Cancer