Guest guest Posted June 12, 2003 Report Share Posted June 12, 2003 The message was posted by Diane Grandinetti, one of the thyca facilitators. Enjoy!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tina, I think I understand where you are coming from, which is why this group has such an importance. Here are my rambling thoughts back. We are the kind of the square pegs of the cancer world. Our treatment for follicular and papillary is different (assuming it responds to radiation) so we don't fit into the support groups of the rest of the cancers. Our prognosis is very good for the most part, assuming we get good treatment on the front end, and get an early diagnosis. I don't think of myself as a " cancer survivor " either. I don't define myself around my cancer, and most of the time don't think of myself as " dodging a bullet " , even though I probably did. I don't characterize myself as a victim, or weak, or even exceptionally strong as in " overcoming all odds " . I don't feel like I am a hero because I got sick, and then well. But I never - never -think this isn't serious. I remember meeting a friend's father who had been treated for thyroid cancer years ago, and then never bothered to go back again to have follow up. He was lucky in that he hasn't suffered any subsequent problems, and he had the audacity to question me as to " why in hell " we " needed a support group for such a micky mouse disease!? " I passed this comment along to the on-line group, and was soundly met with information on why a support group was needed - and hence- the Southern California group was born. The first person to respond to me was a man named Hal. He was about the same age as my friend's father. His story was extremely different. He had received treatment, but it insufficient, and it was late. By the time he got the right treatment from informed doctors, he had already lost a lot in the way of quality of life. He struggled with complications from this disease a long time before he passed away. So- yes, you have earned the right to run as a cancer survivor. The folks who have a tougher time of it or didn't get the right treatment on time can't run, so run for them. This disease has a better prognosis for many of us than a lot of other cancers, but there is nothing GOOD about it. There is nothing good about having organs removed through surgery. There is nothing good about swallowing radiation -whether or not your hair falls out or stays in. There is nothing good about having to take time off of work because you are too hypo to drive, or you have a job where your decisions may mean the difference between life or death for someone. Through running- you bring more attention to the disease, and spread the word that the right treatment, early enough, can make a difference. It is not a contest over who suffers more from their cancer. You have been through a lot. It really doesn't matter whether you suffered more or less than the person running next to you, the point is you were tough and did what you had to do to get it treated, and you were also lucky enough to have the type that was treatable. Because of all of that, you are still able to run and tell others about it. With enough publicity, maybe the next person won't ignore that lump on their neck as long, and will get it checked out before it's too late to treat. But are we luckier than most with a diagnosis of cancer? For many of us- undoubtably - yes. Should we appreciate that we have RAI going in our favor? Of course! Thank our lucky stars that we have the treatments that we have! Yes, appreciate what we have. But I have talked to too many people who didn't have the right treatment, or got the treatment too late, or just were unlucky enough to have that rare stubborn case. I've talked to people who 6 months after treatment cannot speak above a whisper or are breathing through a tube because of a slip in surgery from an inexperienced doctor. I've talked to people who lost their job over too much time off for radiation. I've talked to people who spent nights in the emergency room because of parathryroid damage. Most of these people, would have made different decisions if they had it to do over again, or if they had known someone else with this disease that they could have talked to first to make those decisions easier. Nope - I would never ever think of this as not a serious disease. My thoughts are- appreciate what you have, but also appreciate what you have been through, and don't minimalize it. Realize that not everyone's treatment goes as well. Run for you - and run for them. Run Tina, Run! Hope to meet you in October! Diane (dx papillary'98- LosAngeles) > I'm happy to accept help from anyone, but I'm guessing will > probably be the one who can help me out here. > > Way back in the first half of 2002, someone posted a message... Tina, > I think... about hestitating to run the survivor's lap in the relay > for life, because of the way non-ThyCans act about ThyCa. Someone > else, whose name I can't remember, replied with a beautiful, > inspiring response. I've been trying to find this message, but the > search on Yahoo groups is NOT working worth a darn. I stumbled across > it earlier, but I've lost it again. I wanted to contact the author of > it, and ask her if she would mind if I post it on my website. > > Can anybody help me out??? > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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