Hi everyone,
Not sure if I will get a reply, but I'm really in need of someone to talk to.
I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer when I was 18, I had surgery and RAI. It wasn't easy, but I trusted in my doctors when they said that I was extremely low risk for recurrence, and this was almost certainly a one-off thing. I didn't even really feel like it was 'real cancer'.
Anyway, last year, I found a swollen lymph node in my neck, and when it didn't go away for a while, I had it checked and it turned out to be cancer, so I had a neck dissection which was a far more difficult surgery than I was expecting. I suffered some nerve damage, so have limited use of my right arm, and get bad shoulder pain.
Currently doing more tests to see what the next step is. It feels like every day is a battle, and that it's gone on for so, so long, even though it's only been about 4 months since I was re-diagnosed. I can't help but fear that the cancer is just going to keep coming back...
My partner has been amazing, but it's starting to take it's toll and things are very strained between us. To him, I look better, I'm physically able to do most things, so he forgets that I'm still sick and struggling mentally with all this.
Financially it's tough too. I have a decent full time job, but I am employed casually, so no sick leave and no pay for the 3 weeks I was off work, and the last 5/6 weeks I've only managed half days as my physio I'll do more damage if I try and 'push through' my shoulder pain. Every few days there's something else to pay for, and I just had to buy $2,000 worth of thyrogen injections because the PBS doesn't think it's essential!