seeing things differently!

[neen]

Hi everyone! I am 32yrs old and have recently been diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. I had a complete thyroidectomy and neck disection as it had spread to lymph nodes. I will be going in for radioactive iodine treatment on Jan 27th. This has all been such a rollercoaster ride. After my surgery i seem to have been left with some damage to my right eye, at first we thought it may have been due to the swelling, and then perhaps nerve damage. (even Horners syndrome has been metioned). I just wandered if anyone else has had experience with this? Most days it does not phase me.....in comparison it is such a small thing...and other days when i see myself i still get a shock! What i'm having most trouble with is watching everyone around me and the affects this journey is having on them. i have a two and a half year old amazing daughter who seems to know a lot more than most would give her credit for........she said to me the other day 'I miss you mummy', and held my neck and said 'Did the doctor get it mummy?'....We also go through alot of band aids for her at the moment!!! She is what makes me get up every morning! (along with my wonderful husband) Any tips on how to help them through?? Thanks for the time, any replys would be much appreciated! xxx

[harker]

Hi neen Thanks for the post. It sounds like there is a lot of love in your family. The little one is amazing, being able to cut through the surface and say that to you. From my experience I can see that your response to all this is not going to be the same as your husband's or your daughter's. Each of them is asking the same question as you, ie. what does this mean for me? And each of them is going to have to find an answer for themselves. Your daughter is clearly well down the track with that, even at such a young age, and you should be very proud of her. But she is going to have to find her way of dealing with it. The only help you can give, in my view, is to try and understand that. Same for your husband, although you can talk about reactions with him in more detail, of course. You would be loving them without the illness. So keep doing that. Don't put pressure on yourself here. You need to conserve energy. H

[neen]

Thankyou Harker, Your response has made a difference to me. I am very blessed to have so much love in my family, and my little one is amazing ( i know...im her mum cant help it hehe!) I am most definately very proud of her, this made me smile when i read it in your response, as she quite often asks "Are you very proud mummy?"..you used just the right words! Will most definately keep loving them, thats the easy bit in all of this! Hope you are keeping well Thanks again Neen

[SILLY]

Welcome to this site. I am sorry to see that you have to deal with this while you have a young child. I am a grandmother of 7 and a mother of 3 and I never went along with the idea of "the terrible twos". I especially loved, and still do, the time when kids are between 1 and 3. Despite your cancer,enjoy your little girl as much as you can. Your husband will cope because he has to cope and your daughter will go with it . I hope your treatment goes well.

[#5]

Welcome to the forum neen! Even though it`s awful to be forced to join a cancer community, but I`m glad you`re here, in this wonderful forum, where you`ll get much love and support. I wish you all the best in recovery and keep us updated about your treatments 🙂

[jsbach]

Welcome Neen, I have been on that roller coaster ride that you just started for about 3 weeks now. I don't have any experience on how to help the young ones get through, but my wife has/is certainly going through what your husband is/will experiencing. She has been through the emotional stage and is now in the practical/bossy stage (god bless her). Every now and then she starts crying and apologising for things, including that I have cancer as well as that she doesn't know if she can be strong enough for me. She doesn't need to be sorry and apologise and she doesn't need to be strong for me all the time. I just want her to be herself, as much as is possible. We talk about about what is going on quite often. This helps, as does me being prepared to break time to time. Ultimately, you need to not place a huge amount of extra pressure on yourself, trying to make sure that you are supporting everyone around you. It seems that you are in a loving and supportive environment. Give things a little time. People sort things through in their own ways. Take care Tim

[neen]

Hi Thankyou everyone for the lovely responses. I guess i don't have to tell you what a difference it makes to correspond with people that are more aware of whats going on. Interesting, tiring, tough , challenging, character building times!!! Hope you are all feeling as happy and healthy as posibble. Neen x