Elisabeth Belle

You know it’s time to find a new job when you’d rather have a thyroidectomy than show up for work everyday.

What’s the difference between having 7 dollars in your account and having no money left?

A trip to the Italian bakery nearby to buy two cannolis for tonight’s dessert, that’s what.

My situation isn’t going to change any time soon. I still work part-time, I’m still “writing” my Master’s thesis (although that’s been put on hold ever since I got diagnosed with the “Big-C”) - I am still broke, so what’s a girl going to do?

Fortunately, this girl’s got the right attitude.  No sacrifices must be made. No cannolis left behind. What? Am I going to pay a bill with 7 dollars? No! So why not offer myself a little piece of mascarpone heaven, all in the name of pleasing my taste buds?

Broke Glamorous Girl Approved.

Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Excellent prognosis, but need to have my thyroid removed and probably receive a course of radioactive iodine treatment. Meds for life.

The negative: I have cancer and I will have to take medication for the rest of my life. It’s scary.

The positive: It is highly treatable, so far I have received excellent care and have been referred to one of the best ENT surgeons there is, and I am surrounded by people who love me that will help me get through this.

I went to my ultrasound appointment feeling a little nervous but my radiologist was so amazing - I instantly liked her. Something about her voice was incredibly soothing. She was straight to the point yet very warm.

So as I layed on my back while the radiologist was examining my neck with the US, I felt her spending a lot of time checking out my lymphnodes, moving up and down my neck taking all these images. That was a red flag for me right then and there. Maybe it was standard procedure, but I certainly felt that if a doctor was spending a lot of time examining my lymphnodes, something wasn’t right.

My radiologist told me that I would definitely need a biopsy and that she was willing to do it the same day (amazing). She explained that the lump on my thyroid needed to be investigated further because of its size but thankfully my nodes seemed to be clear. As she was telling me all this tears silently streamed down my face and she told me not to worry, that I was in excellent hands and that I had done everything I could do: I discovered a lump and immediately saw a doctor. If further action was required, I was at the right place in the best hands. She asked if my boyfriend was with me and I answered no, that I had told him to stay home because I didn’t need him there. Then I proceeded to call Hugo and told him that I needed him there.

Hugo had offered to come to my ultrasound appointment with me but I refused, trying to act all tough and a-ok with the situation. I didn’t need Hugo! What was the point of him being there? It was just a quick ultrasound and then poof! Out of there!

It’s scary when you realize that there might be something wrong with you and the doctors need to “run some tests”.  In most cases it’s nothing, just a precaution. Even though 95% of thyroid nodules are completely harmless, I totally went on an emotional roller-coaster ride because all I could think about was the trauma of the past year with my dad’s cancer.

I was at work at my part-time secretary job, minding my own business, formatting documents, dreaming about an awesome magazine job I had recently applied to (at last I had had an AHA! moment when I saw a job posting for a fashion magazine and for once in my life felt that special spark when you know this could lead to something great), when I came across this weird unidentified grape-like object chillin’ in my neck.  I thought to myself: “Waiiiiiit a minute. Where did this come from?? This doesn’t feel right. This shouldn’t be here”. So three days later I marched over to a walk-in clinic to see a doctor and she confirmed that indeed there was a lump and that it needed to be checked out asap. Just. Great.