Does this scanner make me look fat?

Long time no post, but the start of the new school year can do that to you!  Just like July flew by, so did September, and now I find myself in October.  Sigh.

I've looked at my page here a few times but haven't made time to write lately.  Seems like my thyca issues have been overtaken by trying to avoid gluten.  I guess it's a good thing that thyca has faded from the very front screens in my brain--my scar is not very noticeable, my TSH has been happily in the hyper zone to keep me suppressed, so as a result I actually feel pretty good most of the time.  Ok, a little tired because every so often I have a few nights where I just can't sleep for more than a couple of hours, but it's nice to not feel like I'm dragging my puffy ass all over the place just to get through the day.  And people keep telling me that I "look good"--I'll just take it and run with it.

However, thyca jumped right back to the front today--I got the call that I've been scheduled for my thyrogen scan next week.  As in thyrogen shot on Monday, shot #2 on Tuesday, whole body scan with my radioactive tracer on Wednesday.  It's about 2 and half years from the first RAI treatment, so Dr. N figured I could be checked now and, assuming that the thyca is undetectable, I'll be checked again at the 5 year mark. If I'm clear at that point, then she'll go to just blood work to monitor my undetectable-ness.

I thought I'd have to wait until November, but the whole process moved much faster than I thought.  That gives me about a week to work on keeping fear and anxiety at bay.  I'm  holding on to what Dr. N said--I was undetectable immediately after the thyroidectomy, so between the surgery and the RAI, she felt that they probably did a good job getting rid of most of the thyroid tissue.  If there's no thyroid tissue, the cancer has nowhere to reappear, especially since she's kept me well suppressed since the TT, and I haven't had to struggle to stay stable.

I'm hopeful and will be really shocked if things are suddenly detectable.  I often think about my dad who had cancer of the nasopharynx when he was 30, and how he spent the rest of his life dealing with these cancer checkups.  Difference is that I don't have kids to worry about, and I'm a little older.  One thing I always remember is how normal my parents made everything seem, and they must have been petrified with every doctor's appointment.  After watching how they dealt with everything life threw at them and how they kept going, I took note and will be in good shape no matter what the results are.  And I'm taking the day off when I go for the scan.....

More later about the latest edition of school....