I'm not sure where to start...

Hi, my name is Kim. I am 33 years old. I've had numerous "common" health problems until I was diagnosed with cancer last year. You know, I think we all have imagined how we would respond to those words, but I was wrong. Its a long story, so sit back and get comfy.

I guess it started when I was about 18 (1995). I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). I saw the gyno after the diagnosis and he recommended BC pills and told me my fertility chances would be very slim to none. he also told me I would require a hysterectomy by 25 due to the PCOS symptoms. The gyno also noticed an enlarged thyroid and ordered blood work. The blood work was normal, so no treatment or further investigation was recommended.

I continued with the same gyno until I moved to Atlanta in 1999. I had been seeing him every three months for pap smears and wet preps due to abnormal, but not cancerous, results. When I saw my new gyn in ATL, i was informed that the results from my pap smear was normal and they would see me in a year. I never did find out what was going on or what or how things had changed. He also noted the enlarged thyroid and did blood work, also finding normal results.

I had come to terms (I thought) with the idea of not having children until I got closer and closer to the predicted 25 years old. As I approached it, I started questioning if there were new developments. I scheduled with a new gyno, due to an insurance change. My new doc noted the same enlarged thyroid and did blood work, but the results again returned normal with no follow up recommendations. He also explained that the idea of pregnancy was not out of the picture, but that it would need more planning and less spontaneity and to call him when I was ready.

In the mean time, I started seeing a general practitioner for annual physical, sickness and such. She noted the PCOS and recommended I take Metformin. I thought it was weird that my GP was interested in something the gyno never told me about, but she had plenty of information of the drug and its benefits for PCOS. She also, just like all the others noted the enlarged thyroid and ordered blood work. As usual, it was all normal.

I started the Metformin in 2001 and continually raised the dosage trying to regulate the PCOS symptoms. My husband and I also started discussing the possibility of a family (long long discussions). In late Aug/early Sept 2002 we decided to try for our first child. I was technically still not showing signs of ovulation, but I had been taking the metformin for quite some time. Ironically, we got pregnant the very first time we tried. My pregnancy went very well and our first child was born in May 2003.

Soon after he birth I started having problems with major fatigue, muscle aches, bone pain, migraine headaches, severe stiffness upon waking and feeling more tired then when I went to bed. The doctors ran all kinds of labs on me: thyroid (of course) was normal, they checked me for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and more. All results came back normal. The doc told me I had fibromyalgia and it would never go away. He told me to take an anti-depressant and try to lose weight. Funny thing, at this point I wasn't very heavy and even my gyno didn't agree with the anti-depressant scenario. I decided to try and deal with it. Life went on.

Turns out, in 2006, the pain and symptoms continued and worsened. I even added major pelvic pain to the list. I was diagnosed with endometriosis and had surgery in Nov 2006. I also had my fallopian tubes "cleaned out" and my cysts removed. We had decided prior to surgery to try for one more child and started trying as soon as we were able. Our second child was born Jan 2008.

About 6 weeks after he was born, my symptoms continued and with a vengeance. I was so fatigued that I would almost fall asleep driving the 3 miles home from work. I couldnt lift my head off the pillow once I laid down. The body aches turned into pains shooting up and down my arms and legs causing me to jerk my limbs. I knew something was seriously wrong, but nothing could be found. My doc ran the same tests as before and told me the same answer: fibromyalgia and anti-depressant. I refused to listen and he actually told me "if you wont take an anti-depressant, I can help you and you don't need to see me any longer". I went home feeling useless. My husband work alot of hours, but as soon as he got home, he had to take over all duties with the kids. Funny thing was, I couldn't have been happier with my family at the time. I just wanted to feel better so I could enjoy them.

My husband convinced me to seek out another doctor. When I told her the symptoms and the results of the previous doctors tests, she told me "OK, so we keep looking till we find the problem. I treat patients with fibromyalgia frequently and I do not believe that you have it". Due to a high occurrence of Multiple Sclerosis in extended family, she decided that was a good place to start. She ordered an MRI of the brain and since she noticed the thyroid herself, she ordered an ultrasound of the thyroid.

Thank goodness, the MRI was clear, but my thyroid needed further consult. According to her (and my own research all over the Internet), when an enlarged thyroid is noted, but the bloodwork appears to be normal, an ultrasound should be ordered to determine why it was becoming enlarged. She asked me about choking and having problems swallowing, which Ive had my entire life, but just assumed I was weird. I called it my "drinking" problem. The ultrasound noted a 3.5 to 4cm nodule on the left and multiple 1 to 1.5 cm calcified nodules on the right. She referred me to an endocrinologist.

The endocrinologist did not seem to be worried about the fact that nodules were present and even noted that it was quite normal. She indicated we could watch them. At that point, I started kinda interrogating her. I asked her why we would watch a nodule the size of my left one. I asked about the calcification's on the right and I asked her if there was any chance it could be cancer. She then picked the chart up and reviewed the radiologists findings (perhaps for the first time???) and stated that a fine needle biopsy should be done on the left (larger) nodule. She told me a biopsy would not be possible on the right, so we would look at eh options once the left was completed.

In September 2008, I had a fine needle aspiration of the left nodule. Prior to the procedure, she told me she needed only 3 slide of the area. She finished with 8-9 slides. Odd?? The biopsy report came back inconclusive-her words. At this point she stated we could repeat it, but she expected similar results and that I needed to decide to watch it or remove it. I was worried about the right side and the lack of biopsy there, so I decided to talk to a surgeon.

I saw the surgeon and questioned me on why I was unsure how to proceed. He then handed me the biopsy report which clearly indicated no presence of normal thyroid cells and numerous cells that were considered pre-cancerous. I then decided, quite easily, to remove the thyroid as a preventative measure.

Surgery was done Nov 2008, the week of thanksgiving. Super easy, no pain, no problems.

I waited 3 weeks for the pathology report. I was sent out to 2 other lab experts for review after the initial lab findings at the hospital. I finally received it on Dec 12, 2008. It was a 4cm follicular variant of papillary carcinoma. It was the day of my work Christmas party. Thank goodness my boss was paying the bill that night.