That time I had double cancer…

PART 1 OF 3

In late summer of 2015, age 37, I was laying on my back for a massage with the talented Adinah Barlow, owner of Lifelong Wellness Center. I happened to look down at my stomach, and noticed that the area to the right of my bellybutton was slightly higher than the side to the left. Thinking that was a bit odd but chalking it up to my IBS, I ignored it and went on with my life. A month later, when I was in for another massage, I noticed it was still there. Hmmmmm. I had an appointment scheduled with my primary, Nurse Practitioner Nancy Ronin, the following week to talk about my IBS anyway, so I thought I’d mention it to her. She didn’t think she could see anything concerning about the shape of my abdomen, but since we were trying to figure out how best to treat my IBS, she went ahead and scheduled me for a CT scan.

Several weeks later I had the scan done. I knew test results would be posted on the MyChart medical portal, so was checking it frequently. However, to my surprise, I got a call from NP Ronin the following afternoon. She told me that the CT had revealed a mass in my lower intestine. I had no other symptoms, but since we didn’t know at that point if this was cancer or a benign growth, behaving fast or slow, she wanted to err on the side of caution and get it removed right away.

I was referred to Dr. Wesley Rippey (I thought it a promising name since it’s so close to my daughter’s name of Ripley) for surgery, and was scheduled quickly, for early October. He removed a 2 cm tumor, 22″ of small intestine, some connective mesentery, as well as a few small tumors from my omentum and one on a lymph node. After pathology examined the tissues, we learned the tumors were cancerous neuroendocrine tumors (cue foreshadowing music). I was now a “Stage Four Cancer” patient.

Post-surgery, my new-to-me oncologist wanted to do a full head-to-toe octreotide scan to see if there were any other cancerous hotspots. Of course, I did that with full enthusiasm. Gotta find out what else was in me! Aaaaaaand guess what, my thyroid lit up! So, after healing from my first surgery I went in for another surgery to get a full thyroidectomy, in February of 2016. My oncologist warned me that there are different kinds of thyroid cancer, and I probably had the kind that is related to neuroendocrine cancer. However, PLOT TWIST, it was papillary thyroid cancer, a completely different kind! I was told that I was lucky because if it had been related, my oncologist would have been worried.

No other follow-up treatment needed for either of my cancers except lots of monitoring: bloodwork, CT scans, and ultrasounds every three to six months. No chemo. No radiation. No hormone shots. It seemed like the surgeries did the trick, and I was incredibly grateful to be cured! I celebrated for the next seven years.

PART 2, PART 3

Published 8/16/22