10 years!!

i was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in the summer 2003. i also had my thyroidectomy late that summer. coincidentally, a band called postal service released their new (and only) album give up earlier that year. for two weeks, after my surgery, that was all i listened to during my recovery.
venue: greek theater in berkeley (sold out)
artist: postal service with baths & divine fits
who: joe & sileena
when: 27 july 2013 (saturday) at 8p

my friend joe came up again with his friend for the show. i decided it would be a good idea for us to stay in berkeley near the greek theater so we could just walk there. it was really convenient.

the last time i was at the greek theater, i saw ben gibbard on his 30th birthday. that was 7 years ago. while i have seen death cab for cutie 3 times, i had never seen rilo kiley live. however, jenny lewis was playing with postal service so it was very exciting for me. she has a great voice. it was super cute how both jenny lewis and ben gibbard danced together. it was an amazing show. being there really brought me back to 2003, in a good way. we didn't stay for the second encore since they'd pretty much played all of their songs including any new songs they might have released with the 10th anniversary album. i would definitely see them again, even if they played the same songs over and over.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ nothing better

official news on my recent body scan

i saw my endocrinologist today about my body scan last month. it's official, i'm still cured of thyroid cancer. :)

first body scan post cancer-free status

i started my low-iodine diet the day after thanksgiving. this time, the diet lasted 2 weeks instead of 10 days. the 4 extra days is even more excruciating. and having to endure 3 holiday parties while on this diet is torturous. i also missed a baby shower because of this damn diet. boo...

nov 24th, friday - start low-iodine diet (no black friday for me!)

dec 5th, monday - get 1 of 2 thyrogen injections at o'connor (and not in upper butt cheek this time! big surprise!)

dec 6th, tuesday - get 2 of 2 thyrogen injections at o'connor (side effects were major fatigue, i wonder if that is the difference between the types of injections)

dec 7th, wednesday - i-131 pill to be administered in nuclear medicine at o'connor (no bloodwork required!)

dec 9th, friday - whole neck and body scan in nuclear medicine at o'connor

results of the scan after were clear. in fact, dr lim (in the past, dr yen has been my nuclear medicine physician) indicated that my body reacts to iodine the exact same way, every time. if you threw up all of my scan results (this was my 8th, i think), you wouldn't be able to tell when which scan happened as they all look exactly the same.

jan 26th, thursday - official scan results and follow-up with dr bruhn

ugh, i have to go on a diet

today, i saw my endocrinologist for a follow up after getting a not-so-normal lab result from my annual visit with him 3 months ago. i think i have mentioned my admiration for him previously. but i need to say it again. i ♥ dr. bruhn. he is the best. every time i see him, no matter how fat i feel, he always tells me that i am beautiful.

apparently, it is time for me to get my i-131 body scan again. in 2008, when i was declared cured, i was told that i would only need a body scan every 3-5 years. it's been 3 years so i suppose it's time. when i get scheduled for the body scan, i must go on this 10-day low iodine diet. this year, however, it's 2-weeks. 4 more days than usual! trust me, this is really hard. basically, i can't eat anything processed, which is good for cleansing but still not easy to do. one year, i lost 6 lbs in 10 days!

when the nurse asked me when i wanted to start the diet, i responded, after thanksgiving, please? so she scheduled my diet to start the day after thanksgiving. that means, no leftovers for me. :( wish me luck!

happy 2nd anniversary... to me!

i have been cancer-free for 2 years, today.
so go out and have some bubbly, for me! xo

tsh levels finalized, finally

last april (2008), i had my last official body scan for my thyroid cancer. and in june, it was official. i'd beat cancer. yet, a problem still remained. my tsh levels were too high. while the main problem was gone, there was still something to worry about. it took 13 months, 28 days and 4 dosage adjustments. as of today (as declared earlier by dr. bruhn), my tsh levels are perfect. just where the good doc wants them. my next appointment with him is a year from now.

i think it's due time to celebrate in style, don't you?

happy 1st year anniversary to me!

last year, today, i kicked cancer's ass. naturally, i had to celebrate. it was planned last minute, but quite successful. betty and i went together. grace, bobby, tony and jordan showed up later to make our intimate party better i went to my usual place, xanh, to celebrate. shea, their bartender is the coolest. his presence helped make the celebrations fabulous. he also makes the best deviations.

and the cherry on top, kelly gave birth to her second beauty. so i had to go visit and meet sophia grace. please help me welcome sophia grace keiko burich. born earlier today @ 2:56p weighing in at 7 lbs & 15 oz and 20" long. what a cutie!

congrats to kelly & chris! and emily for being a big sister! ♥

tsh levels

i didn't mention this the last time i saw my endocrinologist because i was too happy about my new cancer free status. while the cancer is gone, there is something else not so clear, however. my tsh levels are too high. tsh stands for thyroid stimulating hormones. they are not thyroid hormones, they are pituitary hormones produced by your pituitary gland in your brain. this determines the amount of thyroid hormones that need to be released by your thyroid. since i have no thyroid, i have hypothyroidism. meaning the thyroid is not producing enough hormones, or any in my case.

much to my dismay, my tsh levels are still too high. they were too high the last time i saw my doctor. having such high levels may potentially cause more health problems. i'm told it could be hazardous to my internal organs as well as other health issues i don't want (such as depression and heart disease). as a result, i've switched hormone levels twice now. it was .112 (the pink pill) for years. back in june, it was changed to .100 (yellow pill) and now, it is down to .88 (lime green pill). so hopefully that fixes me.

finally, i have a confession to make. i ♥ my endocrinologist. he is the greatest doctor, a compassionate friend, and loyal confidante. despite a recent and unfortunate weight gain :@), i felt happy and good about myself after seeing him. he makes me laugh and feel smart and beautiful. he is one of the coolest people i know. what is also great about him is that he is genuinely concerned about me and my well-being. i continue to see him because even though the thyroid cancer is gone, a thyroid problem still exists. rather than just be glad that the big problem has been taken care of, he insists on making sure that i am ok in the long run. this makes me happy because i was sad that i might not see him anymore. well, until he retires anyway...

thank you dr. bruhn.

it's official...

i beat cancer's ass.*

*thanks to ro for the catchy phrase. :)

still going strong... kinda

... celebrating, that is.

to those who came out to my preliminary celebration at xanh, thank you all for coming on such late notice. i'd also like to thank my brother & his family for their generosity. and for those who sent me congratulatory messages via text, phone and email, i am much appreciative to you as well. they (as well as you, the sender) mean a great deal to me.

it's been so busy since the last post last monday. at work as well as home. i'm moving soon (next week? maybe? hopefully?). and, i have two meetings this week that i have to prepare for. another meeting next week. yuk.

let's recount the previous week...

monday, april 28th
clear body scan (see post below)! woohoo! i went to nordstrom for my traditional double capp right after but this time, no cousins there (it had been caroline there for at least 2 of the 5 years) to get a congratulatory hug just yet. i later got one from lily (thanks!). then off to the office to see my coworkers and tell them the news. i'd brought some mac & cheese from the last meal. and of course, after work, met up with people at xanh from 6p until closing. i didn't think i'd be there that long but people kept coming and going. i was getting messages left & right about the clear scan. i truly felt loved.

friday, may 2nd
for the rest of the work week, it was hard to get anything done. i was still in this surreal state of mind. did i really beat cancer? i was completely fearless about spreading my happy news, despite being unofficial. finally, friday came and lisa took me and another friend out to dinner. but before dinner, lisa and i went to verizon to get her a new fancy phone.

she got the enV2 (maroon), the newer version of my phone (orange). it had just come out. it was so new, they didn't have any samples at the store to play around with. and going for $179.99 with a 2 year contract. i showed some skin and she only paid $79.99. score! we got a family plan together, got the phone, transferred over her address book and all this was done in less than an hour!

she'd made reservations at the house at 9p. even at that time, it was totally packed. apparently, they are known for their grilled sea bass with garlic ginger soy. and that's what lisa had the first time she'd gone so she had it again. the house is also known for their warm wasabi house noodles with angus flatiron steak, which is what i ordered. we also had two appetizers, the ahi tuna tartare with roasted nori chipstuna and the deep fried salmon rolls with chinese hot mustard. i'd never had anything like those rolls. they were crunchy, soft, flavorful, spicy, and delicious! very special. i could barely eat half my entree as i enjoyed the appetizers completely and tremendously. the wasabi noodles were also full of flavor and with just the right amount of spice i like. the steak (cooked medium) was sooo good. slightly chewy and yet still melts in my mouth. mmm meat. just thinking about it makes me salivate.
afterwards, we went to the steps of rome café for some espresso drinks and dessert. i'd been craving gelato since i started my low-iodine diet. i ordered a double capp, which unfortunately, was more like a latte. next time, i will just get a single. the gelato was really rich and totally hit the spot. this resulted in me being a very happy full girl.

saturday, may 3rd
we celebrated my dad's 68th birthday on saturday. wow, 68. and there's no other place i love celebrating than at xanh restaurant. they have these sectioned off rooms where you can have private events. since we got there so early, this mini xanh room was essentially ours. we ordered nearly everything on the menu. there was so much food. i couldn't help myself. i totally oinked out. i'd been starving for 10 days before the scan. i indulged like i had the night before. it was great except that my sister-in-law had to work and missed most of it. :(

photo taken with lisa's LG enV2

that night, i went to leisure with louis and betty. i hadn't gone dancing since the end of march. and even though there were a few 40-somethings, i was surprised to see a lot of kinda cute guys there. i was just so content to be dancing to music i love after so long of a period that i didn't pay much attention to the boys. i know, shocker huh? hahah

sunday, may 4th
the nordstrom private shopping event where they wine and dine you so you spend oodles of $$. that was the case for me anyway. not to mention my friend grace. heehee. it's more fun when you're not the only who spends a lot of money.

let's see... i got two pairs of kate spade shoes (will post pics once they are delivered to me), a cream marc by marc jacobs bag (always wanted a cream bag - see right), and tons of cosmetics. and tons of goodies came with my purchases thanks to my special sales person (thanks debbie!). makes me a most joyous shopper. but, no more shopping for a while!! right lisa?

unofficial thyroid cancer survivor

it's unofficial because i'll have to hear it from my endocrinologist in june when i see him. he's in charge of my thyroid cancer. but this morning was my 5th year of body scans. most of the technicians (not to mention the doctor) have been there since my diagnosis in 2003. and most of them remember you. it's really nice to see a familiar face when you go through such a important yet very stressful ordeal.

i'd like to thank everyone who has supported me through the years. it's hard to imagine going through it without my friends and family. thank you all! i really couldn't do it without you. ♥

i am radioactive girl

i got my i-131 pill this morning, after two days of injections in the upper cheeks of my derriere. the pill comes in one of those lead containers that you imagine dry ice starts flowing out of. the technician who administers it used to handle it with these huge forceps but now have it down easy. it goes from the lead container to a plastic cup to my mouth. it's hard to imagine that something the technician won't touch is something i have to ingest. but i suppose if she's handling a ton of these pills a day, the accumulation would be harmful.

i am not quite glowing but slightly radioactive. i have this special card that i take with me in case i travel and set off security alarms. craziness huh?

last meal

my last meal before my 10-day diet. i had two generous helpings of this spicy mac & cheese with tomatoes. it was delicious! my sister made it specially for me. she also made it for my birthday last year.

it's been 4 days on this damn diet and i soooo want a bite of this mac & cheese... and ice cream would be nice too. :(

i am officially starvin' marvin.

upcoming body scan

this morning, i saw my endocrinologist for my 5th and hopefully final body scan. i had bloodwork done for this appointment last week. it turns out that my thyroid levels are too high out of the range (0.8-1.8, i'm currently at 2.2) and may potentially do harm internally (organs, bones, etc.). my dr is prescribing a lower dosage to alternate with the current dosage to offset the levels. i see him in two months for that as well as my body scan follow up.

here is my upcoming schedule:

april 17th, thursday - start low-iodine diet (ugh, i'm going to be starvin' marvin ALL the time)

april 23rd, wednesday - get 1 of 2 thyrogen injections in upper butt cheek (ouch)

april 24th, thursday - get 2 of 2 thyrogen injections in other butt cheek (ouch again)

april 25th, friday - get bloodwork done first, then i-131 pill to be administered in nuclear medicine at o'connor

april 28th, monday - whole neck and body scan in nuclear medicine at o'connor

june 12th, thursday - official scan results and follow-up with dr

every day after a negative scan result - c e l e b r a t e   l i f e!!

tube free!

last thursday, i had my last appointment with my ent doctor, dr. falsafi. he's been treating me since late last year and we actually said our goodbyes that afternoon. i saw him for the first time last december. despite having numerous specialists treating me, it's still a little sad to see them go. with all of my health issues, i feel extremely fortunate to have received such great care from most of them.

i had a total of 3 surgeries (done by the good doctor) all within 2007. now that being in his care is over, it's kinda bittersweet. i'm sad i won't see him anymore but i'm also happy that my problems have been resolved. for the most part anyway. i mean, seriously, i breathe so much better. i can't believe i didn't for most of my life. i don't miss the tube in my eye at all. hopefully, this is also goodbye to any pink eye recurrences.

thank you dr. falsafi!

tube update

last thursday, i had an appointment with my doctor for the removal of my tube. while he probed the tube in my nose and stuck some forceps in there, he decided to leave the tube in for another three months. he mentioned that he thought i was healing nicely but just wanted to leave the tube for a bit longer. i figure, it's better than having it put in a 4th time. and since i don't feel it, it's no biggie.

otherwise, i am feeling quite well and getting the most out of these glasses. alas, i will have to postpone the daily wear of eye make up until the winter. oh well.

update #2 on recovery #2

funny story at the hospital the day of my surgery (over 4 thursdays ago)... i'm at o'connor which was where i had my thyroidectomy done 4 years ago (almost to the date!) and this nurse, mimi helped me prep up. i couldn't help but notice how familiar she seemed. especially as she asked me all of the same questions i'd been asked before. in the middle of it, she stopped and said to me, have i helped you before linda? i tell her that i was just thinking the same thing! it's really nice to be remembered, isn't it?

as far as my current recovery goes, i'm healing well. aside from coughing up this tiny plastic thing which apparently is from the gel form they stuck in my nose to hold something in place. it also seemed to be the cause for the sore throat/ tonsilitis symptoms because after it was out of my system, i was fine. well, except for the congestion. but my doctor pulled the gel form out along with some really gross stuff. my nasal cavity actually felt empty after that. it was amazing. a bit traumatic but absolutely necessary. i can breathe deeply again!

one last thing though. the tube in my eye comes out this coming thursday. i don't really feel it so it's not a big deal. i just hope it doesn't hurt too much!

happy labor day weekend everyone!

update on my recovery #2

hi all,

thanks for all the messages and concern. i'm recovering well, much better than the last surgery. on friday, as lisa is working from home next to me, she says... i can't believe you had surgery yesterday, it feels like we're just hanging out. after the last surgery, when she came to pick me up, she cried at the sight of me. she said i looked really messed up. this time, it was different. i didn't look swollen, and didn't need help getting into the house. i was up and about on friday. the only thing i'm really having problems with, are my tonsils. they are so swollen that if i don't keep my tonsils down my throat, i choke a little bit. my throat is so sore right now. and it's hard to take any solids down.

otherwise, my nose is fine. my face is fine. as long as my tonsils get better, i'll be a-ok. i'm hoping to get back to the office earlier than the 20th.

xoxo

t minus 7 hours and counting...

i have surgery today, in the morning. hopefully, this will be the last one for a long time. i'm having an endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy done. dcr for short. i'm hoping all goes well as i have a bit of a cough. this should fix my teary left eye, for the most part anyway. and if i'm lucky, i'll leave the hospital with an eye patch. i kinda dig the pirate look. ;)

see you soon! ♥

ps, happy birthday lou! (on the 10th). posts on my mini break will have to wait until later!

kindred spirit & scar buddy

most of you who read my blog, know that i was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer back in 2003. this year, i had my fourth body scan which means (as i've said previously back in april) i have one left to go until i can officially be declared "cured."

last november, i received an email from a good friend of mine. it turns out that her childhood friend was diagnosed with a type of thyroid cancer. she asked me to contact her friend to help her with concerns she was having about her diagnosis. so i did. i wrote her about my entire experience. from the symptoms to how i've lived with it. i shared my experiences with my doctors, the surgery, the recovery, the radiation treatment, and my body scan check ups. we'd been emailing one another as well as spoken on the phone (right before her surgery) ever since. actually, we are both on gchat and instant message every now and then. she's a grad student at berkeley and is local, sort of. we'd been playing with the idea of meeting up, finally. to match a face with the voice. last thursday, we met up for dinner at xanh in mt. view. my treat.

it was really nice to finally meet her. when my friend made this request, i didn't think twice about contacting her. i'd been in her shoes. while thyroid cancer is the best cancer to get if you were given a choice of any one cancer to be stricken with, as it is curable, it's still a very scary ordeal. it's life changing. certainly, it's changed my life. it would have been nice to have someone who had gone through it to ask questions and concerns. i was glad to be that person for someone else.

we met up at 6:30 and talked and ate well through 2 hours. it turned out that we had more than scars in common. luckily for her, she did not have cancer. hers was benign. she had a partial thyroidectomy. we were both young, strong, intelligent women with similar views on life, love, and spirituality. it's really amazing how well we got along and how we seem to be on the same wavelength. the dinner would have lasted longer except, i was late picking up my niece and nephew! so we said we would do it again.

and she brought me a little thank you gift. this book, which was really thoughtful and sweet of her. i felt bad that i came empty handed. luckily, i was able to treat her to dinner!