June 29, 2017
Re: The "Cure" for Cancer
TheCanadianCharger Reader
I am writing to share my story and experience with thyroid cancer. Please remove my name.
Early and accurate detection of cancers had been a big step. However our medical system can not afford scanning people on regular bases as well as.
Cancers are cells that do not want to die. In the lab, HeLa is a cell type in an immortal cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line was derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951 from Henrietta Lacks, a patient who died of her cancer on October 4, 1951.
Research have showed that cancer occurs in many people on daily bases. However a few percentage of them grow into tumors. The immune system usually can detect cancers and destroy it on the spot. When cells grow beyond few thousands, it starts to form tumors or nodules which has their own blood supply and starts to grow and divide quickly.
Thyroid cancer had been known as the good cancer as it mostly curable in its early stages and it is slow growing. There is four types, Papillary, Follicular, Medullary and Anaplastic, first two are slow growing and last two are aggressive.
Thyroid cancers (TC) occur more in females than in males.
The function of the thyroid gland is to take iodinem found in many foods, and convert it into thyroid hormones; thyroxine T4 and triiodothyronine T3. These control many functions in the human body specially metaboloism.
Thyroid cells are the only cells in the body which can absorb iodine. The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland that is found in the bottom of one's neck.
I was diagnoised with follicular thyroid cancer in 2007.
I refused to follow the recommendations of the doctors which was to remove thyroid (Total thyrodoctomy-TT) then take radioactive iodine (RAI) which damages usually the remanent thyroid tissues and kills differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).
I went with only removing the cancer and lived with half thyroid.
In 2016 it grow back into my remaining thyroid lobe and one of my lymph nodes in the neck.
What they saw in 2009 as multiple lighting nodes in the lungs (assumed to be TB as it was not growing over a year and half of monitoring) turned out to be metastastic cancer of my thyroid.
They only can tell for sure if I have cancer using a blood work called thyroglubin (Tg) cancer marker, PET scan does detect all tumors neither CT does but it can be misinterpreated.
They have to remove the thyroid first in order to get meaningful results using the Tg marker.
In late 2016, I went to surgery and did total thyrodoctomy with neck dissection to remove remaining thyroid and 31 of my neck right side lymph nodes.
I tried the RAI treatment which is considered radiation treatment twice once at dose of 50 mCi and second at dose of 200 mCi. It was not uptaken in my lungs.
Now, I am left with 20 to 30 small tumors between 8 mm to 3 mm in my lungs with one of them too aggressive in sugar absorbtion.
I chased a treatment used new external radiation treatment machine called Cyberknife, instead of the wait and watch. But they refused treating me and said I have too many tumors.
There are only 4 machines in Canada with this high accuracy targeting of the tumors.
I am considered stage 4 cancer patient with radioactive iodine resistant disease.
The only choice is chemotherpy of new drug called lenvatinib which works on average for 18 months then it stops working. comes with huge side effects. They call this family of new drugs TKI and is considered targeted chemotherpy.
I live on Synthroid which is replacement hormon and also O take in high dose to suppress cancer.
Maybe I even did the TT surgery in 2007 and went on suppression dose even if RAI was not going to work, I would not have developed lung metastasis or it would had been stable. (I had 9 more tumors between 2009 to 2016).
I was stage 1 in 2007 which is considered treatable, now I am stage 4.
Remember me in your prayers.
Early accurate detection is a key.
Even CT can miss cancers if they do cross section.
To detect my cancers they did 1 mm cross sections.
Later they compare it with 5 mm cross section. Chances they can not compare and they also miss few of the 3 mm tumors.
Cancer kills as it can metastasis to bone and brain or plug airways or push on blood supply arteries.
This my sickness story, sorry to go into many details but I wanted to explain why early detection and treatment that can become a cure in stage 1 is important as they do not have cure for late stages as cancer spread to other organs.
