- Remember that PhD student I told you about? Well, she has cancer. Thyroid cancer. She just found out this morning and told me right before class. I am just sick about it. I offered to give her extra time to finish everything for my class, while she deals with the shock. I don't know anything about thyroid cancer, but she said that they remove the glands and she has to take meds for the rest of her life. If you know anything reassuring I can tell her, that would be great.
- Awesome Female Colleague has ruled out a digestive ailment (for the most part), so now has been told that it is something reproductive- either ovarian cysts or cancer (which is how her mother died). I am hoping it's just cysts. This is so f---ed up.
- My friend's daughter has been trying to get pregnant for over a year and they finally succeeded! I'm not even supposed to know, but my friend was so excited she told me anyway. I'm so glad for them (this is their first), but of course- always a twinge of pain for me, too.
- We haven't heard from Dr. Nice or his family, but I am assuming that everything went fine with his surgery last week. I hope he is doing OK.
- I got in touch with a casual friend from grad school on FB and heard about his pending divorce (which I had heard about from another friend a while back). He and his soon-to-be-ex are in the same department- and have kids, so he doesn't want to move away from them. What a crappy situation. I feel terrible for him (especially knowing the story of why they are divorcing that I better not repeat here).
- It looks like I will be teaching 5 days a week next fall. It will be my first semester teaching three classes since fall 2006 and I still can't figure out a way to fit all of my classes on MWF- even having just labs on T/Th. So I will be teaching MTWThF. God damn that sucks.
Monday, December 08, 2008
bad news, good news, & no news (mostly about other people)
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9 comments:
Book Recommendation for bullet #1: The Thyroid Solution by Ridha Arem.
I have a grad school friend who had thyroid cancer. Since surgery and radiation treatments, she's been perfectly healthy. So much so that she's competed in marathons, triathlons, climbed mountains, and had all kinds of adventures.
It's certainly not something you'd want to have--who wants cancer?--but there are absolutely people who have full and active lives after treatment.
what a terrible thing for your student! I'm so sorry. to build on dr. four eyes's anecdotal evidence, a friend of my mom's got thyroid cancer when I was 8 or 9 years old. she's still alive and kicking and I'm 30.
I am sorry for your student. I had a thyroid cancer scare and was repeatedly told that, while any cancer sucks, thyroid cancer is by far the best one to get. It is very treatable. I also know a number of people on the thyroid meds and they are perfectly healthy otherwise and it doesn't impact their lives much.
Wow... I am sorry to hear about your student (and your friend) :( I hope their treatment goes well... I have no experience with it, but it seems your posters have good ideas.
One of my friends had thyroid cancer last year. She had it removed and now takes meds daily. She's doing fine, after some adjustments to the dose. And the scar has healed up quite nicely, too. While it can be seen, it blends it with the natural lines on her neck. (She wore turtlenecks for about a month and then went back to regular shirts.)
Sorry to hear all the bad news.
I've had a thyroid tumor -- though not cancer but there's a medical controversy about that. It was the second semester of graduate school, in a foreign country (which makes things all the more complicated. It had me worried, and the whole experience left me mentally drained, but the surgery ito remove the thyroid itself was simple, no complications. Your student will be perfectly fine.
My mom had thyroid cancer when she was 25. She is now almost 69. She takes synthroid everyday and sometimes the doctor adjusts the dosage (hormonal changes and all that), but otherwise it doesn't affect her at all.
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