How it all began...

"Don't worry, papillary cancer is the best kind of cancer you can have..."
So said my endocrinologist after my second fine needle aspiration of my nodular thyroid.  I nearly vomited.  I immediately started crying, and when John came home, he cried too.  I was angry, I was afraid.  I ran a marathon a year ago, no one in my family has ever had this type of cancer, I do not live around radiation...how in the hell did I get thyroid cancer?  I began questioning every lifestyle choice I've ever made.  Was it too much splenda?  Was it from using an iphone?  Was it from taking several flights over the last year for vacation?  Do I live near a nuclear power plant and not know it?  Did the Synthroid I was taking to help my hypothyroid symptoms cause the cancer?  I had just started within the year that they found the cancer...how infuriating would that be?  Was it stress?  Am I causing more stress by stressing about too much stress...dizzying!  The simple answer is, it just happens.  After the diagnosis John and I went through a whirlwind of tests and second opinions and Doctor visits and researching surgeons and breaking the news to friends and family.  Malignancy confirmed, we booked a complete thyroidectomy with a top-rated plastic surgeon who stated that he does "3-5" of these surgeries every week.  Whaaaa?  I remembered reading about the rising rate of thyroid cancer in my Shape magazine.  What the heck causes this?  My endocrinologist whined "it's not like breast cancer where there are massive amounts of funding for research...nor is it like breast cancer...but there is a slightly increased risk of getting breast cancer after finding thyroid cancer..."  Is that supposed to make me feel better?  It's just thyroid cancer?  Just chop the thing out and be dependent on medication to prevent you from lapsing into a coma and dying?  Sighhhh.  Thank God for my family and friends who offered words of encouragement and lifted us up in their thoughts and prayers.  I just decided that all I could be was thankful that we caught it, that I have an amazing husband who literally cared for me around the clock, neglecting work and athletic training for his ironman and school work, and that we have the means to treat it.  That is what I have decided.  I am thankful and eager to share this story to shed light on this experience.