My calcitonin continues to stay under 40. Calcitonin is the marker that is looked for in the semi-annual blood tests for those with Medullary Thyroid Cancer. Most people with metastasis have numbers in the 1000s or even 10,000. This means that while I still have cancer cells somewhere in my body, they are too small to show up on a scan or ultrasound. I still have no symptoms at all from the cancer, just a little tightness in my neck on the right side where I had surgery in 2016. I have almost complete mobility and it doesn't affect my daily life at all. I am very blessed.
The biggest excitement this year was at my appointment in September when my doctor casually mentioned that my 2017 scan had shown 2 kidney stones. Now I have had absolutely no symptoms of a kidney stone. I know how painful they are because all my children and George have had them. He suggested I have a renal ultrasound to see what was going on in my kidneys.
The excitement was that I was leaving in just a few days to go to Kenya where there is practically NO medical care at all. The logical part of my brain reminded me that I had felt nothing for 2 years and was unlikely to suddenly have a problem. But the illogical part kept thinking WELL IT COULD HAPPEN! I flew off to Kenya. After waking up with a slight back ache for 2 mornings, I was starting to get panicky until my roommate mentioned that her back hurt too and we realized that you could feel the slats of the bed through the very thin mattress. Panic averted!
When I got home I had a renal ultrasound and there were no stones present. I guess they passed on their own. I'm thankful. So I am still on 'wait and watch' with twice a year trips to my doctor in Portland who is a Medullary Cancer expert.
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