Still on God’s Tough Soldier List.

Two weeks ago I traveled to Clayman Thyroid Surgery Center to have what was thought to be a preventative thyroidectomy. Turns out, I had a large, solid, cancerous tumor on my left thyroid. Meanwhile, my Primary Care Physician ghosted me.

*insert big sigh* Yeah…. I know.

I spent a thousand years in school, where I learned how to take an L and go about my day. Perhaps I’ve taken that spirit a little too far. Because the way I was frolicking through Disney World until midnight before an hour-long drive to have that tumor removed at 5 a.m.? Yeah.

But Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

And I take that personally. Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich today, cancer surgery tomorrow.

I try really hard to not let anything steal my joy. My joy is my resistance and a coping mechanism. I believe it’s rooted in the fact that I have never known a time in which life has given me a break because I was going through it. The world does not revolve around me, and my little problems. People do not care and neither does life. It just keeps on punching. So I intentionally scheduled the surgery for the end of the summer  so that I could spend the summer making memories. 

At the beginning of this journey, my friend who is a DNP said that I would have a testimony after this. And okay cool, I will share my story for others, for awareness, but….AND I AM PRETTY SURE THAT I PRAYED TO BE TAKEN OFF OF THE TOUGH SOLDIER LISTTTT! Do I not have ENOUGHHH testimonies?! But here we are!

So on August 6th, I had surgery to remove the 4 cm growth on my thyroid. The following day, I found out that the growth was a solid Hürthle cell carcinoma, an oncocytic tumor. I am so blessed and so grateful to have been able to push through to get this diagnostic surgery.

This journey started with just my routine exam with my gynecologist. During my appointment, she found a lump in my neck. I am so grateful that Dr. Stephanie Lee did not take any chances and referred me for an ultrasound and bloodwork.

The ultrasound revealed a 4 cm solid thyroid nodule. This prompted the need for a biopsy. After not being able to get through their AI phone system and sending five ignored portal messages, I still have not been contacted by my PCP’s office to give me the results of my biopsy. It became very clear that my PCP was not going to be helpful during this process.

Thankfully, my gynecologist was able to obtain the results and refer me to an ENT for surgery. Had I not had the personal drive, discernment, or awareness, I would still have an aggressive, rare cancer growing on my thyroid and potentially spreading through my body.

I also requested that they order the optional genetic test to better determine my risk for cancer.

They ignored me.

So weeks later, I had the ENT that I consulted with request the test. And it reveled a 75% risk for cancer.

I still have not heard from my PCP.

I also recognize how blessed I am to have been able to travel to a specialized surgery center to receive top-notch care. After consulting with Mayo Clinic and my local ENT, I decided to go with robotic surgery at Clayman Thyroid Surgery Center in Tampa, Florida. I cannot say enough good things about them. 10/10 highly recommend. And while recovery has been….interesting….they have been very supportive and responsive.

I want to stress that I am only 31, I didn’t notice the lump in my neck, and I have never had an abnormal thyroid panel. And while Thyroid cancer is commonly and ignorantly known as the “good cancer,” The type that was found in my thyroid is very rare and aggressive. Accounting for only 3-5% of thyroid cancer cases.

Disease-specific and overall survival rates for Black women remain consistently lower than those of their white counterparts across similar diagnoses. Black patients are frequently diagnosed at a more advanced disease stage with larger tumors, partly due to reduced access to early screening and lower rates of low-risk cancer detection. Had I waited on my PCP, I could’ve quickly fell into that category.

People die daily because of inadequate healthcare experiences. I do not take for granted the fact that I was able to push through this without my PCP. So many people that I know and love have suffered from rare cancers. This is not by chance. And at a very young age, I realized the harm of living in a post-industrial community like my hometown. The very reason I pursued an academic and professional career in public health and environmental injustice/health is because of things like environmental externalities, medical racism and bias, and health disparities.

We have to start sharing our experiences. I’m not sure who told us not to. There is so much more that unites us than divides us. And so much that we go through is out of our control.

If this is shocking, just know that I am what being covered in God’s grace looks like. I am evidence not of a life without hardship, but of a life covered in grace. God has been faithful in sustaining me in moments when I should have fallen apart. Through it all, God is good. And so are Dr. Eyas Alkhalili and Dr. Stephanie Lee.

Check your neck. Speak up for yourself. Schedule every appointment that you’ve been putting off. And slow your appointments down by asking ALL of your questions. Don’t allow doctors to tell you “no news is good news” while waiting to hear from them after procedures. As for me, “no news” was just negligence.

If thyroid surgery specifically is something you’ve been putting off, come on down to Florida. I had an amazing surgery team at Clayman Thyroid Center. Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month is in September. We have a lot to talk about.

Talk soon.