In the beginning

Last July I noticed a lump on my neck and got myself along to the doctor, who referred me to the lumps clinic at the hospital (the breast clinic to be precise - first point of confusion). After a lot of poking , pricking and scanning - not to mention a quick bit of carving up - I was diagnosed in January with papillary thyroid cancer. Oh dear. A number of friends have suggested that I should write down what is happening to me - partly so I can give the patients advice and liason service in my local health trust the benefits of my experience, and partly so I stop ranting at them and spoiling a good pint. So I've decided to try blogging the whole sorry process and maybe make some sense of it all. Well, the worse that can happen is no one reads it and another medical masterpiece goes unnoticed.

The first thing I should say if you're still reading is that thyroid cancer is very treatable. Which as you can imagine is a big relief. The consultant who finally gave me my diagnosis described it as a lazy and indolent cancer. Hey! How did it know to take up residence in me? Anyway - as with many cancers no one is really sure what causes it, although it is strongly linked to exposure to radiation. I don't suppose this is why, but I did travel back through eastern europe about a month and a half after Chernobyl went up - including through Poland which I know was affected by fallout. And this gives my illness a pleasing socio-historical dimension I quite like the sound of....it can take a long time after exposure to develop - but I'm not sure its that long. Well, it's either that or those bird watching trips round Dungeness were more dangerous than they appeared. So - that's the start of it. What I thought I would do is to run through the diagnosis (which took some time what with everyone wanting their say) in a series of installments until I've caught up with myself as I am now then I can just add to it as things happen, or I feel a burning need to say something. But not right now as I'm off to Manchester in the morning and it's a long and tedious drive up the motorway.