So I decided in November that after the big C and my never ending pneumonia maybe I should start getting regular physicals. You know "just to be on the safe side". A series of blood tests were done in which my white blood cell count was completely out of whack, my thyroid levels were through the roof and I had anemia.
The anemia was no surprise, neither was the white blood cell count being that my body was still fighting an infection. The thyroid was a different story though. Before doing anything they wanted to run a few more tests. Which of course came back positive for hypothyroidism. Nothing that can't be treated with one pill a day for the rest of my life... At 35 that seems like a very long time.
Of course when the first test came back I was telling Mom Chang and that's when she informed me that she has hypothyroidism, as well as two of her sisters and my grandmother had had it too. So I started doing a little research it could be hereditary. It could also have started when I was pregnant or could be a result of the radiation to my head and neck.
This wasn't the first diagnosis since going through treatment that may or may not have been a result of the radiation or chemotherapy. Last summer I was having problems with my right ear and when a hearing test was done I had definitely lost some of my hearing. Again though this may have been an unfortunate side effect it might also have to do with having opera singers singing full voice three feet away from me.
My point is this if you have to go through treatment for cancer before they start ANYTHING demand they perform a full physical. Make sure they run a full battery of tests. Know what was "normal" before you started. Not that I think it would have been easier to know I'd lost some of my hearing or I would be on medication forever but I wish I knew what really was a result of the chemo/radiation. There's something about the feeling that even though the cancer is gone the treatment is still destroying my body.
