advice

On 6/29/2009 Bill93 wrote:

Myname is Bill Green age 60 and going in for surgery July 8th to remove the tumor if anyone has been thru this and can give me advise I live in Plymouth,Ma thank you for your help I am new at this

Hi Bill,

Are you having a total thyroidectomy (TT) or a partial? Do you have any idea of the size of your tumor?  If you've never had surgery before a good way to prepare for it is with a guided relaxation CD.  I used one from Peggy Huddleson called "Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster" http://www.healfaster.com/ and it helped me.  The idea is that if you can relax your mind, your body will follow and you'll heal faster.

  I've had a TT and it required a one night stay in the hospital and then I went home and pretty much stayed in bed for a few days and rested.  I only needed Tylenol with Codeine the first day and then the pain was managable with just Tylenol, so it wasn't too bad.  The thing that bothered me the most was that I had a sore throat for 4 days because of the breathing tube that is used during surgery.  So I ate lots of soft foods, ice cream and milkshakes.  Since I had Hashimoto's disease, it made my surgery a little more tricky and two of my calcium receptors were damaged but my surgeon managed to reattach them and my calcium levels tested fine. Everyone is different in their recovery times.   So just take it easy and rest after your surgery, it's really not too bad.  Good luck!

On 6/29/2009 Bill93 wrote:

Myname is Bill Green age 60 and going in for surgery July 8th to remove the tumor if anyone has been thru this and can give me advise I live in Plymouth,Ma thank you for your help I am new at this

Hello Bill,  I'm so sorry that you have to go through all of this.  My husband was diagnosed with stomach cancer last fall on Sep 3rd.  They removed 75% his stomach and 22 lymph nodes around his stomach.  He is doing well and is able to eat most anything and he has gained most of his weight back.  I believe he is one of the fortunate ones so far.  He has had two scans of which both were negative for cancer.  He is due for one July 15th and we will see what that holds for him.  I would be lying if I said it was going to be easy.  The surgery itself was rough so is the recovery.  Luckly we had an excellent surgeon and I believe that is why he is able to eat well.  I pray he doesn't have a reoccurance of this cancer.  I don't know your general health before you got this cancer.  But, if you are in good general health then the outcome will be easier on you.  But again, everyone is different.  Do what the doctor tells you and keep positive.  If you have more questions, please ask.  Best of luck, Vicky

On 6/29/2009 Bill93 wrote:

Myname is Bill Green age 60 and going in for surgery July 8th to remove the tumor if anyone has been thru this and can give me advise I live in Plymouth,Ma thank you for your help I am new at this

Hello Bill,  I'm so sorry that you have to go through all of this.  My husband was diagnosed with stomach cancer last fall on Sep 3rd.  They removed 75% his stomach and 22 lymph nodes around his stomach.  He is doing well and is able to eat most anything and he has gained most of his weight back.  I believe he is one of the fortunate ones so far.  He has had two scans of which both were negative for cancer.  He is due for one July 15th and we will see what that holds for him.  I would be lying if I said it was going to be easy.  The surgery itself was rough so is the recovery.  Luckly we had an excellent surgeon and I believe that is why he is able to eat well.  I pray he doesn't have a reoccurance of this cancer.  I don't know your general health before you got this cancer.  But, if you are in good general health then the outcome will be easier on you.  But again, everyone is different.  Do what the doctor tells you and keep positive.  If you have more questions, please ask.  Best of luck, Vicky

On 6/29/2009 Bill93 wrote:

Myname is Bill Green age 60 and going in for surgery July 8th to remove the tumor if anyone has been thru this and can give me advise I live in Plymouth,Ma thank you for your help I am new at this

Hello Bill,  I'm so sorry that you have to go through all of this.  My husband was diagnosed with stomach cancer last fall on Sep 3rd.  They removed 75% his stomach and 22 lymph nodes around his stomach.  He is doing well and is able to eat most anything and he has gained most of his weight back.  I believe he is one of the fortunate ones so far.  He has had two scans of which both were negative for cancer.  He is due for one July 15th and we will see what that holds for him.  I would be lying if I said it was going to be easy.  The surgery itself was rough so is the recovery.  Luckly we had an excellent surgeon and I believe that is why he is able to eat well.  I pray he doesn't have a reoccurance of this cancer.  I don't know your general health before you got this cancer.  But, if you are in good general health then the outcome will be easier on you.  But again, everyone is different.  Do what the doctor tells you and keep positive.  If you have more questions, please ask.  Best of luck, Vicky