For those of you who may have young children, this process often reminds me of the picture book by Laura Joffe Numeroff ' If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.' Why? In this children's book, you give a mouse a cookie, and then he asks for some milk. The little mouse then asks for a straw, then a napkin. He then wants to look in the mirror (wants to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache-Ha!). Once he takes a look in the mirror, he notices he needs a hair trim and wants scissors...and on and on, get the picture?
Very much like this picture book, my own story has developed in an incidental manner, one event leading or unfolding the next. ANY cancer diagnosis would have been difficult to process by itself, but compounded with evolving secondary and tertiary health concerns, it has been exceptionally challenging to digest. Like the mouse who only wanted a cookie, I simply was looking to confirm some blood work. Never did I imagine that in the months to follow I would be undergoing liver biopsies, liver ultrasounds, thyroid biopsies, thyroid ultrasounds, mammograms, breast biopsies, breast ultrasounds, MRIs, not to mention the countless vials of blood they have drawn from me. AND it would be great to think that after having the different diagnosis that we could set plans of action, stick with them and move on. THAT would have been easy! However, as we come to each area of concern, we find that the process begins ALL OVER again.
I am a typical New Yorker. I want things to move quickly and efficiently. Although there are multiple areas of concern, I was confident that we'd have a plan, tackle it accordingly and move swiftly and efficiently. I knew that we had to start with one area, the most pressing one, and so the thyroid was THE chosen one. After having surgery to remove my thyroid, I was hopeful that this would be it- out with the cancerous thyroid, problem solved- well not so fast. Now we'd wait for the pathology results from the surgery, then see more doctors, wait for more tests, and reevaluate the situation. This process is NOT in sync with my 'typical New Yorker' mentality. I NEED to know what we are doing, and when. This instead is feeding more into the 'If you give a 'mouse a cookie' effect. Now, we wait some more and in the mean time there's more blood work, follow up tests, follow up appointments, and on and on, and in the end it's all one big Domino Effect!
