Amanda Seals: There is no telling how my cancer would have spread

Sometimes it is difficult to accept that I am a cancer survivor. Shortly after I was diagnosed, someone said, "oh, well at least you have good cancer." I never thought the words "good" and "cancer" could go hand-and-hand. 

After being treated for multiple tumors in my thyroid gland since 2013, I had opted to forgo painful yearly biopsies and have a thyroidectomy. That decision ended up being a saving grace. If I had not had that surgery, my next scheduled biopsy would not have been until 2019 and there is no telling how my cancer would have spread. 

I was diagnosed in 2018, and while the survival rate for papillary carcinoma is very high, hearing that my biopsy had come back positive was still a shock. While radiation treatment, subsequent quarantine and side effects from treatment were miserable, it was a small price to pay compared to the alternative. I find now that I have become a resource for others about thyroid issues and what to look for when questioning treatment or not.

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