I had no idea being on a Facetime call at the station would change my life forever. With the angle I was at and the lighting in the apparatus bay, I saw a lump on my throat. Walking upstairs, the rest of the guys could confirm there was a lump visible by tilting my head back, but you couldn’t see it when I was looking straight on. I went to my primary care, and she referred me to an endocrinologist.
My labs meanwhile had been fine outside of my white blood cell count being slightly off, so slightly they told me it would work itself out. They did an ultrasound, found the mass, and proceeded to do a fine needle biopsy. The results came back as benign, and [they] told me to wait a year, and we can see how much bigger it gets and discuss.
A year later and it looks like I have a lacrosse ball in my throat. I couldn’t even swallow food comfortably. We decided to take out half, she even assured me that the other side of my thyroid would take on double duty and it wouldn’t be a problem, I wouldn’t even need medication.
I had a hemi-thyroidectomy on the right side of of my thyroid at Massachusetts Eye & Ear in August of 2022. That side and some lymph nodes were sent out for testing. I had my follow-up appointment with my surgeon and she said the lab gets backed up on long weekends, we had nothing to worry about, and everything looked good.
A few days later, I got a call that changed everything. I even forgot I was waiting for results since everything up to that point had been smooth. Turns out they found a significant amount of papillary thyroid cancer and follicular thyroid cancer.
I completely blacked out as soon as I heard those words. I didn’t register a single thing after that. I even had to call them back to ask again what kinds I had because I couldn’t believe it. I honestly thought they made a mistake and gave me someone else’s results.
There was no way. They said it was benign, I’m only 34, I work out almost every day, outside of the mass I had zero symptoms, there is NO WAY.
Unfortunately, those were my results, and I would need to go back in and have the same surgery all over again for the other side as soon as possible. However, my next surgery got postponed because I apparently had a case of asymptomatic COVID.
I had to sit and stew, furious and anxious until I got a new date. Until then, I returned back to work after my lifting restriction was cleared. I am not one to sit still, so it helped tremendously to get back into a routine and keep my mind from spiraling.
Going into my next surgery in February of 2023, I at least knew what to expect and how I would feel and recover, which helped. The second surgery went well, and they confirmed that they got the rest of it and luckily had no spread to my lymph nodes.
Following that surgery, I went back to the firehouse until May of 2023 when I started my radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment, which would destroy any remaining thyroid tissue not able to be removed from surgery. The final step in the treatment: I was radioactive and had to isolate for five days. I turned 35 during that time and you could say I was glowing from being legit radioactive. It was certainly one to remember.
I am also extremely grateful that Massachusetts has the Cancer Presumption Law for Firefighters. That way, I was able to be out for my surgery, treatments, and appointments without having to worry about running out of sick time.
skye downs
Following my treatment, I had my scans and the all-clear to return back to work. At my follow up, I was very happy to hear that the RAI treatment was successful, and it destroyed the remaining tissue.
In July 2023, I was officially given the words I was wishing for: “you are officially cancer free.” It felt like an immediate weight was removed from my shoulders. My labs are back to normal and med dosages are finally squared away. Though that did take a very long time for them to tweak them to get the right dosages. I am now reliant on that medication to act as my thyroid for the rest of my life. I am still battling with some symptoms of not having a thyroid that I didn’t before but that is part of the journey.
I am also extremely grateful that Massachusetts has the Cancer Presumption Law for Firefighters. That way, I was able to be out for my surgery, treatments, and appointments without having to worry about running out of sick time.
I am very impressed with the number of screenings now available as well. In our latest contract, we got a cancer detecting blood test and ultrasound covered annually for the entire department. It was a huge win for early detection. My hope is that this becomes available to everyone one day. I am so very grateful for my family and my firehouse family for all of their support during what felt like the longest year of my life. I have such a new perspective and take on life and living it to the fullest.
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These IAFF member survivor stories were collected by the Firefighter Cancer Support Network for Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month in January.
