Survivor Spotlight: Rickema

π‘€π“Ž 𝓃𝒢𝓂𝑒 π’Ύπ“ˆ 𝑅𝒾𝒸𝓀𝑒𝓂𝒢. I am a 30-year-old medical biller and mom of two beautiful boys. πŸ§πŸ½β€β™€οΈπŸ§πŸΎβ€β™‚οΈπŸ§πŸΎβ€β™‚οΈπŸ₯°.

I first discovered a lump on the right side of my neck in April 2019. After I had my second son, I started experiencing mild discomfort and blockage when swallowing. I was sent for an ultrasound as well as a biopsy, and the nodule, measuring larger than 2.5 centimeters, was found to be benign. ✨

πŸ’¨ Fast forward to 2020, and a smaller nodule had developed on the left side. I began to experience severe pain on the right side of my neck accompanied by hoarseness. I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer of the right nodule on Oct. 5, 2020, which is when I opted for a complete thyroidectomy, performed on Nov. 19, 2020. I also underwent one week of radiation in February of this year. Now life is about getting my hormones and TSH levels right. πŸŽ—πŸ¦‹πŸ’ͺ🏽

I am grateful that I paid attention to my body. I now stress to everyone the importance of checking your neck, as thyroid cancer is the least talked about. πŸ™πŸ½πŸ¦‹βœ¨

𝒯𝒽𝒢𝓃𝓀 π“Žπ‘œπ“Š @misses_forbidden π’»π‘œπ“‡ π“ˆπ’½π’Άπ“‡π’Ύπ“ƒπ‘” π“Žπ‘œπ“Šπ“‡ π’Ώπ‘œπ“Šπ“‡π“ƒπ‘’π“Ž π“Œπ’Ύπ“‰π’½ π“Šπ“ˆ. πΉπ‘œπ“‡ 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 π“Šπ“ˆ π‘œπ’» 𝓉𝒽𝑒 π’Ύπ“‚π“…π‘œπ“‡π“‰π’Άπ“ƒπ’Έπ‘’ π‘œπ’» π“π’Ύπ“ˆπ“‰π‘’π“ƒπ’Ύπ“ƒπ‘” π“‰π‘œ π‘œπ“Šπ“‡ π’·π‘œπ’Ήπ’Ύπ‘’π“ˆ. βœ¨πŸ‘‚πŸΎπŸ¦‹πŸŽ—

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