I thought this would be the post that would be most suitable as the first post for this blog which is a promise I made to myself when I was undergoing treatment. Faced with the threat of death, I was scared shit and I made a promise that if I ever overcome this cancer, I will write a blog dedicated to papillary thyroid cancer for people, especially the ones in Asia.

The diagnosis story.

Everyone has a diagnosis story. Talk to anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer and you will hear tales ranging from discovering cancer after getting into an accident to as simple as I felt unwell and went for a check-up.

Sadly, my diagnosis story would fall into the dramatic category.

I had just turned 32 and was pursuing my a postgraduate Masters Degree in Sydney, Australia. I had everything going for me.

I was finally fulfilling my lifelong dream of studying overseas. I found a part-time job at Ikea, Homebush and was pretty well to afford all the little luxuries. I was staying in my own rented apartment which I call “hole in the wall”. I was living and breathing a dream life. Every weekend, I would check out a new part of Sydney and then blog about it. In short, I was on top of the world.

I was happy.

And I had the world ahead of me. I had dreams of getting a job in PR after my graduation. I even had plans to travel round Australia as part of my graduation present. I even booked a $200 ticket to go camping on Cockatoo Island on New Year’s eve so that I can watch the famous Sydney fireworks display for the New Year’s eve countdown.

Like all diagnosis story, there would be a defining moment.

A moment that all of us, cancer warriors and survivors, will never forget for as long as we live.

For me, it all started with a photograph.

I had lost some weight and was feeling real good about myself. Plus I had landed myself a part-time job at Ikea after sending out close to 30 resumes. So, to show my friends how well I’ve been doing in Sydney, I took a picture and posted it on FB.

There were comments, but one particular comment struck my attention.

A friend had commented that my neck appeared swollen and she was quite concerned.

I dismissed it as a thick and fat neck. After all, I’ve been overweight all these time.

Another concerned friend also sent me an email and advised me to eat loads of seaweed for iodine. As it appeared as if my thyroid was swollen.

I decided to see a family doctor the following morning as I was also suffering from a low grade fever for close to a week and did not seem to recover from a nagging cough.

The doctor was extremely concerned about the swelling. Miraculously, she whipped out a booklet from her bag and it was on thyroid problems and symptoms. She had a checklist which she checked off and concluded that she needed to send me off for a thyroid scan.

I went for the scan but it showed only one cold nodule. The doctor told me it could either be a small tumour or I could be hypothyroid. But they can only confirm it when my blood results are available.

The wait for agonizing. I was reading up everything about thyroid and thyroid cancer on the internet. I was imagining all kinds of scenarios. I was alone. I couldn’t even tell my mum because I didn’t want her to worry. Blogging brought some relief but it couldn’t take away that feeling of a heavy sinking heart.

The doctor called me on Halloween. She couldn’t have picked a better day. She told me that the results showed that I was not hypothyroid but that means they needed to do a biopsy.

I went through the biopsy and waited.

A week after the biopsy, the doctor called me and told me to see her on Monday. I couldn’t wait. I wanted the answer now. She refused initially but I begged her. I just couldn’t wait anymore.

“Its cancer. But its the good kind, what you’ve got is papillary thyroid cancer and its highly treatable. Not to worry.”

And my whole life changed after that phone call.

It also started my journey towards becoming a papillary thyroid cancer warrior.

That’s my story. What’s yours?