ITW n°19: Alexandre - K fighter.
Hello Alexandre,
First of all, thank you very much for agreeing to share your K's story, it's really courageous and generous of you :)
Men also need answers so much, and opening the door to speech for them is fundamental :)
Let's get started:
Who are you ?
First name: Alexandre
Age: 28
Profession: development manager
Where do you live: Paris
Why are you agreeing to share your story today?
I accept it because it may help someone who has suffered the same difficulties as me.
What are your qualities (in a few words)?
;) Handsome, rich and intelligent ;) :)
More seriously I would say that I am pugnacious and that I hate defeat, there is no such thing as a friendly game, I play to win!
What are your passions (in a few words)?
I can't live without sport, travel, my wife and my daughter!!!
Can you summarize your (K fighter) story for us ?
My story is this:
After finishing my finance studies, I was hired in a large English bank in the trading room. It was 2010 and I was 23 years old.
The schedules are heavy, the stress is constant, so I am tired.
After 4 months of uninterrupted work, I have the right to a traditional recruitment medical examination and until then, nothing could be more normal...
Only the doctor (whom I still thank today) examined me in a very professional manner (their reputation is bad) for 30 minutes.
At the end of it he notices that I have a lump at the bottom of my throat, he feels it, and my amazement makes me say that it has just appeared even though it has probably been there for a while.
He then asks me a number of questions to which I answer in the negative on certain backgrounds (in fact until then apart from a cold in winter I have never been ill nor anything to report in the family).
At the end of the interview, he validates my visit but asks me to do a check-up ultrasound…
At the end of this appointment, I call my aunt (pulmonologist) to whom I tell about the consultation who immediately sends me for a blood test with a 2-page prescription followed by a cervical and thyroid ultrasound.
The stress is slowly increasing but there is no alarm...
4 days later the results of the blood test came back: no trace of any disease…. Phew, I am reassured (for 1 day)
So we go to the ultrasound: after 2 minutes the doctor asks me if I have any history again, I answer no. But why….?
I have nodules everywhere, one of which he doesn't like…., as big as a “ping pong” ball, he tells me.
Questions flood through my head.
Upon receiving her report, my aunt called me and said, there you have an appointment tomorrow at the IGR (Gustave Roussy Institute) with Professor Shlumberger, he's the star of the thyroid and don't worry, we will talk about it after your appointment.
So I arrive in Villejuif in this hospital dedicated to K, I am accompanied by my girlfriend with whom I have lived for 2 years, we look at each other without speaking, I understand that she is anxious and she understands that I am not calm neither.
I have an appointment from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a battery of exams.
After a puncture, blood test, an ultrasound and a scintigraphy the verdict falls, I am in the professor's office accompanied by the surgeon, my girlfriend sits next to me and shakes my hand; It’s thyroid cancer!!
I don't really understand what they are telling me (what is the thyroid for, what will it cause...) but I should not be afraid, the surgery is planned in 3 weeks and the protocol will be implemented. place following the operation.
It's collapsing in my head, cancer is in me, I don't know yet what it means but I'm afraid…. My girlfriend is strong, very strong since we entered the hospital, she only says a word to reassure me and doesn't blink an inch….
The rest of my story is to follow… perhaps in a future interview…
(NB: I would be able to write a book about it, I have to stop :) LOL)
What K (what cancer - grade if you wish / stage ditto):
Thyroid, not particularly of stage but more a particular K there are 4 different ones for this organ, it has probably been there since my birth but nothing is less certain...
When was it discovered? How old were you ?
Discovered in March 2010 I was 23 years old
Under what circumstances was it discovered?
Following an occupational medical examination
If you are currently undergoing treatment, or in remission (for how long?)
In remission for 5 years…
What treatment did you have?
chemo:
I'm lucky not to have had one
Radiotherapy:
I was irradiated with iodine 131, it is a drug that burns all the thyroid cells in the body and isolated for 4 days in a room where only the nurse was allowed to reach in to give me my meals. …
Operation :
1 surgery: total removal of the thyroid and its surroundings... hospitalization to last 8 days.
What tips directly related to K do you want to share?
(your feeling with the doctor, your good treatment organization plans, anything that seems useful to you ;))?
However, I would say that the feeling with the doctors was essential, particularly because as someone who was not familiar with the disease, it allowed me to be completely informed and therefore to maintain confidence.
hospital: nurse/doc/caregiver contact
Nothing to say about the hospital, the IGR is a concentration of brains and ultra-competent people. Bravo to the public hospital!
3/ alternative medicine, if you have done so
Yes I did, after the operation in particular: I still consult people. It's Doctor Sophie Montgermont and who I recommend to anyone (in the 17th in Paris). This woman in her early fifties, formerly a gastroenterological surgeon, converted to a cranial osteopath…
I met her a few years before my K and without manipulating her neck with her hands, she is capable of miracles (this is why she stopped the surgery).
What did you do to clear your mind/clear your head (before chemo, surgery & co)?
I admit that I don't really have a cure, I think it's unique to everyone but good times with my girlfriend, my family and friends make us forget a lot of things...
What practical tips can you advise us?
> daily (sport, food & co)
For daily life post K, I would say that I pay close attention to what I eat (not in quantity but in quality)
Sport, as soon as I was able to start again, I resumed sport at least 4 hours a week, it is essential in life, a moment of emptiness where we regenerate mentally and physically, to consume without moderation...
Were you concerned about the views of others, were you afraid that their views would change? what did you do to counter it?
Not really, well if in the company because the word cancer is scary and they immediately imagine that you are going to die and therefore that you are of no use...
What are the nugget phrases (that you remember) that someone said to you during K and that you could have avoided?
“Are you sure it’s okay, you look exhausted”
How did your loved ones support you?
And what advice could you give to loved ones who accompany a K fighter?
I want to say it in the best possible way but it's specific to each person... they have always been available and above all reassuring in every anguish...
And still are when every year I pass through the hospital doors to check that everything is okay.
What would be the useful (internet) links that helped you during K?
Especially not medicine sites!!! To ban :) !!!
What has the K changed in your life…?
I want to say almost everything…. I was a carefree young person, hungry for thrills, who was not afraid of anything, especially not illness and even less life in general...
Today I am married, I have a little daughter, I left the bank 2 and a half years ago and I do a job that I really like, I see the people I love and who love me back. … (I did a little sorting ;) )
In spite of myself, I also understood that life would not be eternal, perhaps too early, but this gain in maturity allows me to see clearly on many subjects and to benefit from what really matters….
Free field ;)
tell us what you want (which may not have been in my questions):
I would add here that psychological support from those around you is essential, but not only that!
I felt so strong that when I was suggested at the hospital to consult a psychologist, I sent them away, it took me 4 months post-treatment to realize that I was alone to relieve the anxieties and that only external psychological help could allow me to do so.
It took me about 18 months to feel totally free and tell myself that yes, I had this illness, that it is gone, and that it may come back, but that it will leave again because the mind facing this kind of experiences, it's more than all the treatments I'm convinced….
I would also add that compared to others I have done well with the treatments and time spent in the hospital (for the moment) but that it is the head which dictates mental and physical well-being, a little thing can do a lot of harm...
You must never give up, I come from a family with a lot of doctors, I am a math person and therefore Cartesian, but the psyche is so powerful that each person's equation is only solvable by themselves for 70%, the 20 % with kind people and 10% thanks to people like you... And this is not to denigrate what you do, I told you before, I find it very courageous and we need people like you to help the Kfighters as best as possible!
(Charlotte: “Thank you Alexandre, it’s very kind, and reassures me in the idea of continuing again and again :))”
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Thank you again for your testimony and for sharing your K/tips ;)
Lots of nice positive thoughts
See you soon
Charlotte
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