ITW n°64: Juliette - K fighter.
Hello,
Today the pretty Juliette, 28 years old, life-eager, entrepreneur and passionate, tells us with a tone bathed in light and sincerity about her Thyroid K discovered at the age of 17. Now Juliette is not in remission, but officially CURED for 1 year, what a joy to read her words! Wow!! I'll let you discover it!
Let's get started:
Who are you ?
First name: Juliette
Age: 28 years old
Profession: entrepreneur (creator of Walleriana)
Where do you live: Paris
Why do you agree to share your story today?
I would have loved to read testimonies from young women in my time. It seems important to me to be able to talk about it without taboo, to help women going through this ordeal to feel less alone.
What are your qualities (in a few words)?
my qualities ? I am passionate, I have the joy of life and I never give up! I don't lack empathy either. So !
What are your passions (in a few words)?
travel, my business, writing, reading, photography and crafts.
What K (what cancer - grade if you wish / stage ditto):
Thyroid cancer with a nodule 4 cm in diameter
When was it discovered? How old were you ?
17 years old, baccalaureate year
Under what circumstances was it discovered?
quite by chance! While we were in class with a friend (whom you know by the way: Charlotte Brégégère alias Augusta at Sézane), and I was sprawled on my table during a particularly uninteresting class, she pointed out to me that I a lump in the throat. I decide to go to the school infirmary and they tell me it's the thyroid. At the time I had no idea what it was, and when I got home I told my mother about it. We went to see a doctor and one thing led to another, from one test to another, we discovered that the nodule present in my thyroid needed to be operated on. It was only after the first operation (during which only part of my thyroid was removed) that I was told that I had cancer and that I would have to operate again to correct it. remove the second part.
If you are currently undergoing treatment, or in remission (for how long?)
My remission is over, it's now been 1 year since I was officially cured! I no longer live with it on a daily basis, I am no longer as anxious (even if I am sometimes a bit hypochondriac).
Can you summarize your (K fighter) story for us ?
I had a first operation to remove the part of the thyroid where the nodule was located. It was Valentine's Day and my parents stayed at my bedside all evening (I remember that, because between bouts of morphine-related retching, I apologized for ruining their evening !). At the time, my brother was in surgery residency with the son of the surgeon who operated on me. He was allowed to come into the operating room with me to put me to sleep. He was also the first to hear the bad news, 3 days after my operation. He had returned to Paris and I was in Pau with my parents. He called me and said “I got the results, the good news is that we did a good job removing that nodule. It's bullshit. So you'll have to remove the second piece. It is a juju malignant tumor. You’re going to have to get back on the pool table next week…”
I remember asking him if I was going to die, and if I was going to have chemo.
I had surgery the following week. Then I was sent to the Bergonié hospital in Bordeaux where the best treatment center for thyroid cancer is located. The good thing in my misfortune is that the latter can be cured without chemo, simply by taking an iodine 131 capsule which destroys any thyroid cells possibly present in the body. It is not a cakewalk, however, because being radioactive, I was not entitled to any visits for a week (except doctors and nursing staff), and I suffered all the side effects of the treatment (however rare). 'after the doctors): vomiting, nausea, pain in the area of the scar and acute parotitis (even today, my parotids swell when I eat something acidic).
When I left the hospital, I went straight back to school and continued my life as if nothing had happened. I had lost 6 kilos and looked like a mess, but I was admired by my parents and my teachers.
I had a setback a year later (a little depression for 2 years asking myself “why me?”).
Since then, every year, I have been followed (still today) with cervical ultrasound once a year and blood tests every 6 months.
What treatment did you have?
chemo:
No
radiotherapy:
neither !
operations:
2 scans (one before the operation and one after), and 2 operations one week apart. Hospitalizations of 3 days and 3 nights each.
other:
treatment with iodine 131 with hospitalization for 8 days. It's a radioactive capsule. Iodine 131 destroys the thyroid (that's why people are given iodine tablets when there is a leak in a nuclear power plant).
Today I am on levothyrox for life, to compensate for the fact that I no longer have a thyroid.
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 ;))?
1/ hospital: (e.g. contact with nurses / doc / caregivers):
Answer: the staff at Bergonié hospital were exceptional. From the maid to the nurse to the doctors, everyone was absolutely lovely! They weren't allowed to stay in my room forever because of the radioactivity, but I remember a man who came to clean my room and ran off to get me a basin at the other end of the hospital. because I wanted to vomit, and from a caregiver who told me “you are very pretty, Miss!”. It's priceless, especially when you're 36 thousand below and you're lemon yellow!
On the other hand, the doctor who did my scan and who told me that I was going to operate lacked tact on every level...
2/ “parallel” medicine, if you have done it (what disciplines, what were their benefits):
Answer: 3 years after my treatment, when I was very unwell and constantly asking myself the question “why me”, I was offered 3 Reiki sessions. I didn't know and was rather doubtful, but it did me a lot of good. It allowed me to bring out many things that I couldn't bring out otherwise. At the time, I was still unable to talk about Bergonié and how I had experienced my 8 days of treatment, locked in a room without being able to see my family.
What did you do to clear your mind/clear your head (before chemo, surgery & co)?
I wrote a lot (I kept a journal, it helped me express what I didn't want to talk about). And I revised my baccalaureate thoroughly!
I also did sewing, crafts, and a lot of stamp collecting. It helped me concentrate and not think about anything else.
What practical “well-being/beauty” tips can you advise us?
1/ beauty: your essential products (e.g.: creams, varnishes, scars, oils, etc.)
To help with healing, I used a lot of Vaseline. This helps soften the skin around the scar and limits tightness. Today I use Papaw Ointment (which comes from Australia) and which has the same effect as Vaseline.
I protected it a lot (and still do today) with full screen. I always have sunscreen in stick form in my bag, and a mirror.
2/ look, (e.g. your favorite chemo, hospital, every day look to feel good):
I admit I don't remember but I don't think I've changed my habits, other than always wearing a scarf or scarf to protect my throat (and even today I never go out without a scarf!) C A friend gave me one when I was in the hospital during my first operation. The best gift anyone gave me and the most useful!
3/ daily (e.g. sport, food & co, meditation, reading, etc.)
lots and lots of reading! And above all adventure novels to forget a little J
Were you concerned about the views of others, were you afraid that their views would change? What did you do to counter it?
Personally, I have not had any hair loss, as treatment with iodine 131 does not have this side effect. However, I hid my scar behind a scarf because I didn't want to be asked questions.
What are the “nugget”/footed phrases (that you remember) that someone said to you during K and that you could have avoided?
“Oh well, my mother’s neighbor had thyroid cancer and she died!” (aha aha aha! thank you for your intervention, should I cry now or should I give you one first?)
“I have my period, my stomach hurts so much, it’s horrible!” (yeah well listen I just had two operations and I vomited my guts out during my treatment, but otherwise I understand your pain perfectly),
“come on, the worst is behind you, it's over now” (it wasn't mean at all but it was just after my first operation and I felt that my fight was far from over, and that the worst was maybe still to come),
“why don’t you eat anything? Hospital food isn’t that bad though!” (so in this case, it actually wasn't bad, but I was just nauseated to death so well...),
“I wouldn’t have liked to be in your place!” (well me neither actually).
A phrase from my friends particularly hurt me: “you're not like you used to be, you don't laugh anymore, it's annoying” (sorry for experiencing the most traumatic event of my life when I was in my teens and I should live the best moments of my youth)…
The worst part was the feeling of pity towards me. I always hated that. I don't have a precise memory of the little sentences said on this occasion but it irritated me to see people's looks of suffering.
How did your loved ones support you?
My family has been great. My brother was very reassuring, because he was always factual, never emotional, being himself in the medical field. My sister was perfect during my operations, always present at my bedside to tell me her friends' moving stories, it really took my mind off things and it was always funny! And my parents: my mother, full of attention, preparing small meals for me, accompanying me to all my exams, always having the right words. She never doubted that I would graduate at the end of the year and always supported me. My father, attentive but never shed a tear, always there when I needed him to take my mind off things. It was very hard for him but he never took pity on me and always knew how to console me when things weren't going well, by simply taking me in his arms, without a word.
In high school I also had excellent friends who were very present, unfailing supporters who called me every evening, came to bring me lessons, defend me from stupid students who thought I had gone on vacation for two months !
My teachers were exceptional too. Some sent me cards with adorable words, others gave me their number to give me private lessons. Without their help, I'm not sure I would have passed my baccalaureate that year (but to be honest, that was the least of my worries!).
And what advice could you give to loved ones who accompany a K fighter?
As for me, I can't stand looks of pity. I loved the people in my life who made me forget that I was sick. Being attentive without wanting to do too much is important, it helps you avoid saying stupid things!
Do you find out about K on the internet?
I did it but I don't do it anymore. We read too many creepy things. I don't need that to keep me moving forward.
If so, does it make you feel good?
hehe answer to be deduced from what I wrote above!
If so, what would be the useful (internet) links that helped you during K?
Honestly, I wish a site like yours existed in my time. Talking about it in an uninhibited and humorous way feels good, while having a very factual and taboo-free approach.
What has the K changed in your life...?
(for example: your vision of the world, your priorities, your essentials, refocusing those around you, in your work, your philosophy..?)
The first years I became intolerant: anyone complaining about a little ailment somewhere irritated me to no end. But over time, I learned that everyone experiences different things, and experiences them in their own way.
I live a lot from day to day. I don't make big plans because I think that deep down, there is an element of uncertainty, even if I know that my “chances” of having cancer today are the same as any other. Who.
On the other hand, my motto is that life is too short to bother with useless things. This applies to everything: people, work. I'm no longer afraid to say what I think.
Before I was very shy. That too has changed!
On the other hand, I learn every day to live without a thyroid and it is not always easy... The thyroid regulates everything in the body: moods (I already had a bad temper but it got worse! I am a lot more emotional), the relationship with heat and cold (the seasons have a lot of impact on my morale, I have more difficulty warming up in winter and suffer a lot from the heat in summer, and I also have to adapt the dosage of my treatment according to ).
Free field ;)
tell us what you want (which might not be in my questions):
Today, looking back, I tell myself that nothing happens by chance and that I would not be the person I am if all this had not happened to me. I obviously would have done without it, but I am proud of what I have become. It allowed me to be more attentive, perhaps more empathetic too. I stopped asking myself “why me” because there is no answer anyway. Although it is still difficult for me to recount certain details, I have found peace within myself and I am able to talk about what I experienced without problem, as if it were a simple flu!
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Many thanks Juliette for this precious testimony.
If like Juliette you want to tell your story and share your tips, go here , send me your questionnaire and 1 photo of yourself so that I can draw you ;) to: interview@mister-k-fighting-kit.com
Many of you send me your testimonies, thank you for your precious trust, for this same reason, the broadcasts of your interviews will sometimes be broadcast in several months, but know that I keep and transmit absolutely ALL the testimonies that are sent to me, Thank you for understanding.
Please note that I do not retouch any Interview, they are completely free, it is your freedom, your story, I just add my personal touch with the illustration, they are delivered as they were sent to me ;)
NEVER GIVE UP!!
Charlotte
