When she was just 39 years old, Jennifer Tyburski was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. With hindsight, she now knows how to identify the first symptom which should have alerted her but which, at the time, she took for something trivial.
Jennifer Tyburski, 39, never imagined she would one day face the cancer. Active, healthy and mother of two boys, she lived a balanced life, with no major medical history. But in April 2024, she learned she had a thyroid cancera revelation which turned her daily life upside down (but which did not surprise her).
“I have always been healthy and never neglected my health. I was that mother who bought organic milk, and I felt stronger than ever after I started gymnastics classes,” Jennifer tells the outlet. Parade. But everything changed in December 2023 when she noticed an unusual lump and pain in his neck. Despite this, blood tests revealed nothing abnormal. Jennifer, however, felt that something was wrong.
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A first symptom that easily goes unnoticed
In February 2024, while washing her face, Jennifer discovered another visible bump on her neck. “I immediately thought of a disease like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, but never of cancer“, she says. She then decided to consult a specialist, a gesture that would change her life. It was only 4 months later that the young woman finally had answers. In April, after examinations In-depth examinations, including an ultrasound and a biopsy, the diagnosis was made: a papillary thyroid cancerthe most common type.
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The first symptom that Jennifer would have liked to recognize, but which didn’t alert her at the time? Fatigue. “I was exhausted, to the point of falling asleep for hours while reading a story to my children. It was not my habit,” she remembers. At the time, she attributed this to exhaustion from family life with two rather hyperactive boys. But in retrospect, she realizes that This extreme fatigue was a warning sign of thyroid cancer. Like many, Jennifer thought normal blood tests ruled out a serious problem. However, doctors insist: persistent fatigue is often a warning signal, even with reassuring medical results.
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“Even with normal blood tests, I had thyroid cancer”
At the time of diagnosis, her cancer had already spread to her neck. Fortunately, he responded well to the treatments. Jennifer consulted a specialist surgeon who performed a thyroidectomyan eight-hour procedure during which 69 lymph nodes were removed in addition to his thyroid. “Despite the extent of the operation, I was lucky to have remarkable healing and an intact voice,” she confides, relieved not to have suffered vocal changes, a frequent complication after this type. intervention.
In August 2024, Jennifer also had to undergo radioactive iodine treatment to remove any residual cancer. This stage was the most difficult for her, particularly because of the isolation she had to impose on her family in order to protect them from radiation. Today, the young woman learned a lesson from this experience: it is important to defend yourself when you are sure you are right. “I learned how crucial it is to let your voice be heard and listen to your body. Even with normal blood tests, I had thyroid cancer. You have to continue to ask for tests if you feel that something is wrong,” she concludes.
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Rights of women and children, violence, feminism, gender, discrimination, parenthood, education, psychology, health, couple, sexuality, social networks…. Joséphine loves deciphering all the social issues that drive our world…
