An update from Jayne Yatchak

Hello NMAR Members! A lot of you have been asking how I’m doing, so I thought I’d give you a quick update. It’s been a very long year for me, filled with lots of uncertainties and confusion and constantly asking, What next?!

My last update to all members was on April 26th, shortly after the surgery to remove what tumors they could in my throat. I can tell you that it was very invasive, both the procedure and the cancer itself. My left interior jugular vein is gone and so is half of my voice. The left side of my vocal cords is permanently paralyzed. So if you’re wondering why I don’t get up in front of a CE class and address the attendees, that’s why! I can’t project my voice like that anymore, not even with a microphone!

A lot has happened since that surgery! I’ve had so many different types of scans, tons of appointments and several more procedures. The middle of May I underwent a highly radioactive treatment for the Thyroid Cancer. It was a radioactive iodine pill that I had to swallow and then book it out of the hospital so I didn’t touch anyone. Thankfully the treatment and the quarantine time was fairly short so that I could finally see my parents and then we had a quick family BBQ.

The beginning of June I was told that the radiation treatment didn’t work for the tumors in my lungs but was somewhat successful for the remaining tumors in my throat. June 7th, I underwent another procedure to ‘freeze’ the tumor that was on my one and only kidney. We were hoping that this would work and it would be the only procedure needed to remove that cancer.

I did consult my Oncologist about chemo, not that I wanted to go on it, but was it an option to tackle the remaining Thyroid cancer that was in my lungs. He told me that if/when I was to go on the chemo treatment, it would be a daily pill for the rest of my life. I wasn’t too happy with that so I decided to look at some homeopathic treatment ideas.

September brought more appts and more scans. I honestly feel like I’ve lived at the hospital this year! Scans showed that the kidney was free and clear of cancer! YES! I will have to do follow-up scans every six months for five years. Finally, something positive. The largest lung tumors were measured and they are not growing. It doesn’t appear that there are any more tumors compared to the last scan, but no one wants to actually sit down and count the number of tumors. I was told, by my ENT surgeon before surgery, that there were over 200+ tumors in my lungs. Pretty daunting but when you think of their size, you can understand why there are so many. The largest ones are only a couple of centimeters. I did discover at this time that there are masses in my throat, on both sides of my trachea. I consulted with my ENT and he said that those are cancerous tumors but we can’t do anything about them right now. They are not growing, and they, like my lungs, seem to be stable right now.

So, for now we are staying the course, one foot in front of the other, and learning how to live with my cancer and the limitations that it has put on me and my family (chronic nerve pain, constantly tired, unable to regulate my body temperature, at times I don’t have a voice at all, to list a few). I have chronic fatigue syndrome, I get tired so easily. BUT I’m here, I’m doing the job that I love, and I’m mostly still the same old Jayne that you’ve always known! If you want a play by play of everything you can check out my CaringBridge site! I want to thank all of you for your continued support, it means a great deal to me! Jayne Yatchak
Professional Development Director
Accounts Manager
Northwest Montana Association of REALTORS®