Some of My Story

When I was told I had a parathyroid tumor, and that from what they could determine, I have had the parathyroid tumor for quite some time, hyperparathyroidism for a very long time--I was not surprised. I had known something was wrong for a good number of years, but getting a doctor to question why, which may have led to testing my parathyroid glands, was not forthcoming. First off, many in the medical field--physicians, medical technicians, medical specialists, and nurses--do not know much about the parathyroid glands and hyperparathyroidism.

I have repeatedly told my physicians and the nurses who saw me that I experience bone pain. Each time I told them this, I was told bone pain is not what I was feeling, as I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. On the page listing symptoms, I have had, or have, all but kidney stones.

In the spring of 2002 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy and chemo. A year later, I had the other breast removed for prophylactic reasons. Whether I developed the breast cancer as a result of the long-standing parathyroid disease I have, I will never know--but my long term hyperparathyroidism surely put me at a higher risk of developing breast cancer.