Coping With Cancer & The Desire to Work
- “Dust In The Wind” Singer Ronnie Platt, of the rock band “Kansas,” has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is set to undergo surgery to remove the cancer. He won’t need additionally surgery and plans to get back to performing soon. In the meantime, some of his band’s upcoming concerts have been cancelled.
- Some people can still work and go through cancer treatment, but others, like Ronnie Platt may want or need to take break, even if it’s very short, from work and focus on getting better. What you can do will depend on your stage of cancer, your treatment, and how you feel.
- “We always encourage people to continue to work if they are able to,” says Sarah Stapleton, a clinical social worker at Montefiore Medical Center. “I think it creates a sense of normalcy for patients.”
- If you’re able to work, you’ll be busy and you won’t be worrying all the time about how your treatment is going, Stapleton explains.
- Additionally, approaching the cancer journey with gratitude, positivity, and open-mindedness can go a long way.
The Chicago native, who joined Kansas in 2014, wrote on Facebook earlier this week, “For all of you asking, Tuesday I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer but before everyone gets all excited, it has a 99% survival rate, it has not spread.
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His band also wrote on Instagram, “Due to band illness and doctor advisement, the upcoming KANSAS show on Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Lake Charles, LA has been cancelled.
“The band apologizes for the inconvenience and hopes to be back on the road soon. All tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.”
Despite some of Kansas’ tour dates not being able to happen, fans have continued praising the rock star, with one commenting on Instagram, “We love you, Ronnie! Feel better soon!!! We’ll be waiting for you.”
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Another fan replied to Platt’s Facebook post, “I shall be sending every good thought for a smooth procedure and a full and speedy recovery!”
While a third wrote, “Hang in there Ronnie. There are so many of us here in your corner sending good vibes and lots of love.”
“I’ll be keeping you in my prayers and sending lots of positive vibes your way,” said another.
Speaking on The Rock Brigade podcast in an earlier interview, Platt opened up about taking Walsh’s place in Kansas, revealing his the fans of the group welcomed him with open arms, according Ultimate Classic Rock.
The former truck driver, formerly of the rock band Shooting Star, said, “The Kansas fans have been so overwhelmingly accepting of me. I thank my lucky stars for that.”
He added, “Steve is not only one of the best singers of all time, but one of the greatest entertainers of all time. I attribute my voice to listening to Steve Walsh, Steve Perry and Lou Gramm.
“The stress level was off the charts for me when I did the first gig in Oklahoma. I was so nervous. In some respects it seems like yesterday – in other ways it feels like ten years from now.”
Recognizing Thyroid Cancer Symptoms
Thyroid cancer is a disease that begins in the thyroid gland, which is at the base of the neck. The cancer will often present itself as a large bump (tumor) in the neck. It remains unclear what causes the disease. Some symptoms of thyroid cancer can be mistaken for a common cold.
Dr. Scott Strome, a head and neck cancer surgeon who is currently the dean of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, and previous chair of head and neck surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, explained thyroid cancer in an earlier interview with SurvivorNet.
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“We’re now able to detect thyroid disease, thyroid cancers, much earlier than we used to be able to,” Dr. Strome said. “We tend to see it predominantly in younger women, but it can occur in both men and women. In most cases, I tell my patients that, ‘Your thyroid cancer is a barnacle on the ship of life.’”
Dr. Strome suggests finding an experienced thyroid expert for treatment.
“Folks who have thyroid cancer, they need to go to a really experienced thyroid setting and have folks who really understand the disease. Those are for the most indolent type of thyroid cancers, called papillary,” he explained.
“Thyroid cancer is a pretty interesting disease, because papillary is a really indolent cancer. On the other end of the spectrum, you have what’s called anaplastic thyroid cancer, which may be one of (if not the) most aggressive cancers that we see. So it’s a whole spectrum of disease.”
Treatments for thyroid cancer can include surgery, hormone therapy, radioactive iodine, radiation, targeted drug therapy, and chemotherapy.
Platt only need surgery to remove his cancer, but it’s important to note that radioactive iodine therapy is extremely effective for thyroid cancer patients.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS) radioactive iodine therapy puts radioactive iodine into a patient’s body either through a pill, drinking a liquid, or getting a shot in your vein.
“When RAI is put into the body, it collects mainly in thyroid cells. The radiation from this treatment can destroy the thyroid gland and any other thyroid cells that take up iodine (including cancer cells). Because most of the RAI collects in thyroid cells, the radiation has less effect on the rest of your body,” the ACS explains.
Meanwhile, thyroid hormone therapy, which involves taking levothyroxine pills to replace nature hormones that are no longer to be made by the body after a thyroidectomy (surgical removal of the thyroid) can be done to help reduce recurrence risk and keep a patient’s metabolism normalized, as per the ACS.
A thyroidectomy (surgery to remove the thyroid gland) is “the most common surgery for thyroid cancer, especially for larger tumors or for cancers with higher-risk features,” the ACS explains.
Patients can either get a total thyroidectomy done, which is when the entire thyroid gland is removed, or they can get a near-total thyroidectomy, when most of the gland is removed.
Symptoms of thyroid cancer include the following:
- A lump in the neck, sometimes growing quickly
- Swelling in the neck
- Pain in the front of the neck, sometimes going up to the ears
- Hoarseness or other voice changes that do not go away
- Trouble swallowing
- Trouble breathing
- A constant cough that is not due to a cold
“Most people have no discrete symptoms; the majority of cases now are found incidentally,” Dr. Allen Ho, an ENT at Cedars-Sinai, said in a previous interview with SurvivorNet.
“However, a sizable number of people may first discover their cancer when they feel a bump on their neck. Other possible late symptoms include problems swallowing, the sensation of something in their throat, neck compression when laying flat or voice changes.”
The good news is that many of these possible symptoms, including lumps in the thyroid, are both common and commonly benign — but it never hurts to ask your doctor.
Chances of cancer recovery increase significantly with early detection, so it’s important to address any warning signs of thyroid cancer, or any cancer for that matter, with a medical expert swiftly.
Sharing a Diagnosis
Some people battling a disease or cancer are open to sharing their experiences as much as they can, while others prefer to keep it to themselves or close loved ones. SurvivorNet experts say both approaches and everything in between, are valid.
“Patients who have just been diagnosed with cancer sometimes wonder how they are going to handle the diagnosis of the cancer in social situations,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik explains.
Questions like “How much information should they share and with whom should they share the information?” are things Plutchik says patients take into consideration.
Dr. Plutchik adds, “There is no one right way to handle this diagnosis. People should do what feels right to them.”
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A cancer journey can last months to years, which means cancer warriors may be experiencing a lot of uncertainty until they fully understand where their health stands. This uncertainty can influence when a cancer patient is ready to share their diagnosis, Dr. Plutchik further explained.
Dr. Plutchik stresses that those close to a person going through cancer should be respectful of their wishes when it comes to disclosing their diagnosis and seeking support.
How to Have That Hard Conversation With Your Workplace
“The analogy of putting on your seat belt before anyone else rings true when deciding how to prioritize your physical health in the workplace,” Dr. Marianna Strongin, a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Strong In Therapy Psychology, tells SurvivorNet.
“We must attend to our physical body in order to have room for our career and work. Since work will not heal us, our time and energy should be focused on ways to heal.”
Strongin’s message is one we often forget; we tend to get wrapped up in the day-to-day operations of our jobs. “It’s OK to skip that routine doctor’s appointment because I have a meeting later,” you might think to yourself, “I’ll just go next week.” But this can turn into a damaging mindset; putting your work before health won’t create a sustainable lifestyle for your future.
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“In order to have a fulfilling and successful career, we must feel healthy and sturdy both physically and mentally,” Strongin says. These two go hand-in-hand.
Therefore, when faced with an illness that impacts your work life or the life of a loved one, Strongin says, it’s absolutely critical to communicate this to your workplace.
“I suggest communicating your worries, and also facts about your illness, so that the proper assistance is created to support you. In order to give your physical health the attention it needs and deserves, one must take the pressures of work off their plate so that they can attend to their health without worrying about the repercussions.”
“Most importantly, I suggest you create space and room to heal,” Strongin adds. “If you find that you have the motivation and energy to incorporate work into your healing journey, it will be important to keep a healthy balance always checking in on your needs and wants.”
For some, working has the power to keep their mind sharp and allows them to have “normalcy” in their life. For instance, two high-powered female executives, one at Facebook and the other at Google battled cancer, and they say the fight helped inspire their work. (Nicola Mendelsohn of Facebook and Ruth Porat of Google are two of the most powerful women in the tech field.) But not everyone is like this.
However, Strongin adds, “It will be up to you to decide on what feels most helpful for you. Just remember, there’s no right way to balance an illness and your career. It feels hard because it is hard.”
Feeling Grateful Through Cancer
Approaching the cancer journey with gratitude, positivity, and open-mindedness can go a long way, so we’re delighted to see Ronnie Platt moving forward through adversity in such a way.
In an earlier interview, Cedars-Sinai colorectal surgeon Dr. Zuri Murrell highlights this idea, saying, “A positive attitude is really important…My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they’re diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK.”
“Now doesn’t that mean I’m good at saying that the cancer won’t grow,” says Dr. Murrell. “But I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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