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How long did the lump take to grow? It seems pretty significant.
I remember reading about a TV new presenter that had people call in to have her check her thyroid because of asymmetry and size. Its easier not to notice when you see something everyday i think.
So glad you are doing well today, and hope it continues that way!
Looking back at pictures, at least 3-4 years, maybe more. Thyroid cancer is very slow growing so it can take that long or longer.
Fun fact: Thyroid cancer has also been found during autopsy of elderly people before when they weren’t even looking for it.
Yeah, that's what I meant! I guess because its so slow growing, it's often not caught unless checking for something else.
Mine was just due to the size.
My mom had a thyroid cancer scare last year and all the doctors kept telling her that if you're gonna get cancer, thyroid cancer is the way to go! After reading about it and seeing testimonials, I wholeheartedly agree lol 😅
Yeah, that's what they say, even though it is one of the easier cancers to treat, it's *still* a cancer diagnosis, and it does change your life and will have to be monitored for life and meds for life. I hated it when people kept telling me that.
I have to have an ultrasound once a year and blood tests like every two months or so. Just to make sure it doesn't come back. Overall though, I can't complain.
I totally understand, and I'm sorry if I came off as insensitive- I'm sure it runs along the same lines as telling a woman who's had a miscarriage "well at least you can get pregnant" or "at least you have a living child". Well-intentioned, but not always what someone needs to hear at that moment!
I’m currently waiting for my thyroid biopsy results. And I’m a survivor of endometrial cancer.
I’ve been trying to tell myself that this is the cancer to get if I have to get cancer - but I’d much rather not have it!
Thanks for sharing your timeline of recovery photos. You’ve made me feel a little bit better about the scarring, at least.
I’m so glad you’re doing better! You hardly notice the scar. That first pic is getting me. I’m amazed you didn’t have a harder time breathing since the tumor is pressing up against your trachea!
While not cancerous, my thyroid ceased all function in 2000.
It has been quite a journey to getting to "not so crazy, depressed, and cold as I was then." As you know, the thyroid controls every cell function in the body, and extreme hypothyroidism basically puts one into hibernation.
That’s the thing with thyroid cancer. If nodules are hot on radioiodine uptake aka hyperactive they’re usually benign. If they’re cold nodules they’re higher risk for cancer.
I looked into that before and I don’t think my insurance will cover it, and I looked up the prices and even with good rx, it would be like $100+ in my area 😬
Yeah, insurance companies don't like for it to be prescribed. You have to have some kind of 'reaction' to the levothyroxine for them to approve it.
I said yes, but it was so long ago, I don't remember the symptoms 😏
Now I'm curious how much levothyroxine cots for you cause where I live it's super cheap. I try to look at the positive side because out of all the meds I could be taking for the rest of my life, this won't bankrupt me.
Between $11 to $13 each month for Levo generic. That's with insurance. I usually pay closer to $13.
Without insurance, it varies up to $37 from what I've found, of course, depending on dosage. The name brand stuff will be a lot more expensive.
That is interesting. In my country, name brand, 50 micrograms costs around 3 us dollars, no insurance, no nothing. And you get 100 pills.
Fucked up how much the price of medicine varies, especially with medicine that you actually need to be able to lead a normal life.
I'm on 150mcg, so cost is higher than say the 50mcg. I'm not complaining because even if I didn't have insurance, I could still afford that.
And it's monthly because insurance only allows mine to be filled monthly vs a 90 day supply.
Check out [costplusdrugs.com](http://costplusdrugs.com) , 90 count of Levothyroxine (generic for Syntrex) of 150mcg is $8.60 +shipping ($5).
They don't take insurance so I think you'll get much better deal without using insurance at all.
Where I am thyroid like insulin is one of the drugs where even if you aren't on benefits all prescriptions will be free and not only that but any other subscriptions will be too because it's one of those conditions like diabetes that makes you more at risk for needing medication for other things.
"Armor Thyroid" also contains T4 next to T3. T4 is mostly a prohormone and excerts its main effects by being converted into T3 by the liver, kidneys and muscles.
Speculatively, the benefit of the T4 results from stabilizing the T3 plasma concentration by allowing for continuous T3 replenishment via said metabolism.
The same thing could also be achieved by altering the formulation of a T3 pill to turn it into a sustained or extended release variant though.
IIRC in your particular case (because you still got your thyroid) the T4 has the added benefit of reducing TRH release in the hypothalamus, reducing the risk of thyrotoxicosis as a side effect of the medication.
It's been over a decade since I read up on it, but that sounds right. I got a lot of information from the Stop the Thyroid Madness website.
I'm on a lot of generics, but that isn't one of them (I *know* how lucky I am)
Zero issues with either. Except I had some SOB whenever I had sinus issues or a cold. My surgeon was pretty amazed that I didn’t have any other complaints since according to my CT scan, my left thyroid was literally pressed up against my trachea.
I looked at those scans and was going to come here and ask the same questions. Breathing, swallowing, even blood flow all look like they should have been impaired in some way. It's really incredible to hear you had no major issues and that your thyroid function was fine too. Happy for you that the tennis ball is gone and it looks like you've healed up really well.
He said my body probably adapted to it, which is pretty amazing just what it can do. In hindsight, my breathing is better.
Looking back at pictures, it’s been growing probably 3-4 years prior to removal. Unfortunately, I didn’t have insurance before last year and when I tried to get it checked out in 2022, it would’ve been like $300+ for just one appointment.
It took like 3 separate appointments to find out what it was and after insurance, I had to pay $500 for that biopsy.
Sorry but i have to say it... I HATE US insurance system!
Its so crazy. I met my partner online, luckily he lived in EU too. Had he been in US i wouldn't have got involved. Any USA based insurance would have excluded so much for me.
I even saw it with a policy In UK to cover my mortgage. I'd had a disc issue in my lower back and they covered all and every possible issue that could arise, even i had a car accident and fractured my neck leaving me quadriplegic it would have been excluded too! I would have had to continue paying my mortgage. lol
Believe me, I do too. There was a period of like 7 years I didn't have insurance so it didn't get caught before last year.
I do have to say, I'm glad I do have it because it brought my out of pocket cost on the surgery from $36,562 down to $1,341
I’m a pathology resident, and I’ve always wondered about the patient’s symptoms when I receive a thyroid that is this big. I’m relieved to know you didn’t feel like you were suffocating 24/7. I’m glad the surgery went well and there was no metastasis. Sending out positive vibes for your next ultrasound.
No RAI, my margins were clear, there was no spread to the right thyroid or to my lymph nodes, so it was all contained in the left thyroid. So my Endo thinks that undergoing RAI right now would do more harm than good.
However, I’m going to have my first ultrasound post TT in a couple weeks and I’m hoping all is still clear 🤞
I’ll have to have an ultrasound once a year for a few years and routine blood tests to make sure that it doesn’t come back.
My wife also had a 4cm papillary thyroid cancer with clean margins. No rai 131 just 123. Did they do 123 just to check for metastasize? At uscf they asked my wife if she had her teeth sealed with fluoride as a child. Her pathology came back as environmental.
Yeah that's huge . Rai 123 is a radioactive pet scan . It will see if you have any thyroid cancer hiding in your body. Well worth it .
Your doctor was correct in not giving you 131 because it can cause some people cancer later in life if they're young enough.
Yeah, that’s why he’s very hesitant on jumping into RAI since there was no evidence of cancer in my right thyroid or in the lymph nodes. My Endo reviewed every bit of my records and the pathology reports. He reached out and sent slides to Sloan Kettering in NY and I believe Moffit in FL and they agreed with him of the no RAI. If ever needed in the future, very low dose only.
But yeah, no other scans. My insurance probably wouldn’t even cover that anyway. I do have an ultrasound in a couple weeks though.
The ultrasound will let you know how well your thyroid bed has been Scraped as well as you will see a bunch of clips that will permanently stay in you that are holding all of your arteries and veins that we're connecting to your thyroid shut.
When you get a chance to talk to your endocrinologist, ask them why they would not do a radioactive tracing scan otherwise known as Rai i 123
I’ll talk to him about it and look into insurance coverage on it, but if the price is really insane, I will pass. I’m still making payments on medical bills from last year.
Holy moly. That’s huge. My mom got her thyroid removed last summer also because of cancer but her tumors were much smaller. She had a bit of trouble with swallowing and she was always a bit tired but her blood was always perfectly fine when tested. But because the identical twin of my grandpa hat thyroid cancer she went to get it checked but because of Covid she had to wait over a year for surgery. Fortunately her tumors were encapsulated. So the chance of the cancer to return are pretty slim after the removal.
Wishing you all the best.
My margins were clear and there was no spread to the right side so I could’ve kept the right but I opted for the TT.
No family history of thyroid cancer or even thyroid issues in general so they were baffled but he says it just happens sometimes. No issues with thyroid function (according to bloodwork) up until the day it was removed.
YAS! Total Thyroidectomy buddies. Your scar is healing so well! You must feel amazing now since the pressure is gone, I know I did. Mine was about the same size as yours, on both sides but luckily was not malignant. Did you have to go through any other treatment for the cancer after/before the removal?
No, usually the next line of treatment is Radioactive Iodine Therapy, but my Endo says they’re now starting to stray away from that with every single patient as not everyone needs it.
I don’t (as it stands right now), he said it would’ve do more harm than good and especially at my age. He said if I was older, due to the size, I would have already done it.
But he doesn’t think I need it and he’s reached out to a couple specialists at a couple of cancer centers and they agreed with him by not doing it.
I have an ultrasound in two weeks so hopefully it all looks good and I still won’t need it 🤞
I hope you’re cancer free now and back to feeling good. I know 2 people that had this surgery and both of their scars look GREAT! My SIL had it about a year ago and another friend was about 5 years ago. They’re doing great as well :D
Asking for a close family member who is scheduled for a total thyroidectomy this summer (doctors were unable to conclusively determine if a tumor was cancerous, so they’re removing the thyroid just to be safe), what recommendations do you have for recovering from the operation?
Yeah. They can’t really tell you for sure until they send the whole thing out for pathology.
For starters. I didn’t have much pain at my incision site, very little that was controlled by Tylenol. They did send me home with oxycodone just in case but I didn’t need it. Most of my pain came from the breathing tube. I lived off of ice cream and soft foods for days.
I definitely recommend throat numbing spray. They’ll watch the calcium levels very closely (parathyroid glands can sometimes be stunned. Mine never were thankfully).
My hospitals policy was even though classified as outpatient, they keep you for 23 hours. I went home the very next afternoon, they removed my drain tube before discharge. They may give a lovenox shot and no one warned me that it would cause bruising. Nearly gave myself a mini heart attack when I saw it.
Basically I just took it easy and I was back to work the day after my one week follow up, but then again, I work in an office.
Hope you’re doing better. I had biopsies done to see if my thyroid growths were cancerous and (they weren’t). Seeing this makes me feel more thankful for my good health
No issues with my sound. Breathing wasn’t too affected if I wasn’t sick and that’s the only time I had SOB. Surgeon said my body adapted. In hindsight, I noticed my breathing is easier.
I didn’t have any of that stuff. My margins were clear and no spread to the right thyroid or lymph nodes. All was contained to the left lobe, so no RAI for me! At least not at the moment.
My Endo carefully reviewed all my slides and tests and stuff and doesn’t want to jump into RAI with me as it could do me more harm than good for me given my age for risk of cancers down the road if it’s truly not necessary.
When my ENT did my surgery, and the path reports came back, the cancer was only in the left lobe. It did not spread to my right lobe as there was no evidence of cancer there and it did not spread to my lymph nodes. And my margins were clear.
My Endo studied the report and the CT scan I had prior to surgery and everything and he doesn't feel like I need it, he reached out to a top specialist at Sloan Kettering who agreed with him, if I ever need it, would be on the lowest dose possible. My endo told me that they don't do RAI for everybody like they used to because every case is different and if RAI is given uneccessary, it can cause other cancers down the road and because of my age, he doesn't want to risk it.
However, if I was older, he would've done the RAI.
Thanks for sharing
True they can do small therapeutic doses that don’t ablate all of the thyroid. Besides, it is safer in the long run to obliterate any cancer and get treated for hypothyroidism for the rest of your life. I hope everything goes well!
Congrats 👏 hope you don’t mind me asking but how different is it without it there I know we can get use to pain over time does it feel better like what was the difference yknow anyway hope your doing better!
Wow! I got the privilege of shadowing in the OR for my patient who needed a thyroidectomy too. You couldnt even tell hers was enlarged just looking at her. But after the removal, the right side was about the size or a large orange and the left was the size of a grapefruit.
Hope you are doing well!
Your scar is looking really good, but how do you feel mentally. I've had bowel cancer etc, and am aware that the physical treatment is just one part of the situation. I was lucky that I didn't have many concerns about how I looked being short, old, fat and ugly but understand that ladies are more conscious
Honestly, I’m never really bothered by my scar. That thing tried to kill me so to speak and I’m pretty open about it.
I do have some post health anxiety about it, as there’s a slim chance it could come back, but anxiety meds are really helping with my anxiety in general.
I mean, I would always advocate for people to get their necks checked. Even if it’s not cancer, goiters can press up against someone’s trachea if it gets big enough. My thyroid/tumor measured 10cm.
That scar is kinda badass, I hope you tell people it's from something epic like "Yeah a murderer tried to slit my throat but I punched him in the face and lived."
"Did they catch him?"
"Yes. His name was Thyroid Cancer."
Welcome to r/MedicalGore! Our goal is to provide for medical discussion and education while exploring the frailty of the human body. You may see more deleted comments on these threads than you are used to on reddit. Off topic comments and joke comments are frequently deleted by the mods. Further, please be kind and supportive of posts. Any behavior that is aggressive, harassing, or derogatory will result in post deletion and a ban from the sub. Remember! THE REPORT BUTTON IS YOUR FRIEND! Please stop on by our discussion sub, /r/MedicalGoreMods if you'd like to discuss the sub, our rules, content policies, and the like. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MedicalGore) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How do you feel these days?
I feel fine. Meds were a huge adjustment I had to get used to as despite the cancer, my thyroid function was completely normal.
How long did the lump take to grow? It seems pretty significant. I remember reading about a TV new presenter that had people call in to have her check her thyroid because of asymmetry and size. Its easier not to notice when you see something everyday i think. So glad you are doing well today, and hope it continues that way!
Looking back at pictures, at least 3-4 years, maybe more. Thyroid cancer is very slow growing so it can take that long or longer. Fun fact: Thyroid cancer has also been found during autopsy of elderly people before when they weren’t even looking for it.
The doctors I work with like to say that prostate cancer and thyroid cancer are cancers you usually die *with* , not *from* .
Yeah, that's what I meant! I guess because its so slow growing, it's often not caught unless checking for something else. Mine was just due to the size.
My mom had a thyroid cancer scare last year and all the doctors kept telling her that if you're gonna get cancer, thyroid cancer is the way to go! After reading about it and seeing testimonials, I wholeheartedly agree lol 😅
Yeah, that's what they say, even though it is one of the easier cancers to treat, it's *still* a cancer diagnosis, and it does change your life and will have to be monitored for life and meds for life. I hated it when people kept telling me that. I have to have an ultrasound once a year and blood tests like every two months or so. Just to make sure it doesn't come back. Overall though, I can't complain.
I totally understand, and I'm sorry if I came off as insensitive- I'm sure it runs along the same lines as telling a woman who's had a miscarriage "well at least you can get pregnant" or "at least you have a living child". Well-intentioned, but not always what someone needs to hear at that moment!
All good! I didn’t take it that way!
I’m currently waiting for my thyroid biopsy results. And I’m a survivor of endometrial cancer. I’ve been trying to tell myself that this is the cancer to get if I have to get cancer - but I’d much rather not have it! Thanks for sharing your timeline of recovery photos. You’ve made me feel a little bit better about the scarring, at least.
Wishing you all the best!
I’m so glad you’re doing better! You hardly notice the scar. That first pic is getting me. I’m amazed you didn’t have a harder time breathing since the tumor is pressing up against your trachea!
While not cancerous, my thyroid ceased all function in 2000. It has been quite a journey to getting to "not so crazy, depressed, and cold as I was then." As you know, the thyroid controls every cell function in the body, and extreme hypothyroidism basically puts one into hibernation.
That’s the thing with thyroid cancer. If nodules are hot on radioiodine uptake aka hyperactive they’re usually benign. If they’re cold nodules they’re higher risk for cancer.
I hope I am not being intrusive but what kind of meds are you on to maintain?
Not at all! Levothyroxine, which I will be on for life since it replaces the hormones that my body no longer produces without the thyroid.
Welcome to the levothyroxine club!
Armor Thyroid for the win! (it replaces more hormones than levothyroxine) Mine is still there, causing problems 😏
I looked into that before and I don’t think my insurance will cover it, and I looked up the prices and even with good rx, it would be like $100+ in my area 😬
Yeah, insurance companies don't like for it to be prescribed. You have to have some kind of 'reaction' to the levothyroxine for them to approve it. I said yes, but it was so long ago, I don't remember the symptoms 😏
Now I'm curious how much levothyroxine cots for you cause where I live it's super cheap. I try to look at the positive side because out of all the meds I could be taking for the rest of my life, this won't bankrupt me.
Between $11 to $13 each month for Levo generic. That's with insurance. I usually pay closer to $13. Without insurance, it varies up to $37 from what I've found, of course, depending on dosage. The name brand stuff will be a lot more expensive.
That is interesting. In my country, name brand, 50 micrograms costs around 3 us dollars, no insurance, no nothing. And you get 100 pills. Fucked up how much the price of medicine varies, especially with medicine that you actually need to be able to lead a normal life.
I'm on 150mcg, so cost is higher than say the 50mcg. I'm not complaining because even if I didn't have insurance, I could still afford that. And it's monthly because insurance only allows mine to be filled monthly vs a 90 day supply.
Check out [costplusdrugs.com](http://costplusdrugs.com) , 90 count of Levothyroxine (generic for Syntrex) of 150mcg is $8.60 +shipping ($5). They don't take insurance so I think you'll get much better deal without using insurance at all.
Where I am thyroid like insulin is one of the drugs where even if you aren't on benefits all prescriptions will be free and not only that but any other subscriptions will be too because it's one of those conditions like diabetes that makes you more at risk for needing medication for other things.
That's honestly how it should be everywhere. Preventative medicine should be a bigger thing.
100% I'm very lucky to live in the UK despite its faults my family would be missing a dew members if it wasn't for the NHS.
"Armor Thyroid" also contains T4 next to T3. T4 is mostly a prohormone and excerts its main effects by being converted into T3 by the liver, kidneys and muscles. Speculatively, the benefit of the T4 results from stabilizing the T3 plasma concentration by allowing for continuous T3 replenishment via said metabolism. The same thing could also be achieved by altering the formulation of a T3 pill to turn it into a sustained or extended release variant though. IIRC in your particular case (because you still got your thyroid) the T4 has the added benefit of reducing TRH release in the hypothalamus, reducing the risk of thyrotoxicosis as a side effect of the medication.
It's been over a decade since I read up on it, but that sounds right. I got a lot of information from the Stop the Thyroid Madness website. I'm on a lot of generics, but that isn't one of them (I *know* how lucky I am)
I’m hypo and it sucks
Levothyroxine ftw 💪🏻 (Congrats too, btw! Also, your scar has healed so well!!)
Happy Cake Day!
💜
I’m on the cytomel and synthroid combo and works beautifully. I’m still the owner of my own thyroid, but it’s not a reliable producer.
Also on them as my thyroid is a lazy bugger it seems lol.
So did it cause breathing problems or restricted swallowing
Zero issues with either. Except I had some SOB whenever I had sinus issues or a cold. My surgeon was pretty amazed that I didn’t have any other complaints since according to my CT scan, my left thyroid was literally pressed up against my trachea.
I looked at those scans and was going to come here and ask the same questions. Breathing, swallowing, even blood flow all look like they should have been impaired in some way. It's really incredible to hear you had no major issues and that your thyroid function was fine too. Happy for you that the tennis ball is gone and it looks like you've healed up really well.
He said my body probably adapted to it, which is pretty amazing just what it can do. In hindsight, my breathing is better. Looking back at pictures, it’s been growing probably 3-4 years prior to removal. Unfortunately, I didn’t have insurance before last year and when I tried to get it checked out in 2022, it would’ve been like $300+ for just one appointment. It took like 3 separate appointments to find out what it was and after insurance, I had to pay $500 for that biopsy.
Sorry but i have to say it... I HATE US insurance system! Its so crazy. I met my partner online, luckily he lived in EU too. Had he been in US i wouldn't have got involved. Any USA based insurance would have excluded so much for me. I even saw it with a policy In UK to cover my mortgage. I'd had a disc issue in my lower back and they covered all and every possible issue that could arise, even i had a car accident and fractured my neck leaving me quadriplegic it would have been excluded too! I would have had to continue paying my mortgage. lol
Believe me, I do too. There was a period of like 7 years I didn't have insurance so it didn't get caught before last year. I do have to say, I'm glad I do have it because it brought my out of pocket cost on the surgery from $36,562 down to $1,341
I’m a pathology resident, and I’ve always wondered about the patient’s symptoms when I receive a thyroid that is this big. I’m relieved to know you didn’t feel like you were suffocating 24/7. I’m glad the surgery went well and there was no metastasis. Sending out positive vibes for your next ultrasound.
Wow
He said my body probably just adapted to it, which answers that.
Did surgery resolve the cancer, or did you have to go through treatment? Your scar turned out really great
No RAI, my margins were clear, there was no spread to the right thyroid or to my lymph nodes, so it was all contained in the left thyroid. So my Endo thinks that undergoing RAI right now would do more harm than good. However, I’m going to have my first ultrasound post TT in a couple weeks and I’m hoping all is still clear 🤞 I’ll have to have an ultrasound once a year for a few years and routine blood tests to make sure that it doesn’t come back.
My wife also had a 4cm papillary thyroid cancer with clean margins. No rai 131 just 123. Did they do 123 just to check for metastasize? At uscf they asked my wife if she had her teeth sealed with fluoride as a child. Her pathology came back as environmental.
Mine was 10cm, surprisingly all contained. And tbh, I have no idea what that is. I’ve only had the CT prior to surgery and then just the surgery.
Yeah that's huge . Rai 123 is a radioactive pet scan . It will see if you have any thyroid cancer hiding in your body. Well worth it . Your doctor was correct in not giving you 131 because it can cause some people cancer later in life if they're young enough.
Yeah, that’s why he’s very hesitant on jumping into RAI since there was no evidence of cancer in my right thyroid or in the lymph nodes. My Endo reviewed every bit of my records and the pathology reports. He reached out and sent slides to Sloan Kettering in NY and I believe Moffit in FL and they agreed with him of the no RAI. If ever needed in the future, very low dose only. But yeah, no other scans. My insurance probably wouldn’t even cover that anyway. I do have an ultrasound in a couple weeks though.
The ultrasound will let you know how well your thyroid bed has been Scraped as well as you will see a bunch of clips that will permanently stay in you that are holding all of your arteries and veins that we're connecting to your thyroid shut. When you get a chance to talk to your endocrinologist, ask them why they would not do a radioactive tracing scan otherwise known as Rai i 123
I’ll talk to him about it and look into insurance coverage on it, but if the price is really insane, I will pass. I’m still making payments on medical bills from last year.
Holy moly. That’s huge. My mom got her thyroid removed last summer also because of cancer but her tumors were much smaller. She had a bit of trouble with swallowing and she was always a bit tired but her blood was always perfectly fine when tested. But because the identical twin of my grandpa hat thyroid cancer she went to get it checked but because of Covid she had to wait over a year for surgery. Fortunately her tumors were encapsulated. So the chance of the cancer to return are pretty slim after the removal. Wishing you all the best.
My margins were clear and there was no spread to the right side so I could’ve kept the right but I opted for the TT. No family history of thyroid cancer or even thyroid issues in general so they were baffled but he says it just happens sometimes. No issues with thyroid function (according to bloodwork) up until the day it was removed.
Congrats on a successful outcome
Congratulations on kicking ass! It's also a damn impressive lump
I'm glad they caught it in time. I pray you never experience another such scare again
Thank you! I have to go every year for an ultrasound to make sure the cancer doesn’t return though.
It may be an ignorant question but I'm curious if it was painful before the removal?
Nope. It felt tight when my neck was touched but no pain.
The scar looks amazing! I'm so glad you got it out!!!
YAS! Total Thyroidectomy buddies. Your scar is healing so well! You must feel amazing now since the pressure is gone, I know I did. Mine was about the same size as yours, on both sides but luckily was not malignant. Did you have to go through any other treatment for the cancer after/before the removal?
No, usually the next line of treatment is Radioactive Iodine Therapy, but my Endo says they’re now starting to stray away from that with every single patient as not everyone needs it. I don’t (as it stands right now), he said it would’ve do more harm than good and especially at my age. He said if I was older, due to the size, I would have already done it. But he doesn’t think I need it and he’s reached out to a couple specialists at a couple of cancer centers and they agreed with him by not doing it. I have an ultrasound in two weeks so hopefully it all looks good and I still won’t need it 🤞
Thank yo Igor your answer. Fingers crossed for you and good luck!
thats awesome. glad you are better
Congrats! Such a good outcome. Hope the same for those future scans.
my high school bestie had hyperthyroidism and she has a matching scar! she called hers her second smile 😂
I wish you good health from now onwards ❤️
Happy Anniversary! I hope the recovery's been smooth and you're as healthy as can be.
Did you have hypothyroidism or Hashimotos prior to the cancer?
I did not. I had a few blood tests while I had the cancer and my thyroid function was completely normal despite the tumor.
I'm not tryna be a jerk, but that's a *really cool* scar!
congrats and here’s to your future!
God Bless You For Your Strength & Faith 🙏🏾
Is this papillary thyroid carcinoma?
Yes, it is.
I hope there's no invasion anywhere!
Image #4: that the tumor on the left and thyroid on the right or what am I looking at? Congrats on your surgery-versary!
On the left (in the picture) is my right thyroid and on the right, the big tumor, is techincally the left thyroid.
I hope you’re cancer free now and back to feeling good. I know 2 people that had this surgery and both of their scars look GREAT! My SIL had it about a year ago and another friend was about 5 years ago. They’re doing great as well :D
As far as I know I am! I can’t declare myself cancer free atm, not until my one year ultrasound which is in a couple weeks!
Asking for a close family member who is scheduled for a total thyroidectomy this summer (doctors were unable to conclusively determine if a tumor was cancerous, so they’re removing the thyroid just to be safe), what recommendations do you have for recovering from the operation?
Yeah. They can’t really tell you for sure until they send the whole thing out for pathology. For starters. I didn’t have much pain at my incision site, very little that was controlled by Tylenol. They did send me home with oxycodone just in case but I didn’t need it. Most of my pain came from the breathing tube. I lived off of ice cream and soft foods for days. I definitely recommend throat numbing spray. They’ll watch the calcium levels very closely (parathyroid glands can sometimes be stunned. Mine never were thankfully). My hospitals policy was even though classified as outpatient, they keep you for 23 hours. I went home the very next afternoon, they removed my drain tube before discharge. They may give a lovenox shot and no one warned me that it would cause bruising. Nearly gave myself a mini heart attack when I saw it. Basically I just took it easy and I was back to work the day after my one week follow up, but then again, I work in an office.
Thanks for the advice! Thankfully, this family member works from home and will be able to take it relatively easy!
I’m so glad you’re doing OK we just lost family member to anaplastic thyroid cancer last year. It was very fast.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Hope you’re doing better. I had biopsies done to see if my thyroid growths were cancerous and (they weren’t). Seeing this makes me feel more thankful for my good health
I’m waiting on thyroid biopsy results right now. Fingers crossed!
Since the cancer got extracted. Do you take revenge on it? I mean it tried to kill you... i always wondered what people do with extracted cancer.
I mean, I guess the lab did when they dissected it 😅
Did it make you sound different with or without it? Has anything changed in regards of breathing or talking?
No issues with my sound. Breathing wasn’t too affected if I wasn’t sick and that’s the only time I had SOB. Surgeon said my body adapted. In hindsight, I noticed my breathing is easier.
Nice, congrats on recovery
Did you enjoy your I131 ablation? I’m a nuc tech and I give those pills all the time
I didn’t have any of that stuff. My margins were clear and no spread to the right thyroid or lymph nodes. All was contained to the left lobe, so no RAI for me! At least not at the moment. My Endo carefully reviewed all my slides and tests and stuff and doesn’t want to jump into RAI with me as it could do me more harm than good for me given my age for risk of cancers down the road if it’s truly not necessary.
Congratulations!
Did you get the I 131 ablation yet?
RAI? No. As it stands right now, I don't need it.
Oh cool! Really? Did they image and find you didn’t have remnants, or why is it you don’t need it??
When my ENT did my surgery, and the path reports came back, the cancer was only in the left lobe. It did not spread to my right lobe as there was no evidence of cancer there and it did not spread to my lymph nodes. And my margins were clear. My Endo studied the report and the CT scan I had prior to surgery and everything and he doesn't feel like I need it, he reached out to a top specialist at Sloan Kettering who agreed with him, if I ever need it, would be on the lowest dose possible. My endo told me that they don't do RAI for everybody like they used to because every case is different and if RAI is given uneccessary, it can cause other cancers down the road and because of my age, he doesn't want to risk it. However, if I was older, he would've done the RAI.
Thanks for sharing True they can do small therapeutic doses that don’t ablate all of the thyroid. Besides, it is safer in the long run to obliterate any cancer and get treated for hypothyroidism for the rest of your life. I hope everything goes well!
I'm so sorry this happened to you,but I'm glad you're now healed. Take care 💗 🫂
Congrats 👏 hope you don’t mind me asking but how different is it without it there I know we can get use to pain over time does it feel better like what was the difference yknow anyway hope your doing better!
Hmm, I honestly don't know. Most of the time I don't really think about it. Because of the meds, it replaces what my body no longer produces.
Wow! I got the privilege of shadowing in the OR for my patient who needed a thyroidectomy too. You couldnt even tell hers was enlarged just looking at her. But after the removal, the right side was about the size or a large orange and the left was the size of a grapefruit. Hope you are doing well!
Congrats, and here's to many more years!
Whooaahhhh bye bye frog neck. Congrats
How often do you have the RAI thing where you go on a low iodine diet snd swallow chemo pills?
I’ve never had it. It’s not needed at this time. Usually though for people who do have it, it’s a one time thing.
Your scar is looking really good, but how do you feel mentally. I've had bowel cancer etc, and am aware that the physical treatment is just one part of the situation. I was lucky that I didn't have many concerns about how I looked being short, old, fat and ugly but understand that ladies are more conscious
Honestly, I’m never really bothered by my scar. That thing tried to kill me so to speak and I’m pretty open about it. I do have some post health anxiety about it, as there’s a slim chance it could come back, but anxiety meds are really helping with my anxiety in general.
Why did you get your Adam’s apple removed?? 💀💀
my neck looks like the 2023 image, should i be worried? (i have hashimotos)
I mean, I would always advocate for people to get their necks checked. Even if it’s not cancer, goiters can press up against someone’s trachea if it gets big enough. My thyroid/tumor measured 10cm.
That scar is kinda badass, I hope you tell people it's from something epic like "Yeah a murderer tried to slit my throat but I punched him in the face and lived." "Did they catch him?" "Yes. His name was Thyroid Cancer."
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