Thyroid Cancer Fear

[unicorn 4]

Hi all,

So my mother had some blood pressure problems . . . She kept having a high blood pressure recently this month.

So she got checked by her doctor and got her a series of tests . . . She was also given some meds to lower down her blood pressure.

She then got her goiter checked 'cause it might be the cause of her increase in blood pressure. So on Tuesday, she'll be having a Thyroid Ultrasound by a guided needle.

And she went on YouTube to search the procedure and I walk up on her seeing a video about the 4 possible results and it's mostly about if it's benign or cancerous.

I've been a hypochondriac and when I saw it, I feared for her. 

 

I just want to know to those who have gone on a  Thyroid Ultrasound with a guided needle what the results were to lighten up things . . . Thank you .

[mollyfin 366]

95% of thyroid nodules come back benign on biopsy.  90% of the 5% that are cancerous are not life-threatening until they reach stage IV, which takes years to happen because of how slowly these things grow.   

BTW if it's causing systemic symptoms it's probably noncancerous.  I forget the reason for that, but it's a thing.  Biopsies are also done to see what it could be BESIDES cancer or nothing and diagnoses certain thyroid diseases.

So this might not sound light, but hear me out.  I had that procedure done a couple of times.  This last time, it came back positive for follicular variant thyroid cancer.  And I AM GOING TO BE 100% FINE.  The two most common thyroid cancers are papillary and follicular variant (papillary overwhelmingly the most common at like 85% of cases but of course I had to be different) and both my endocrinologist and my surgeon spent a lot of time reassuring me over and over that these types of thyroid cancer don't behave in the way we usually think of when we hear "cancer."  They tend to be very slow-growing, noninvasive and in early stages almost 100% responsive to treatment.    So whatever the results your mom will be fine.

[unicorn 4]

1 hour ago, mollyfin said:

95% of thyroid nodules come back benign on biopsy.  90% of the 5% that are cancerous are not life-threatening until they reach stage IV, which takes years to happen because of how slowly these things grow.   

BTW if it's causing systemic symptoms it's probably noncancerous.  I forget the reason for that, but it's a thing.  Biopsies are also done to see what it could be BESIDES cancer or nothing and diagnoses certain thyroid diseases.

So this might not sound light, but hear me out.  I had that procedure done a couple of times.  This last time, it came back positive for follicular variant thyroid cancer.  And I AM GOING TO BE 100% FINE.  The two most common thyroid cancers are papillary and follicular variant (papillary overwhelmingly the most common at like 85% of cases but of course I had to be different) and both my endocrinologist and my surgeon spent a lot of time reassuring me over and over that these types of thyroid cancer don't behave in the way we usually think of when we hear "cancer."  They tend to be very slow-growing, noninvasive and in early stages almost 100% responsive to treatment.    So whatever the results your mom will be fine.

 

What symptoms have you experienced ?

by the way thank you so much . :(

[MARC 429]

My friend who recently turned 55 had thyroid cancer when he was in his 20's and he is fine with no recurrences. 

[unicorn 4]

7 hours ago, MARC said:

My friend who recently turned 55 had thyroid cancer when he was in his 20's and he is fine with no recurrences. 

 

I'm glad that he's still fine up to this day.

Thank you so much. It makes me feel better about my mom's situation. :(

Did he go through surgery ?

[mollyfin 366]

My first symptom was just noticing a lump.  I had it looked at, it looked sketchy but was benign at the time.  As time went on I felt pressure in my throat and noticed some changes in my voice.  After a few years the biopsy showed it was no longer benign (probably anyway - there's an up to 30% chance it's precancerous/still benign. My endocrinologist seemed pretty confident that it was already cancer; my surgeon thinks it's about 50/50; either way I need to have it out because it's so big, so really it probably won't make that big a difference either way unless it's spread).  I'm having surgery in a few weeks and I guess I find out then if I need the radioactive iodine treatment or if surgery is enough.  I should add that I've had this thing for YEARS and they think there's still no spread to nodes or other parts of the neck.  So even if your mom's had her goiter for a while, that doesn't mean it's automatically bad news.

[unicorn 4]

18 hours ago, mollyfin said:

My first symptom was just noticing a lump.  I had it looked at, it looked sketchy but was benign at the time.  As time went on I felt pressure in my throat and noticed some changes in my voice.  After a few years the biopsy showed it was no longer benign (probably anyway - there's an up to 30% chance it's precancerous/still benign. My endocrinologist seemed pretty confident that it was already cancer; my surgeon thinks it's about 50/50; either way I need to have it out because it's so big, so really it probably won't make that big a difference either way unless it's spread).  I'm having surgery in a few weeks and I guess I find out then if I need the radioactive iodine treatment or if surgery is enough.  I should add that I've had this thing for YEARS and they think there's still no spread to nodes or other parts of the neck.  So even if your mom's had her goiter for a while, that doesn't mean it's automatically bad news.

Oooooh ~ she’s had her goiter for 3 or 4 years already she had it checked and was prescribed with meds but she stopped taking them . She just had her thyroid ultrasound yesterday and now we’re just waiting for the results .

[mollyfin 366]

I've had mine for at least that long, probably longer.  Hope you hear soon!  

[MARC 429]

He had surgery and initially half of his thyroid was removed and 6 months later the other half was removed. He also had radiation therapy. 

[ZenCube 59]

Even if a nodule turns out as cancer, thyroid cancer is one of the most treatable one, save for anaplastic thyroid cancer which is like super rare. Hang on there, all should be fine !

[unicorn 4]

On 2/20/2019 at 8:54 AM, mollyfin said:

I've had mine for at least that long, probably longer.  Hope you hear soon!  

Hi . My mom’s results came out benign . Her blood pressure is normal too . She’s prescribed a medicine that would shrink up her goiter . Now my doctor had me checked for thyroid as well ‘cause she checked my neck and she felt that it’s large and might be the cause of my cough lasting for months .

[bin_tenn 1252]

1 hour ago, unicorn said:

Hi . My mom’s results came out benign . Her blood pressure is normal too . She’s prescribed a medicine that would shrink up her goiter . Now my doctor had me checked for thyroid as well ‘cause she checked my neck and she felt that it’s large and might be the cause of my cough lasting for months .

I'm glad to hear everything came back clean for your mum!

[mollyfin 366]

That could be; I hope you get it sorted out soon!  If it's causing a cough it must be big enough to be uncomfortable!  I just got mine taken out a few days ago and I look forward to not feeling like I have a lump in my throat at all times!