Thyroid removal in US..Anybody has gone through similar experience?

hugs to u! I was diagnosed with cancer last year....I am almost of your age...and vegetarian, exercise regularly, never smoke never drank....first of all these things are not related to cancer...

Cancer can be genetic, it can be due to environmental factors etc.you have to understand that we don't know much about cancer still..of course a lot of progress has been made but there's still a long way to go...

When I was diagnosed...i was little shocked...not very shocked because cancer is something I have seen all my life...have lost half my family because of cancer...so I cried 1 day and that's it...I told myself I have to fight this....and I know I will come out of this....I never got depressed or cried after that day even though I have had 5 surgeries in last 10 months...not to forget countless biopsies/MRIs/Scans... I also found out that I have a rare genetic mutation...so it made things all the more complicated...

anyway coming to questions...please refer to a specialist center..you know we went to a local hospital before..even though the oncologist was good...she never told me that I should get tested for this genetic mutation..even though I had a super strong family history of cancer....

You should take a second opinion..we then took an appointment with a big cancer speciality center...and the team there spent like 5-6 hours talking to us....the oncologist right away asked me to get genetic testing...even though the mutation was rare she said the history is too strong to neglect and the test came positive eventually..all I want to say is these doctors have more exposure.... I think u can send ur reports/slides online also to centers like MD Anderson, John Hopkins Cancer center , Mayo clinic etc. In fact my center was able to extract all the information (slides, MRIs) from the local hospital easily....we didn't do anything....

I also went to MD Anderson in Houston..of course my case was rare so I went there to meet the genetic specialist but if you want you can also contact them...it's the biggest cancer center in the world and they have so much knowledge...

You can try to google about your surgeon..look at this work experience...my surgeon was the head of the department and he was damn good..I was really impressed with him the first time we met...

I think u should be very honest with your boss...because you might need to take some time off to recover.... there's no point lying....

I am sorry I didn't have thyroid cancer...so no experience there... but like I said..strongly advise you to seek second opinion....I was recommended radition after surgery ...but after the genetic result....they said no to radiation..because with my mutation..radiation can lead to other cancers in the future....but the local hospital oncologist never told us about this mutation, never got me tested...if i got treated there...i would have got radiation....

Of course my case is rare but I'm just giving you an example...seek another opinion before making a final decision... Wish u speedy recovery! and u will be fine...it's not the end of life ...really!

 

Hi dear, even I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer two years back at the age of 30. Thyroid cancer is the cancer with least mortality rate, so no need to worry.
First your thyroid gland has to be removed, The risks associated with that are, your vocal cord might get damaged, your voice might change. But thats very rare. Also if your parathyroid glands needs to be removed , you have to take calcium supplements daily alongwith thyroid. Then you would have to undergo one radioactive iodine treatment to remove the remaining thyroid cells apart from thyroid gland. Even thats quite a simple procedure .Not painful.
Apart from that you have to be in followup for atleast five years.

Reg continuing with work, I just took three days off during my hospital stay. I resumed work the next day just took care of not straining my vocal cord.
After Radioactive iodine treatment, had to stay separate from my family and office for 15 days, Took one house for rent and worked from home.

 

ok good...that's what I was trying to say....second opinion is important.....i hope they saw the actual pathology slides/Ultrasound slides and just didn't read the report...

genetic testing was just an example...I'm sure there's no need of it if you don't have a strong family history...so don't worry about it...but of course u can always ask ur oncologist

Wish u a speedy recovery!! take care!

 

I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Cancer can strike anyone at any time, so it is good they have detected it early and you have a plan of action.
I had surgery a couple of years ago (not cancer-related) and I found doctors who I was personally comfortable with and who took the time to explain clearly and listen to my concerns. I don't know of a good way to find ratings online. Make sure that you are being taken seriously and your calls are answered promptly.
Also check with your insurance for pre-authorizations.
As for informing at work, it's up to you.
I had to take 6 weeks off to recover, so I took sick leave in addition to vacation and had to list everything on my employer's forms. If you are only going to be out for a week, then you may be able to just take vacation.
After the surgery, you will be on thyroid medication life-long and the dosage will be monitored constantly. You will probably be sent to a reproductive endocrinologist, but as long as your thryoid levels are fine you that should not present a challenge to having kids. Do tell your current team of doctors about your plans for starting a family, in case that affects anything they are recommending.
I wish you good luck and great health going forward.

 

Of course the scar is still there but not very prominent. The doctor said it depends on the skin for some it disappears for some it doesn't.
Also, reg the radioactive treatment he didn't mention before surgery. After surgery he told to go for whole body iodine scan and if they find any thyroid tissues , he said we need to go for radioactive iodine treatment. But when we went there, the specialist over there told me that 95% you have to go from the treatment as surgery cant remove all thyroid cells. they detected some thyroid cells on the neck , so i had to go for that treatment

After the first radioactive treatment I was asked to do the scan again after an year. Luckily that time no cells were present.
Again I have to follow up after an year.