Thyroid Cancer Group: Introduce yourself and connect with others

New to the group....I had a 2cm metastatic lymph node and had a total thyroidectomy and neck dissection 3 months ago. Lab work 2 months after surgery shows Tg levels are high - thyroglobulins are 42. Endocrinologist is recommending radioactive iodine. Has anyone found an alternative to iodine treatment?

Hello. I was diagnosed with metastatic papillary thyroid cancer last year at Oregon Health Sciences University. The cancer spread to my lymph nodes and lungs. Last July I had my thyroid and a bunch of lymph nodes removed. I then did the radioactive iodine treatment. My cancer was typed and found to be DTC which is resistant to radioactive iodine. I just had my 6-month CT scan that found the nodules in my lungs have grown ~2-3 mm. Next stop is meeting with a new oncologist about treatment options.
I am in my early 50's and a little down about the prospect of having to take a REALLY EXPENSIVE medicaition that costs more than I make in a year as well as having to put up with the side effects of the drug.

Anyone have a similar story and is anyone taking medication for it? How are you doing with it?

66 year old male. Diagnosed with anapestic thyroid cancer 10/31/23. Completed 7 weeks of radiation/chemo @avera in Sioux Falls. Now at Mayo for second opinion. They are attempting to stretch my esophagus so I can drink, and possibly eat. Any one else have this after treatment?

Papillary thyroid cancer - metastasized into lymph nodes
Had total thyroidectomy last August. Found suspicious lymph nodes and confirmed cancer ,2 weeks age
Will have surgery end of May and then...whatever is next

66 year old male. Diagnosed with anapestic thyroid cancer 10/31/23. Completed 7 weeks of radiation/chemo @avera in Sioux Falls. Now at Mayo for second opinion. They are attempting to stretch my esophagus so I can drink, and possibly eat. Any one else have this after treatment?

Hi everyone, my name is Lise and it's been about 3 1/2 months since my cancer diagnosis.

@san99999 I just went through a similar experience. I hope that since you posted things have become less ambiguous.

For me, ultrasound found 9 mm nodule that was determined after FNA to be (high likelyhood bethesda cat5) papillary carcinoma. My doctor considered it low risk so advised active surveillance since, like you mentioned, these small cancers can in fact stop growing and potentially never become a problem. He communicated his concerns about overtreatment of low risk thyroid microcarcinomas, but said that if it does start to change/grow we can still remove it without impacting positive outcome. Bottom line, he basically said it was up to me and what I felt comfortable with (some people just want it out asap) -- I decided to proceed with the active surveillance approach. We decided to do another ultrasound to make sure there was no change since December and, unfortunately, it grew 2 mm in 3 months ... so I am scheduled for surgery next month to remove the left lobe.

It was a bit of a difficult decision to make -- wait rather than opt immediately for surgery -- but once I did I actually felt a bit of relief. I have read every study I could find on active surveillance and asked my doctor a lot of questions. With the information I gathered I was able to actually calm down my anxiety a little and let myself trust that this is in fact slow growing and that I had some time to weight my options, get educated and settle in with a care team I feel I can trust.

Now that I am proceeding with the surgery I am feeling more of that anxiety creep back again -- worried about what it will feel like when I come out of anesthesia ... if I will need hormone replacement ... living with fears of recurrence ... etc ... and I'm very concerned about damage to my voice as I am a singer. I know its counter productive to get turned inside out about things that have not actually yet happened, but it's really hard. Trying to stay positive and not feel sorry for myself. Reminding myself that all things considered I am lucky it is treatable and was caught early.

Hi My name is Jenny I was diagnoised with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma in December 2023, On Jan2 2024 I had Thyroidectomy with 5 Lymph mode Neck dissection. 3 of the 5 Lymph nodes tested positive for the same Cancer. I have been recovery spent 3 days in the hospital because Calcium levels were low and been home since. Been doing good next step is Endocrinlologist.

Hi Everyone, my name is Steve and today my Dr called me and told me that I have papillary thyroid carcinoma today. I'm 40 years old and kind of feeling scared. Glad to see this forum is out there with everyones stories of recovery. I didn't really get much info, they biopsied my right side earlier this week and now this. So I'm just waiting for another dr to call me about my next apt and see where we go from there.