1. < Thyroid Cancer

Partial thyroidectomy should I do it? How long off from work?

Posted by lanig @lanig, 3 days ago

Hello, I am a 61 year old female who had my right tonsil removed in February 2024 as a precaution, as it was larger than the other one, and I was having some discomfort on the right side only when I yawned. It came back positive for HPV 16 cancer. I underwent 33 treatments of radiation and am doing quite well. I’ve had 2 PET scans since which showed hot spots on the left portion of my thyroid, after the first PET scan I had an ultrasound in April 2024 and was told to watch it for a year. This revealed a 1.3 cm nodule with a TI-RADS score of 4. In September my ENT suggested we do a FNA and test it just to see so we could rule out cancer more of a peace of mind scenario. Afirma testing showed Bethesda 3. The Afirma genomic sequencing came back suspicious which leads to a 50% chance it is cancer and is recommending a partial thyroidectomy. Has anyone here elected to a wait and see approach? I’m scheduled for surgery on Dec. 3.
For those who have had surgery how was recovery? How much time did you need off work? My ENT is saying 3-5 days. I manage a restaurant so I’m on my feet, moving and talking a lot. Grateful for any input on your experience and thanks in advance.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Thyroid Cancer Support Group.

andiamo | @andiamo | 3 days ago

For me, I took five days off it ended up needing 8. I was exhausted and maybe some people bounce back quickly but I suggest giving yourself extra grace to heal if possible
Best of luck!

REPLY
1 reply
lanig | @lanig | 3 days ago
In reply to @andiamo "For me, I took five days off it ended up needing 8. I was exhausted and..." + (show)
@andiamo

For me, I took five days off it ended up needing 8. I was exhausted and maybe some people bounce back quickly but I suggest giving yourself extra grace to heal if possible
Best of luck!

Jump to this post

Thank you for the feedback I truly appreciate it!

REPLY
gillsden | @gillsden | 2 days ago

Hello - I'm 64 yr old who had FNA on right side of thyroid and then Thyroseq testing based on results of biopsy. It came back 70 % chance of cancer. I saw three thyroid surgeons. Two suggested removing entire thyroid and third recommended just removing right side. I was very torn After a lot of research and the helpful posts from the posts in this group I opted for half. It turns out module was cancer but with clean margins. I will continue to monitor left side due to tiny nodules there. However, the remaining half is not producing the hormones needed and I will need Synthroid. That being said I was amazed at the great recovery. It was much easier than anticipated. I was back to work in two weeks. I don't think 3-5 days is enough. Be kind to yourself and allow your body to heal. I agree with andiamo you will still be pretty tired for a while. I am two months post on and still exhausted. I wish you the best of luck. Please let us know how everything goes. Take care!

REPLY
1 reply
lanig | @lanig | 2 days ago
In reply to @gillsden "Hello - I'm 64 yr old who had FNA on right side of thyroid and then..." + (show)
@gillsden

Hello - I'm 64 yr old who had FNA on right side of thyroid and then Thyroseq testing based on results of biopsy. It came back 70 % chance of cancer. I saw three thyroid surgeons. Two suggested removing entire thyroid and third recommended just removing right side. I was very torn After a lot of research and the helpful posts from the posts in this group I opted for half. It turns out module was cancer but with clean margins. I will continue to monitor left side due to tiny nodules there. However, the remaining half is not producing the hormones needed and I will need Synthroid. That being said I was amazed at the great recovery. It was much easier than anticipated. I was back to work in two weeks. I don't think 3-5 days is enough. Be kind to yourself and allow your body to heal. I agree with andiamo you will still be pretty tired for a while. I am two months post on and still exhausted. I wish you the best of luck. Please let us know how everything goes. Take care!

Jump to this post

Thank you so much for sharing. Very torn is exactly how I feel, I hate to even think about removing half and it ending up not being cancer, but if don’t remove it and it were to spread that would be worse. I do have a friend who was were I am now, she did a partial and it was not cancer and she too is on Synthroid, she says it’s no big deal and she’s glad she did it. I wish you the best of luck and thanks for your advice to take the extra time off from work. I’ll be sure to update my journey.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.