Small papillary thyroid cancer

I have had papillary thyroid cancer with a 2 cm nodule on the left and minuscule nodules on the right. It was recommended by my Mayo docs to have a left lobectomy and monitoring the right side. My understanding is papillary cancer grows slowly and is the least risky cancer and easily treatable via surgery. I know it's not easy knowing there is some cancer remaining that may or may not present problems in the future, but I wanted to preserve my thyroid as long as possible and avoid thyroid drugs, if at all possible. I'm told the bi-annual monitoring is sufficient to see if it grows at which point action may or may not need to be taken.

Welcome @david67. I see you already got a helpful response from @mjay.
I'm also tagging @jlanderson76 @mnroni1 @blulilbaby @aejohns @trod @botts @angie7302 to bring them into this discussion.

I can understand that you're concerned about the watch and wait approach. Have you discussed the pros and cons of surgery with your doctors and been able to share your fears openly?

Hello everyone.I have been diagnosed with papillary carcinoma 3months ago,0.7cm in each side,left is FNA ,recommended total thyroidectomy,but I decided to active serviliance ,changed my diet,lost 9lbs,I dont know what is right or what is wrong anymore.I am US citizen,but 4 years ago came back to Armenia,where I was born and raised.Looking for similar stories here.Hope everyone will be healthy and happy.

Hi @tammy80
From what I understand, doctor’s use active surveillance to see if the nodule grows quickly. I was told that if it grows quickly, than it is often cancerous. I was also told that thyroid cancer usually remains encapsulated within the thyroid gland. If it grows and starts to interfere with other areas it becomes more of a problem.
Have you had Affirma testing with your biopsy? From what I understand, it has a very high rate of accuracy for predicting cancer. Have you considered being evaluated for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the nodule? It appears to be a fairly new procedure, however getting evaluated might be worth it to see if you might be a candidate. From what I understand, RFA will shrink the nodule whereby preventing it from interfering with other structures in your neck.
In my opinion, it is good to look at all your options instead of just going forward with thyroid removal…..Synthroid can be tricky to get the right dose.
Good luck!