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Newly diagnosed with thyroid cancer and have 2 main concerns
Thyroid Cancer | Last Active: Oct 24, 2023 | Replies (140)Comment receiving replies
Hi @lise01
A couple of follow-up questions for you...
Did your surgeon intend to take out your parathyroid gland when he removed your lobe, or did it just happen to be removed (along with the hitchhiking lymph nodes)? I don't think my surgeon even took out any of my lymph nodes. I think the plan was that he would take any that looked enlarged. I am SO foggy on this.
Are you thinking you'll need a second surgery to check more lymph nodes for cancer? Is that the question you want a second opinion for? I can't imagine my surgeon suggesting I ask someone else, then again, I can't imagine him doing ANYTHING. I have never met a more blasé doctor. I feel like I'm on a surgical assembly line...NEXT!!
My plan is to see my new endocrinologist in July and talk all of this over with him. He's the ONLY one so far who has given me the time of day and shown a bit of empathy. By then, I'll have new labs and he can help me consider next steps. I don't think I'll try to find an otolaryngologist for a second opinion. If my endocrinologist strongly feels that I might have a parathyroid tumor, I'll (begrudgingly) go back to the same surgeon and have him do it (I THINK).
Here if you need me.
Nan
Replies to "Hi @lise01 A couple of follow-up questions for you... Did your surgeon intend to take out..."
He did not intend to take it. I actually had an appointment two days ago with one of his colleagues (he was out sick so colleague covered for him) who said that 10-15% of the time a parathyroid gland accidentally gets removed with the thyroid tissue. He added that since I have 3 more it shouldn't be a problem but shared that, for the surgeon, it's a little ego blow when one of them is lost on their watch. Um ... ok ... ?? I am seeing my surgeon again next week but not getting my hopes up that he'll put me at ease in any way.
Second opinion would be about further surgery -- whether it be removing the other lobe and all lymph nodes in the central compartment (and maybe RAI) or just removing more lymph nodes to get pathology on ... not sure if they would just do that? I know Clayman Thyroid Center often tests some lymph nodes prior to surgery (another FNA-like test) to see if any cancer is detected to help them navigate what to take. Not sure if that is a possibility.
My gut is telling me that if one hitchhiker node out of two had microscopic bits of cancer in it, that wasn't the only one. Both my surgeon and the one I saw two days ago said the traditional route would be to remove everything and maybe RAI, but these days they try to take the least aggressive approach and just watch. That doesn't really make me so comfortable as that approach is what got me here.
Wish you could get in sooner than July -- are you on their cancellation list?
Ditto on here if you need anything or want to vent. Lise
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@hopeful23 I completely agree with your "surgical assembly line" metaphor and with @lise01's experience of things going awry even when you have been very diligent with your research.
I have met 2 surgeons so far. The first one had not even looked at my ultrasound images carefully and did not conduct an ultrasound himself either, yet was very upbeat about my outcome. He seemed more like a salesman to me who was more interested in me doing the surgery with him.
The second surgeon, a very highly regarded specialist with stellar credentials, came with a retinue of 4 to the consultation. But he does seem maxed out and I'm afraid he and his team could miss out on some glaring issues which have already shown up in earlier scans/reports. They don't seem to be reading existing reports very carefully. Neither of them checked my prior medical history records or asked for them. It was just what I could tell them in 5-10 minutes of the 40 minute visit.
One surgeon recommended a laryngoscopy pre-op procedure and the other did not.
Well, I guess this is how the medical system is now. Everyone is maxed out. One has to rely on some amount of luck as well for a successful outcome.