1. < Thyroid Cancer

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and increasing tumor markers

Posted by jbkdavis316 @jbkdavis316, Apr 5 11:56pm

I have a loved one that had a total thyroidectomy in November. Since then they have done blood work for her Tg and TgAb. Tg was 3.2 and is now a 3.4. TgAb was 0.3 and now 0.4. I want to stay positive and encouraging, but what exactly does this mean? Is their cancer already back? They told them it was stage one and contained when they removed it. Any advice is appreciated.

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kmlnj | @kmlnj | Apr 6 7:44am

This is not a simple question although the answer may be straightforward. When we care for loved one, we may not have all the facts. When the thyroid is removed, the person takes a synthetic thyroid hormone for the rest of their life. The drug may need adjusting overtime. Your lived one should be in the care of an endocrinologist, forever. The endocrinologist reviews the T markers from blood tests and makes adjustments to the drug as needed. Your question is best answered by an endocrinologist. It is great that you care so very much. You can help by making sure your loved one has a good endocrinologist.

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jbkdavis316 | @jbkdavis316 | Apr 6 8:50am

Thank you! They are on Levothyroxine and thyroid levels seem to be pretty level at this point. It is the tumor markers that are concerning. My loved one is so scared that the cancer has already returned. I am sure they will contact their endo Monday to try to set up an appointment to talk about these results and what they mean.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | 19 hours ago
In reply to @jbkdavis316 "Thank you! They are on Levothyroxine and thyroid levels seem to be pretty level at this..." + (show)
@jbkdavis316

Thank you! They are on Levothyroxine and thyroid levels seem to be pretty level at this point. It is the tumor markers that are concerning. My loved one is so scared that the cancer has already returned. I am sure they will contact their endo Monday to try to set up an appointment to talk about these results and what they mean.

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@jbkdavis316, did you and your loved one hear from the endocrinologist? Any update?

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jbkdavis316 | @jbkdavis316 | 19 hours ago

Thank you for following up! They actually finally did. The endo said that yes, there was a slight increase, but it was such a minimal amount, that they don’t even consider it a rise. Their pcp went ahead and ordered an ultrasound just for peace of mind though. Ultrasound is in a week, I believe.

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