Hiya. I had thyroid cancer five years ago and...well, the endocrinologist's comment was "oh, it's not the worst situation in the world". Which yeah, was a weird comment, but he did kind of have a point. Obviously, nobody wants any form of cancer but it's rarely life-threatening and doesn't require ongoing treatment. They basically just remove your thyroid and there is a pretty good chance that will cure it.
The tablets for life just replace your thyroid function. Apparently some people have difficulty getting the dose right but...I felt no difference whatsoever.
I was in hospital for nearly a week after the surgery because I had all the lymph nodes on one side of my neck removed as well as my thyroid. I do now know if you will need lymph node removal or not. My nodule was 10.5cm (yes, cm) and of that, apparently, 6.7cm was cancerous. So they were taking no chances.
Yep, but it's barely noticeable. About 4 months after the operation, I had to point it out for a doctor because he couldn't see it. You sort of have to know what you are looking for.
