Hi all :happy:

Looking for any insights from your experiences. I'm trying to figure out if I should / shouldn't get the other part of my thyroid removed.

Here's my story:

At the end of November 2020, whilst in the shower I felt a firm lump on my neck. The lump was not visible to see - unless my neck was in an extended position. I went to the doctors and they referred me for an ultra sound. 3 days later, the findings of that ultra sound were (U4 Node) 27 x 40 x 31mm. The recommendation from the ultra sound was to go for a biospy (FNA) and a couple of weeks later just before Christmas I went for the biospy (FNA). I waited 3 weeks for the results to come back and was delighted to get a beign result returned.

Having done a good bit of research, I was not satifised with the F4 Ultrassound and Beign FNA. I then referred to a thyroid surgeon. I was well aware of the possibility that the FNA may be a false negative; in my mind I wanted the node removed and was not going to wait and monitor.

Having discussed my situation with the surgeon, I was booked in for mid March 2021 for my Partial Thyroidectomy (Lobectomy). Happy with the experience of my surgeon and hosiptal I was in - not one bit worried about the procedure. 

After the surgery, I recovered well. If you are waiting for surgery at the moment, please do not stress - the hosiptal will look after you and you will have a sore neck with not too much pain. 

4 weeks later the surgeon called me into his office and shared the unfortunate results that it was Papillary Thyroid Cancer. I wasn't upset as I was well informed from reading medical papers and cancer forums. I was in shock though - as part of me was hoping it was beign as was returned from the biospy. 

During that meeting with the surgeon, he said he was going to take my case to the multidisciplinary team to discuss next steps. 2 weeks later he called me to say that the node was in fact 4.5 cm and due to the fact it is larger than 4 cm, the board recommended that I have the rest of my thyroid removed. 

My question is - Has anyone sat tight, not had the other half of the thyroid removed? When the size of the node was larger than 4cm (which the American Thyroid Association determines a total thyroidectomy is necessary).

Please share experience, thoughts or questions. Appreciate all. Hope everyone is taking care of themselves x