Hi. I've had thyroid cancer and please try not to worry. Thyroid cancer is really not what you are probably imagining when you hear the word "cancer." The odds are it's just going to be a matter of removing your thyroid and that will really be that. Well, you then have to take thyroid medication daily for the rest of your life but, for me, that has just been a matter of taking a couple of tablets each morning and getting on with my day.

If the 39 in your username refers to your age, I can add to the reassurance by saying thyroid cancer is rarely serious in younger people. For people under about 50, the two most common forms don't even have a stage 3 or 4. They are almost all stage 1, unless it has spread outside the neck (which only happens in 1%-4% of cases) and even then, it's only stage 2. The survival rate for the most common form among younger people is something like 99.5%. 

I can give you an overview of my experience. I was diagnosed in November 2019, had my thyroid and about 57 lymph nodes removed early in January 2020, was in hospital for a week, then was back at work in early February and that was basically that. I did have to have radioiodine treatment the following May, because of the spread to the lymph nodes and because the cancer was 6.7cm (I think most are under 1cm or 2cm, for comparison's sake), but that is really just swallowing a capsule. It's annoying, as you have to be in isolation for a while after it and so on, but it doesn't hurt or make you sick or anything.

They very rarely use chemotherapy or radiotherapy for thyroid cancer, so it really is just an operation. To be honest, I doubt my experience was any worse than say having my appendix removed. I've joked that the most harm thyroid cancer does you is the shock you get when you hear them telling you you have cancer.

Feel free to message me if you want to talk about things.

Hi there I wrote a reply not sure if it posted or not thank tog so much for taking the time to respond as I'm been a anxious mess from Monday fearing the worst. I felt like I wasn't expecting anything at the scan( didn't think they would know to tell me anything )  and was stunned I called the consultant today as I was so anxious and his sectary said yes they are back he's been on call and she will highlight they are back do you know if it's usually a call or letter ? Thank you so much for helping put me at ease  I was so stunned I didn't ask anything and left in a state , and yes I'm 39 

Hi there I wrote a reply not sure if it posted or not thank tog so much for taking the time to respond as I'm been a anxious mess from Monday fearing the worst. I felt like I wasn't expecting anything at the scan( didn't think they would know to tell me anything )  and was stunned I called the consultant today as I was so anxious and his sectary said yes they are back he's been on call and she will highlight they are back do you know if it's usually a call or letter ? Thank you so much for helping put me at ease  I was so stunned I didn't ask anything and left in a state , and yes I'm 39 

I don't know. I'm in Ireland for one thing, with a very different healthcare system and it was pre-covid. When I had my biopsy, they gave me an appointment a week later to call back for the results. I was honestly expecting them to say it was benign - they were very much "oh, we have to check for cancer, but most nodules are benign" - so yeah, it was a shock.

I was 39 when I was diagnosed too.

Thank you so much I'm in scotland hoping to hear soon but I feel much more positive after chatting with you feel like tommorow is going to be a better day for me I really have been walking about in my own we bubble don't think I was understanding or taking anything in on Monday it's all been pretty quick turn around the fact that my results are with them already praying for even a we call tommorow to verify that's what it is as I had no idea to even think of that only went cause I have a persistent cough and a lump on my lymph node which is hard and wouldn't disappear didn't even cross my mind anything about my thyroid and Monday was the first anyone has even mentioned that to me