Hi,

I had a similar diagnosis to yourself in March and was put on the Fast track. I was a bit taken aback at first but once the NHS machine swung into action I had several appointments for tests and scans over the next month. That sounds like a long time,but I found it oddly reassuring that things were moving along. The worst thing is the waiting…it’s always the waiting lol.A big thing for me was my lack of knowledge about the process and if I have one piece of advice it’s if you have questions ask them,don’t be afraid of looking silly,they’re the experts and Dr Google while sometimes helpful is often a tangled web of misinformation and scare stories. I had half my thyroid removed 6 weeks ago and after a one night stay in hospital and some pretty impressive bruising was pretty much ok within a week to ten days. I had my follow up today with the consultant,it’s been a very long six week waiting and wondering (Don’t be afraid to chase people up if you feel the need,yeah they’re busy but a little push hasn’t harmed in my case) Very long story short my biopsy came back as “malignant” so the other half of my thyroid is coming out to be followed by the iodine therapy. Scary word “malignant and it’s back to the waiting game for me,more surgery whenever that may be but at least having had it once second time will just be another scar for the collection. I know all of it is  little scary,but while it’s unpleasant the prognosis the vast majority of tiimes is good and the treatment is just the means to an end. Keep your chin up,try to have a sense of humour however hard that might seem and ask those questions. I’m assuming my treatment is in advance of yours so I’ll update as I go along then at least you’ll be hearing it from someone experiencing the same thing.  Good luck on your journey

Hi,

I had a similar diagnosis to yourself in March and was put on the Fast track. I was a bit taken aback at first but once the NHS machine swung into action I had several appointments for tests and scans over the next month. That sounds like a long time,but I found it oddly reassuring that things were moving along. The worst thing is the waiting…it’s always the waiting lol.A big thing for me was my lack of knowledge about the process and if I have one piece of advice it’s if you have questions ask them,don’t be afraid of looking silly,they’re the experts and Dr Google while sometimes helpful is often a tangled web of misinformation and scare stories. I had half my thyroid removed 6 weeks ago and after a one night stay in hospital and some pretty impressive bruising was pretty much ok within a week to ten days. I had my follow up today with the consultant,it’s been a very long six week waiting and wondering (Don’t be afraid to chase people up if you feel the need,yeah they’re busy but a little push hasn’t harmed in my case) Very long story short my biopsy came back as “malignant” so the other half of my thyroid is coming out to be followed by the iodine therapy. Scary word “malignant and it’s back to the waiting game for me,more surgery whenever that may be but at least having had it once second time will just be another scar for the collection. I know all of it is  little scary,but while it’s unpleasant the prognosis the vast majority of tiimes is good and the treatment is just the means to an end. Keep your chin up,try to have a sense of humour however hard that might seem and ask those questions. I’m assuming my treatment is in advance of yours so I’ll update as I go along then at least you’ll be hearing it from someone experiencing the same thing.  Good luck on your journey

Thanks so much for your reply! I’m due in hospital on Monday for surgery to remove half of my thyroid. They initially said 2 weeks of waiting …. 6 weeks is a lot !! I hope you’re doing ok. Best of luck to you 

1. It is a lot,the delay was at the lab that was processing the tests on the removed section of thyroid,generally speaking the results are 4-6 weeks,I started chasing the consultants secretary on week 5,wasn’t popular with her but nescssary for your own peace of mind. Generally when the results come back they have a multi disciplinary team meeting where the three departments (Surgical,ENT and Oncology) get together to discuss your results to see what if any further treatment is needed. My MDT meeting is on Monday but I got an appointment to see the surgeon who operated on me yesterday ( I think that was courtesy of the Consultants secretary who just wanted to shut me up lol) Op day if you’re day surgery can be long and boring,follow all the rules you’ll be grand,I know that sounds obvious but 2 people were sent home when I went ,one chap who said he hadn’t had a proper breakfast “just a piece of toast” and a young girl who rocked up with a takeaway Costa,couldn’t make it up.I found a smile and a thank you worked wonders with the nurses,you get some right miserable sods who think it’s a hotel not a hospital.Its no biggy if they keep you in overnight just tend to be waiting for your drain to clear but if you do stay in,get someone to bring you a butty as the food is interesting….not necessarily edible.And if they do offer you Oramorph as a pain killer the answer is yes please!