Hi Emma,

Welcome to the forum. I am sure that you will find this a very useful site and you are lucky enough to have found it early on in your cancer journey. Naturally, I am sorry that you have to find yourself here. You are so young and have all your life ahead of you.

 I have had two bouts of breast cancer, I do not have thyroid cancer so I cannot answer all of your questions, but I hope that someone who has had first-hand experience of this type of cancer will come along soon to tell you more about it.

You have had a long wait for a diagnosis and this must have been very worrying for you. A lot of worry is caused by fear of the unknown and the thought of leaving loved ones behind us. There are several people on the site who have had thyroid cancer, but if you find them slow in getting back to you, you can use the search engine to look for thyroid cancer. This will bring you to some older posts and also introduce you to others who have had this form of cancer.  If they haven’t contacted you, you can always contact them yourself.

I am sure that once someone explains the procedure to you, you will feel more positive about any treatment that lies ahead of you. The best thing that you can do is to go on your holiday and concentrate on having a really lovely family holiday. You will find that the next few weeks will seem to stand still and, the busier you can keep yourself the more you will be able to distract yourself.

We are here 24 hrs a day to listen to anything that you want to say. We are all here to support one another. Don’t worry about your emotions at present – they are bound to be all over the place just now. If you feel like crying, let the tears flow – it can be a good release valve. Have you got good support  from family and friends?

Do let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hello Jolamine,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply to my post. 

I'm sorry to hear about your 2 bouts of breast cancer. I have some close family members who have also been through breast cancer.

I too am glad I found this forum and will take your advice on board and have a wee search on thyroid cancer now.

I am very lucky to have an extremely supportive family (husband, parents, sister and aunties) and also a smallong close knit circle of friends so I know I'll be just fine when it comes to that side of things. 

I'm just looking forward to getting away on holiday now. I'll be sure to update once I know more in a few weeks. I got my appointment through on Friday and it is on the 5th of July. Seems so far away at the moment. I live on a small island with a relatively small hospital so I'm having to take a plane journey back and forth to a bigger hospital on the mainland to see the ENT specialists. I'm hoping they allow myou mum to come over with me when I receive my results. 

Emma x

Hello just wanted some advice.  I had biopsies on my throat at the end of November 2017, I'm still waiting for my results, is this normal?

Hi emzy

i had biopsies done on a colonoscopy on 27th Nov not the same as yourself on your throat 

Have you phoned your gp to see if your results are there I just got mines on Thursday 28/11/17 

Hi Broomfielda,

I see that this is your first post to the forum, so a very warm welcome to Cancer Chat.

I am afraid that I do not know the normal waiting times for thryoid biopsies. I have had 2 bouts of breast cancer and my results came back within a week. As far as I know the thyroid biopsies take a little longer, but I would have expected you to have got the results by now. Were you not told how long it would take at the time of your biopsy.

It is possible that there has been a delay due to Christmas/New Year holidays, but it is also possible that your results have got lost. Were you given a cancer nurse who you could contact in case you needed to? If so, I would telephone her and see what the norm is. If not, then I would phone your hospital and ask to be put through to your consultant's secretary. If the results are back, she should know. Different hospitals have different codes of practice. She is not always able to give you the results there and then, but if she can't, then she can at least make an appointment for you to see your consultant.

You will also find that the nurses on this site are very hepful and you can contact them freephone from any UK land line. Their telephone number is 0808 800 4040. Naturally, they won't be able to give you any results, but they could at least let you know how long it usually takes for a thyroid biopsy.

Waiting on results is always a stressful time and it is well worth pursuing this to see what has happened.

I do hope that you get some favourable results. Please stay in touch and let us know how you get on. Remember, that we are always here to support you whenever you want to talk.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Emma

We all know what it's like to sweat on the results of a test.  

I thought you might find this leaflet on thyroid lumps by the British Thyroid Foundation helpful: http://www.btf-thyroid.org/information/leaflets/32-thyroid-nodules-and-swellings-guide

I hope you find it helpful and reassuring. 

Hi LolaJ. Welcome to the forum.

When it comes to results, there is no "usual" waiting time. Sometimes with an ultrasound, you get the results at once, but equally often you have to wait 1 to 4 weeks. (I think it depends on whether or not the person doing the scan is qualified to tell you). With X-rays, CT, MRI and most other scans, there's invariably a similar wait.

What you can't do is read anything into the time you wait, nor should you read anything into the silences (or otherwise) of the person actually doing the scan. 

Hi Lola,

A very warm welcome to our forum. I have had two bouts of breast cancer, where the waiting times tend to be shorter than those for the Thyroid. Just a tip for future appointments. If you have any tests done, it is always worth asking at the time, how long you are likely to have to wait for results.

Waiting times vary, depending upon your geographical location, holidays, type of cancer, etc. The person carrying out the ultrasound is the one most likely to know what time scales are like in her area. This can save a lot of time worrying about when they are likely to arrive.

I am hoping and praying for a good result for you.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx