Hi,

If it's causing you to struggle to breathe then I'd be looking to get it removed even if it is benign. Did you mention the breathing difficulty to your endo?

yes, it's worse when I lie down, he said the surgery is very complex and will leave a 'nasty looking scar and will possibly have to take thyroxine medication for life. that doesn't bother me at all. he didn't sound keen at all. my worry is why my neck is starting to feel tight and the lump does not move up and down when I swallow, when it did so only a few weeks ago. waiting on my results feels like an eternity! they said should be back in a week and it has now been 2 weeks 

Possibly its grown so big it's pressing on your airway?

Did he say why he's not keen to remove it?

No harm to get a 2nd opinion if you're not happy. 

he said wait see what biopsy results show. feels like forever! hopefully I will get letter by next week 

Hi Anna, 

Superbly. I recovered well from the surgery. The disease hadn't spread to the other side and touch wood I'm still completely cancer free.

My half a thyroid is producing all the hormones I need, no medication required. I'm set to see the consultant next near the end of April (hopefully!) then one last scan and I'll be discharged.

All the best. 

Hi Anna,

I am in the same boat as sab275uk. It's nice to hear good stories.

Had 1 x 2.5cm cancerous nodule on left lobe (papillary type). Recovery was ok for me. Just uncomfortable as couldn't move neck much and had to be careful swallowing food and drinks, not painful though thankfully. Was hoarse for 4-6 weeks post op which is normal. Can be longer for some people. Half a thyroid remaining (doing its job) and on no meds. No evidence of recurrence.

Left lobe was removed in October 2018. Keeping an eye with scans and monitoring through bloods every 6 months.

I'm so pleased to hear this...Thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply.

I wish you continued good health!

Yes I'm sure it would be uncomfortable in the first few weeks. Very reassuring to hear the remaining half of the thyroid can produce sufficient hormones for the body. In fact my son was pointing out that nature has given us dual organs for a reason- so we can have a spare if one of them fails! 

Thank you so much and all the very best.

Hello everyone. Having never been on a public forum before I hope I am doing this correctly.

I went to the doctors October last year because by chance my mum noticed a lump protruding from my neck. The GP confirmed she could see something was there that shouldn't be so referred me to the thyroid clinic at the hospital after taking a blood test.
The thyroid specialist there examined me and confirmed she could also see a protruding lump but because my blood tests from the GP came back normal indicating thyroid is working at 100%, it suggested it might be something else. So she scheduled me to have an ultrasound scan.

Only one week later they got me in for the ultrasound and quickly confirmed that I have a fluid-filled cyst with a 4cm diameter. During the same scan they also discovered a small nodule on the other side of my thyroid. 
The next step was to drain the cyst and take a needle biopsy of the nodule-which happened two weeks later. 
The cyst aspiration was a success but they ended up having to do two biopsy's in one sitting as first one came up inconclusive.
I had to wait 5 weeks for the results to come back only to be told that the second biopsy was also inconclusive. 
They recommended I wait a couple of months to give the nodule time to heal before doing my third and final biopsy.

I arrive again for my third and final biopsy with ultrasound and they've noticed my cyst over the 3 months had filled again so said they would drain it one last time for me but if it fills again, they'd have to look into getting it removed which would require taking away part of my thyroid aswell. The third biopsy was also completed.
Last week I received a call from the thyroid specialist who had the results-coronavirus lockdown had just started the day before! Again, the third biopsy had also come back inconclusive and she also said that cysts tend to be benign but if they refill persistently (like mine did) it could be cancerous.

She recommends I have a full thyroidectomy so she can do tests on the nodule on one side and the 4cm lump on the other side to definitely determine whether they are malignant or not.

I was shocked over the phone at the decision of extreme measures of removing a whole part of me over indefinite results but my mind went blank and I wanted to be the perfect non-annoying patient so just went with what she advised. But soon after putting the phone down I realised I had so many other questions I wanted to ask. I knew I'd have the time though as she said not to expect a date for operation for a good while as they were only taking on emergency operations at this time. 
5 days later (yesterday) I receive a call from the hospital saying they've got me a date for the 6th April! Only 5 days from now! I'm not ready at all. Luckily I got her on the phone later the same day, asked whether there were any other options, for example:

montoring it every year via ultra sound/biopsy
She said there was nothing else they could do except do the operation. Because I was hesitant, I told her to give the appointment slot away to someone else and that I wouldn't go ahead with it. 
Was I silly in being reluctant to have a full thyroidectomy when they don't even have a definite answer??? All they said is there's a small chance it is malignant. That's not much to go on, not enough for me to undergo this operation and be on medication for the rest of my life anyway! And i'm worried at how I'll feel if I decided to have the operation, only to be told that both the cyst and the nodule were harmless anyway. I'd be broken-hearted I think.
I'm in such a difficult position. If anyone has been where I am right now or anyone has any positive/helpful advice to give I would really appreciate this right now.
I never stay awake past midnight but it's playing on my mind.

Sorry for the longest post on the forum but I really need some help....

Did anyone go elsewhere for a second opinion? Would privately be an option to get better answers? Does anyone on here have annual ultrasounds/biopsy's to keep their eye on their abnormalities???

Many thanks

Danielle