Hi there, I know this post is old but I am currently finding myself in a similar situation with a thyroid nodule that you were in. Two weeks ago I felt a lump in my throat when I swallowed. Had an ultrasound one week ago and found 2 nodules one in my right lobe and one in my isthmus. They are TR 4 lesions suspicious for cancer. I am having a biopsy tomorrow and I am scared. No visual or palpaple lumps on outside of neck though. For last couple of days it feels like someone is sticking a finger or two on my trachea. Fullness and pressure there in the lower left of my neck right next to my sternal notch. Can I ask how big your nodule was and if after your surgery did it improve? Did you feel it when you swallowed too? Thanks for your help. I hope you have gotten yours sorted out well now and are doing well. Sabrina

Hi,

I'm in a very similar situation. U4 nodule, first FNA inconclusive and waiting on results of second. I'm struggling to cope. Have you had your biopsy results?

Hi, I'm sorry to hear you are in similar situation. The wait can be maddening. I had two U4 nodules biopsied and they BOTH came back benign. I was nearly convinced I had cancer because of my awful anxiety.. so please have hope while you are waiting. I know it is easier said than done. My mom had same situation as you, first biopsy was inconclusive, that is common. Her second one was inconclusive as well and then she had it sent off for genetic testing and that came back positive on a couple of markers which still wasn't definitive enough to say either way. She ultimately had surgery to remove her entire thyroid which had many many nodules and some too small to biopsy. It was all sent to pathology and all came back completely BENIGN. So please have HOPE and try not to worry. I wish the best results for you! Feel free to reach out again if you have any more questions. I am still in the process of determining if I need surgery because the location of my nodules are causing me uncomfortable swallowing symptoms at times. Not fun :( 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. So good to hear a positive outcome. It's so hard to get through these days. I'm scared to hope mine might be benign too 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. So good to hear a positive outcome. It's so hard to get through these days. I'm scared to hope mine might be benign too 

I certainly understand your fear. In some ways I think that is the most difficult part.. the unknown. You have every reason to hope though and I will be hoping the best for you too. One thing I tried to keep in mind was that even if it was cancer that there are very very good curative rates with this kind. I tried to find all the positive stories and encouragement I could from people who have unfortunately gotten that diagnosis and there are ALOT of them out there. I know you know this already but the fear and worry of the unknown is not going to help your situation but arming yourself with good information, positive outcome stories, and taking it one day at a time will. Hang in there! Xo

Thank you so much for your support xx did they tell you what your lumps were or just that they were benign? Did you have to wait long for your results?

Please try not to worry too much. Not only is there still a very good chance that your nodule will be benign but even if it is cancerous, as pshshm said, it's...well, to quote my consultant "not the worst situation in the world!"

As pghshm says there are very good curative rates and that means nearly 100% survival rate for under 50s with the most common forms (I think it is over 99%). And they rarely use chemotherapy or anything like that. It really is just a matter of having your thyroid removed.

I had thyroid cancer two years ago, spent a week in hospital, went back to work after a month and that was pretty much that. I do have to take thyroid medication every day now to make up for the fact I don't have a thyroid but that is just a matter of taking a couple of tablets every morning.

The ultrasound showed they were hypoechic, solid, and had increased vascularity. All characteristics of U4 suspicious nodules. The pathology came back that they were blood, fluid, and Bethseda Category 2 tissue which is greater than 97% Benign. I live in the US so things may be classified a bit different here than they are in the UK. 

Also, forgot to add I had the biopsy on a tuesday morning and I got the call on Friday morning... I was told it could be up to a week so was surprised to hear from them that same week. Also the ordering surgeon is who called me personally which I was thankful for and I was able to ask her questions about what the results mean for me as far as next steps, etc. The thing about nodules always is once you know they are there, even if benign you will need to keep an eye on them. She said that they are likely to stay benign even if they grow, more often than not that is the case, but we would need to continue to periodically monitor for changes because the chance of them changing to cancer is not zero but that it remains uncommon. Hope that helps.

Thank you. Mine is hypoechoic, solid and vascular 29mm. Sounds very similar to yours. You are giving me some hope. Thank you so much. My second biopsy was Friday and they said two weeks. Keeping everything crossed x

You're welcome. Mine were both also 1.5cm so that would be roughly 15mm but my mom's were about 3.5cm and we were told by her surgeon that often times we worry about the big ones being cancerous but statistically there is a greater risk of cancer for the smaller ones. So there's another little thing to remember. Anyway, hoping you get more clarity on yours soon and will be able to have some peace while you wait. Xo

Thank you so much. Your kind words have really helped me today xxx

Hi,

I got my core biopsy result. They said it's consistent with a benign thyroiditis lump but they also can't rule out malignancy. I now have to wait to hear what they decide is best to do next at the meeting. I hope they say to take it out x

Hi there, thanks for letting me know your results.

I think that would be making me feel a bit better for the time being. A few things I would remember are that the majority of these things are indeed benign and while there is nothing that beats the absolute certainty of knowing.. it's just a matter of time and waiting until you know for sure.

A lot of people have nodules they don't even know about! At least we know about ours and are being diligent doing all we can do to monitor them and if we find out they turn out to be something we can have them removed.

I just returned from being evaluated by a thyroid specialist. This surgeon does nothing but thyroid surgeries and after many thorough tests his recommendation for me was to wait 12 months then have them perform another ultrasound and biopsy. If there are changes in the pathology or if they grow we can take them out then. If I get another benign result at that time then I may be a candidate for ablation to just shrink the nodules vs. surgery.

My main concern is what if cancer was missed in my first biopsy would 12 months be too long to wait and do something and his reply was "No. your nodules are not that big, there is no lymph node activity indicating anything like that is going on, if there is by some small chance cancer is there and was just missed, in vast majority of cases they are very slow growing and in twelve months time you would not necessarily be in a different position than you are today. It is reasonable time to wait and re check before deciding to have surgery." So I am going to follow his recommendation.

Another thing is my mom who did have hers removed because they never could determine through two biopsies and genetic testing STILL INDEED came back benign after final pathology of her entire thyroid gland which contained MULTIPLE nodules. So while we are extremely glad and grateful hers was benign.. she had her whole thyroid gland removed thinking it could be cancer and is now on medication the rest of her life. She's doing well on it but it's been a few adjustments to her doses to get her feeling normal. It's been a year and I think her current dose is going to be the right one to level her out.

Sorry for the long post, just to say I know you still feel anxious a bit with the waiting bc I do too sometimes. Here's hoping we can both be patient during this time and to think positively because I truly believe we will both be ok! At least you have not received really definitively bad results from all your work ups so far! That's a blessing for sure and something to hold on to! Good luck with you, I'm here to chat any time! Xo