Hi. 

Sorry for the stressful time you are going through. I don’t think you should’ve been received a letter about a future FNA without seeing a consultant first- can totally understand the worry. 

Could you call the consultants secretary and ask to be put on cancellation list as you are understandably feeling very anxious. 

It still may not be anything to worry out though. 

If it is malignant, thyroid cancer is very treatable and slow growing. 

Sending best wishes. Xxxx

let us know when you find out and feel free to PM x 

Thanks so much for responding, and your comforting words. Yes, I was surprised to be presented with this letter out of the blue, without any conversations with the consultant preparing me for another biopsy. I was reading up about the various thyroid cancers and the most serious one is most likely to affect people who are over 60 and I'm 63, so another reason to be concerned.

But I will try to be positive. My friend had a diagnosis of breast cancer yesterday and will need an operation and chemo, so this is a very raw subject at the moment.

I hope things are ok with you, xxxx

Try not to google, although I’m so guilty of that too!

The type of thyroid cancer you are talking of though is very rare indeed. Keep yourself as busy as possible until you find out. 

I am well thank you. Just waiting on more surgery x Hate waiting- yawn x 

Hi, I'm sorry you are going through the awful waiting period, fingers crossed all is ok. I have been very fortunate in that the recall letter was an error! The large nodule was benign and now it is just a monitoring scenario, as the surgeon left smaller nodules untouched.

I appreciate you asking, and just want to say what a good site this is. It so helps to get worries and concerns off your chest, and to people who know what you are going through. I hope I don't need to access this site again but I want to wish everyone happy outcomes.

Take care of yourself and I am sure all will be fine. xx

Thank you for responding and I’m so glad that you’re ok. That’s wonderful news. 

I am guessing that they decided to remove the nodule because of its size? At ultrasound/biopsy the lady performing it described mine as ‘Indeterminate’ and said that she wouldn’t be surprised if the biopsy may come back as inconclusive. I have a feeling whichever way this goes I will need some sort of surgery. May I ask you if you were told anything at the ultrasound stage? I came out feeling fairly positive and got the impression it wasn’t screaming something sinister but now... my mind is running away with itself again

Hi again, please try not to worry - I'm a firm believer in positive thinking (but gosh how difficult that is when faced with health issues; I struggled in that regard, and when thinking the worst I became ill with the worry, once I got the news that all was ok and that the letter was an error I suddently felt really well again. So...mind over matter is a good mantra).

The ultrasound showed the nodule to be about three inches long. When I saw the consultant a few weeks later he didn't seem bothered and we agreed to monitor how things were and to go back to him 6 months later for another scan. But within a few weeks of seeing him it became more difficult to swallow and breathe. So he decided to remove it. (May I say, the appearance from the outside was insignificant. You wouldn't have known it was there really, just a slight bulge.) When he went in there he found that it was the size of his fist! So the ultrasound showed it's extent in length but not its volume.

I wasn't told anything at the ultrasound stage and had to wait a few weeks for an appointment with the consultant to get the results of the biopsy. 

Apparently nodules on the thyroid are extremely common and the majority of people with them don't even or ever know it. It's just one of those things when one decides to grow. I have several small ones that have been left as he didn't want to muck around too much with my thyroid to allow it to function normally. I have to have a blood test in a few weeks to check the thyroid function.

If you have to have surgery, please don't panic. It was straightforward, in overnight, paracetamol kept on top of pain, voice was affected and a cough but all got better by the day.

Do let me know how you go, nice to keep in touch. xx

Hello. I had a partial thyroidectomy two weeks ago for a large nodule which was deemed indeterminate after a fine needle biopsy. The surgery went well with almost no pain. Now I am waiting for the results of the pathology from the surgery and getting very anxious because I have not heard anything. At the hospital they told me it takes 10 days but my husband was told 2 to 3 weeks when he asked. I was told there would be a teleconference to discuss the outcome. I am getting nervous and worried but have no one to turn to. I was not given any contact number to call or anyone to contact if I had issues/problems after surgery. I tried to get an appointment at my GP but it is a 4 week wait. The lump in my throat was first picked up by a dentist in December last year. It took 2 months to get an ultrasound, then my GP called me up and said I need a biopsy and had 4 weeks wait for that. Then 10 weeks wait for the surgery. So in total it has taken 6 months to get this far. I have never seen my GP face to face and only saw a registrar at the hospital for about 10 minutes after the needle biopsy. I am worried they will call me at work and tell me I have cancer and I won’t know what to do. Is this the normal way to handle a diagnosis?

Please try not to worry, I know it's easy to say. I went to the Royal Surrey for my consultation, biopsy, and surgery and they are such a big hospital, dealing with so many patients, that the wheels do tend to turn slowly but rest assured they are turning. At Royal Surrey the consultant sent the lump to two separate labs for testing, this is to make sure of the conclusion they arrive at. So the thoroughness does take time. If 3 weeks have gone by and you still haven't heard there is no harm in ringing the hospital but I always told myself if anything was really bad they would get in touch sooner rather than later to get on with things. And happily that was the case.

I wish you all the luck in the world, and do let us know how you are going, xx