Hi [@Joll_M]‍ 

Welcome to the forum and I'm sorry to hear about the position that you find yourself in. Undoubtedly it's a difficult decision to know which way is best. 

I've had a look through the forum and I can see that [@Catlady69]‍ was in a similar position to you ealier in the year. You can read her first post on the forum here. As I've tagged her into this post here hopefully she will pop along to say Hello! and share her experiences with you. 

If you think it might help to talk things through with our team of nurses you can give them a call on 0808 800 4040 and they're available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. 

I hope this helps with your decision. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator

Hey I went through the same as yourself but opted for the op just be on the safe side as I have two young children. The biopsy came back suspicious but not sure. There is only a 10% chance that it's cancer but Follicular thyroid cancer can't be diagnosed through biopsy. Which is the one I have. Because my cancer cells were cracked they opted to remove the rest at another op and then I am getting radio therapy ablation. I have now found a swollen lymph node on the side where my cancer was and I am stressing about it.

It depends on your own situation to what you do but after my experience I would say do it. With only half out your body can still function without pills x

Thank you so much for your replies Jenn & [@Catlady69]‍ & I’m so sorry to hear of your diagnosis & I wish you well with the rest of your treatment. So are you still to have your radio therapy ablation?

I’m wondering if it’s worth getting a second opinion as every test so far has been indeterminate and inadequate so no suggestion of anything suspicious & it seems a bit drastic to remove half of my thyroid given there’s not been anything suspicious?! However that said, I do keep hearing of others in the same situation where it has turned out to be cancer & it’s a big risk to take if I leave it. It’s so difficult to know what to do.

Best wishes to you 

After a lot of thought, and a lot of reading, I’ve decided to go ahead with the lobectomy which is mid September. I’m so anxious about it, about the anaesthetic & obviously the results but I know it’s the only way to know for sure. 

Any advice or info on what to expect, recovery, do’s & dont’s etc would be very gratefully received. So nervous!

Hi Jinty14

i had my op on Tuesday morning, was extremely anxious about it but the hospital staff were brilliant. They gave me a dose of Temazepam which really helped take the edge off the nerves. The op itself went well, and apparently my thyroid was the smallest they’ve ever operated on! Don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing! 

Didnt feel too bad immediately afterwards but then my blood pressure, heart rate & temperature all spiked & went haywire for a while so I ended up staying in overnight which was fine. I’m sore & stiff now, taking paracetamol & ibuprofen regularly & keeping a note on my phone to keep on top of it. I’m just resting, literally haven’t done anything else yet. Chest is a bit tight & painful, not sure why that is but will keep an eye on it. 

Apparently dressing is to stay on for 2 weeks until my follow up appointment, not sure if that’s normal practice or not. 

Glad it’s over & like you, I felt it was the right thing to do & just keeping fingers crossed for the results. 

When are you having yours? Feel free to ask any questions x

Hi Joll_M

Thanks for your reply.

My op is scheduled for 1st November.

Looking forward to wearing high necks for winter to cover scar:-).

Hi Jinty14

Just wanted to give you an update. Now almost 4 weeks post-op & doing absolutely fine. The first 7-10 days were tougher than I expected & I was just so tired all the time. Just give yourself plenty of time to recover & don't rush back into your normal routine. Scar is healing well now but felt very tight & lumpy. I've started massaging it with bio-oil to help breakdown the scar tissue & dissolvable sutures underneath & it's starting to loosen up now. 
I had my follow up appointment 2 weeks after the op & got the all clear. It was horrible waiting for those results but such a relief when I got them. Looking back now I am SO glad I decided to go ahead with the surgery. I needed to know one way or another. Had it tested positive for thyroid cancer then it's on to the next step to deal with it & if, as in my case, there is no cancer detected, you can draw a line & put it behind you. It was totally worth going through to know for sure. 
Good luck for your operation & listen to your body when you're recovering & take it easy x

That's amazing to hear I am so happy for you x

Thanks do much for the update and am so glad it is going well.

Brilliant news on the result you must be so relieved  

I get my pre op assessment tomorrow... Any clue what to expect in that  What sort of tests do they do? Keep well!