I am a 63 year old Male from Scotland who started my journey with Papillary Cancer when finding a lump and my windpipe moved to the left of central position in Nov 2023. Being a typical guy it was not doing anything to worry me so I let it be. Around June I had suffered a few incidents of food trapping in my upper throat, tiredness, coughing, sore ear, pain in throat and headaches. On the last occasion of choking and breath I went to AE. They sent me to see a ENT specialist who took my issues and on examination after a endoscope was more interested in my nodule on my Thyroid. He proposed a Scan and biopsy due to its size.
I waited a few weeks and in July I got my scan and biopsy. I was informed I had two Nodules one in front and one to my right as you see me face on. It was 5cm at this time and the needle caused me a bit of pain that did not stop for a few days. This same pain has came back from time to time and I even suffer it now after operation on same spot. I waited 8 weeks on my results and went to a meet in ENT carried out by a Surgeon and 4 Nurses who were introduced as my Oncology team and contacts in future. I was informed my nodule was suspicious and stated the size of the biggest as 5cm, I later found out the central nodule was 1cm. The Surgeon went over my choices and his recommendation was to have a total Thyroidectomy as due to size of the large nodule it would be best to get surgery over in case of future growth of more nodules, etc. A date would be sent out but would be in at least two to three weeks.
I received word to attend FVRH on the 26th Sept for my surgery. I had discussed my issues as I had suffered with high blood Pressure, Diabetes Type 2, Sleep Apnea, Restrictive Airway and Morphine/Opioid problems along with problems in last surgery for a Ambilocal Hernia. I was assured this would be planned and on the morning I discussed my surgery and especially my Anaesthesia. The plan was that I was to be awake through my insertion of breathing tube by camera and local anesthetics to my mouth and throat. As soon as the tube was in I would be given a non violent GA. What they did not tell me was I was to suffer an experience of choking and drowning as I had no air, it seems my airway is at an angle and pushed to my right and very small in diameter. This experience seemed to take ages but was probably seconds and I was hit with the GA and woke up from choking to be in the ICU for observation.In time I was put out at 9.15am and woke around 3.15pm. My Surgery lasted 2.5 to 3 hours.
I felt sore, tired and my belly was doing flips. My pain was mostly in my shoulders and sides of my neck. I was told later this was due to position my head and neck were in due to access for surgery. I had two blood vacuum bags fitted to just below my cut line. The cut was larger than I had seen in video and I was fitted to the all these wires. This wiring up caused me plenty of issues due to tanglement or bags falling out of bed and dragging my with it. I could not pass urine and my stomach was bloating every hour. I finally passed urine after 11.30 pm, best feeling ever. I was seen by my Surgical team after I awakened and they stated my surgery went great and they could see no issues. The Anesthetists went over my experience if I could remember pre GA and I could easily. They thought in future to introduce LA down through my nose and spray from the rear. They also asked for permission to to use my treatment as a case study. I had a new barrage of pills to take and my water intake was measured. My surgeon came to see me every morning until discharged. I left the ICU by the next day and was moved to general surgical. I learnt I had not been given a blood thinner and no one had emptied my blood bag and weighed it. I still awaited a blood test for my Thyroid. After having a sleepless night I seen my Surgeon entering and as I got up I fainted and became unresponsive. I woke on the bed with what discovered later was a crash team.I slipped back a forth from conscious to unconscious. I was given an x-Ray and a stomach scan. I could not feel my legs or feet under my knees and my hand were pins and needles and thumbs were numb. I could not speak and I getting oxygen but was hyperventilating. I remember being told they were taking blood and I was to get fluid introduced , this was put in arm and it slowly pulses through my body and I gradually recovered. I never found out what it but may be to do with Calcium. I also later found out I had been given Co-codamol which may have been a factor in my fainting. An ICU Doctor then visited me and confirmed I had an episode like previous, this was in regards to Morphine so me thinking Co-codamols had a part to play. It was not as bad as Morphine fit but it was not far off. Other than sore throat and coughs I was discharged next day with a big bag of drugs I was to read and plan for.
At home I found I got tired easily and still had issues with my left calf and sore heads leading to shortness of breath. I informed my team nurse and I was supplied blood thinners and go for a scan. Out of hours phoned me to come up to receive an examination and bloods. It was good to hear it was not clots. On the Tuesday the following week from discharge I received a call fro mSuregen confirming I Papillary Cancer and my team would meeting to discuss my treatment and a meeting with myself would follow. On the Thursday I was called to see if I could attend a meeting discuss the findings of my pathologist and future treatment. I attend at 11.00am and met two of the team. They went over the Pathology and told me the Nodule had grown another 1cm from my scan and the smaller one was 1cm. They also classified the Nodule T3, but the Pathologist had seen four breaches from the Nodule spreading to blood vessels and Lymph node. I was being passed to the care of Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow where I would have a new specialist to lead and my treatment was to be Radioactive Iodine. I was to meet the team on the 22nd Oct which is tomorrow as I write. So my journey was quick in the end but I cannot say how long I have had the Cancer. My family seem to have fought Thyroid issue in various family members with my brother and sister both suffering. My Brother had Follicary Cancer and had two nodules the size of the Surgeons fists. His was complicated by the cancer spreading to his jugular and cutting away half of his voice box. So I sit and wait on my journey of discovering what it has traveled to or not. A typical throw of dice Cancer seems to facilitate on its path.
