New to thyroid cancer.. freaked out

Blair84

I'm 25 years old and few days ago I got diagnosed with thyroid cancer (papillary carcinoma). The doctor say that I have nothing to worry about. but I'm freaked out. I will see a surgeon in 3 weeks to talk about my surgery. I'm not sure how all this works... I'm scared. Am I gonna be ok??? On top of everything today I went to my doctor because he wanted to check my moles. He told me that one of them he needs to cut off and send it to lab. I was so scared, if the mole was fine he would not even bother with sending in to the lab. Now I have to wait for the results for almost 2 weeks, I can't stop crying. Any advice??

usljh10

It's ok to cry
It's ok to cry when you here you have Cancer. It's not the end , your life will not be the same anymore tho.You'll have to have blood test surgery's Low iodine diet Ratio active iodine whole body scans and take a pill every day but you'll be ok. My cancer was found in March of 2008.It's hard to adjust to the ideal of having had cancer. You will need to find a good Endocrine to help you alone your way. The main thing I think is to educate yourself as much as possible. ask questions. Be as positive as one can be. Good luck on your new journey.

Lisa

YolieC09

Just had my thyroid removed
Just had my thyroid removed on January 14th has I was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma. I am doing okay. Surgery went fine. I had to stay two days only because I am on blood thinners and they had to make sure I had no bleeders before I started back on my blood thinner medication. Did not have much pain afterwards. The only thing is the annoying throat hoarsness which could last for up to three months. They did not have to remove any lymphnodes so I am hoping they got all of the cancer. I know I was freaked out when I got the call from my doctor. They say this is a pretty easy cancer to cure. I don't care...I have Cancer that invaded my body. I go next week to see the surgeon. Get the pathology results and take a thyroid blood test. Because now I have to take thyroid replacement pills. Seem to being doing well on them...but I can become very emotional at a drop of a hat. All I can say is take a deep breath and take one day at a time.

lynn2318

Hi Blair84, I know what you
Hi Blair84,
I know what you are feeling. I was diagnosed April 2008. I had a my thyroid totally removed by a general surgeon who called me 3 days later to tell me I had papillary carcinoma of the thyroid with 2 positive lymph nodes. My best advise is to get on line and educate yourself. I think you are already doing that but just don't wait for your doctors to because they probably won't give you all the information you need. I wish I had been more pro-active in educating myself sooner. I know you are scared because they have told you that you have cancer. It doesn't matter what kind of cancer you have it is the most scarey words you can ever hear. The surgery is not that bad. I didn't have much pain and the scar is minimal. The waiting game is the worst. I will be thinking about you and praying for you and your treatment. If you have any questions I would be happy to help as much as I can. Stay positive, you will be okay eventually.

Blair84

usljh10 said:

It's ok to cry
It's ok to cry when you here you have Cancer. It's not the end , your life will not be the same anymore tho.You'll have to have blood test surgery's Low iodine diet Ratio active iodine whole body scans and take a pill every day but you'll be ok. My cancer was found in March of 2008.It's hard to adjust to the ideal of having had cancer. You will need to find a good Endocrine to help you alone your way. The main thing I think is to educate yourself as much as possible. ask questions. Be as positive as one can be. Good luck on your new journey.

Lisa

Thank you lisa
Yes, this is
Thank you lisa
Yes, this is so new to me that I can't wrap my mind around this. I did not know who I can talk to, I have great mom, friends and awesome boyfriend but they all say you will be ok.. I'm tired of hearing that especially when they have no idea what I'm going thru. So is nice to speak to people who understand me. I do have a great doctor and I'm glad for that but still... I'm lost. I just started new semester in school but already I can't focus at all, I'm not sure if is even worth it to stay in school right now. Thank you for your kind words.

Blair84

YolieC09 said:

Just had my thyroid removed
Just had my thyroid removed on January 14th has I was diagnosed with papillary carcinoma. I am doing okay. Surgery went fine. I had to stay two days only because I am on blood thinners and they had to make sure I had no bleeders before I started back on my blood thinner medication. Did not have much pain afterwards. The only thing is the annoying throat hoarsness which could last for up to three months. They did not have to remove any lymphnodes so I am hoping they got all of the cancer. I know I was freaked out when I got the call from my doctor. They say this is a pretty easy cancer to cure. I don't care...I have Cancer that invaded my body. I go next week to see the surgeon. Get the pathology results and take a thyroid blood test. Because now I have to take thyroid replacement pills. Seem to being doing well on them...but I can become very emotional at a drop of a hat. All I can say is take a deep breath and take one day at a time.

@YolieC09
I'm glad your
@YolieC09
I'm glad your surgery went good, but how long did you recover? when do you think I will be able to go back to school and work?
I'm not sure how I'm going to get used to the pills because my body seems to not take pills well at all. This is such a hard time for me right now, I'm waiting for my surgery and on top of everything I'm waiting for my skin biopsy results... I'm not sure what I'm going to do if the results come back positive, how can I recover from thyroid cancer and skin cancer. I'm so scared and sad.
Thank you for your response.

Blair84

lynn2318 said:

Hi Blair84, I know what you
Hi Blair84,
I know what you are feeling. I was diagnosed April 2008. I had a my thyroid totally removed by a general surgeon who called me 3 days later to tell me I had papillary carcinoma of the thyroid with 2 positive lymph nodes. My best advise is to get on line and educate yourself. I think you are already doing that but just don't wait for your doctors to because they probably won't give you all the information you need. I wish I had been more pro-active in educating myself sooner. I know you are scared because they have told you that you have cancer. It doesn't matter what kind of cancer you have it is the most scarey words you can ever hear. The surgery is not that bad. I didn't have much pain and the scar is minimal. The waiting game is the worst. I will be thinking about you and praying for you and your treatment. If you have any questions I would be happy to help as much as I can. Stay positive, you will be okay eventually.

Hi lynn2318
Thank you for your response. How long after you've been diagnosed you had the surgery? because I got diagnosed last wednesday and I have apt with the surgeon on Feb 17 and I think this is so late, I want to get this over with. So hard for me right now.

YolieC09

Blair84 said:

@YolieC09
I'm glad your
@YolieC09
I'm glad your surgery went good, but how long did you recover? when do you think I will be able to go back to school and work?
I'm not sure how I'm going to get used to the pills because my body seems to not take pills well at all. This is such a hard time for me right now, I'm waiting for my surgery and on top of everything I'm waiting for my skin biopsy results... I'm not sure what I'm going to do if the results come back positive, how can I recover from thyroid cancer and skin cancer. I'm so scared and sad.
Thank you for your response.

Dear Blair84
I could have
Dear Blair84
I could have gone back to work about 10 days after surgery. The doctor told me I could start driving once I could move my head side to side. But I took about 2 1/2 weeks off of work because I had the sick time. I also work part time at WalMart and going back to work with them tomorrow. I know what you are saying about skin cancer..I also have a mole but I have not really brought it to the doctor's attention. Also scared because the way things are going...afraid of what he may say. Next time I see him...I will show him. Can't hide my head in the sand on this.

I will include you in my prayers tonight..Remember you are not alone in this.

lynn2318

Blair84 said:

Hi lynn2318
Thank you for your response. How long after you've been diagnosed you had the surgery? because I got diagnosed last wednesday and I have apt with the surgeon on Feb 17 and I think this is so late, I want to get this over with. So hard for me right now.

Hi Blair, I am more than
Hi Blair, I am more than happy to share my story. I will try to keep it short. It was a God thing mine was found. A ultrasound tech was testing a new piece of equipment on me. She was scanning my carotid arteries. She scanned my left carotid then across my neck to scan my right and she stopped because she found the nodule. I then saw my internist who ordered an official ultrasound which confirmed the nodule. He then ordered a I131 uptake and scan which showed it was a "cold" nodule which are usually cancer. I then went to a endocrinologist who did a fine needle aspiration biopsy and was told I was ok, however the biopsy report was inconclusive. She told me we could wait 6 months and try again to get a better specimen to biopsy. I was not happy with that so went to see a surgeon. He told me there was no reason to repeat the biopsy (which was extremely painful). He stated the result is the same, the thyroid had to be removed. I saw him on a Monday and had surgery on a Thurs. My surgeon said there was no immediate danger to wait but let's just get it done. My surgery was not bad, not much pain. He called me on Monday and told me I had papillary carcinoma with lymph node involvement. I then was scheduled to see a different endocrinologist who ordered radioactive iodine treatment which I had in late June. I had another treatment in January 2009. Since then I have had a PET scan, I131 uptake whole body scan, ultrasound of my neck and I'm scheduled for thyrogen scan in Feb. I feel good right now but hold my breath every time I go in for any tests. I know you are concerned about waiting to see the surgeon and I will lift you up in prayer for peace of mind. Be sure to make a list of questions for the surgeon and it is a good idea to take someone with you who can just listen or take notes because you will not hear everything. Trust me on that. I am a medical assistant and have worked in the medical field for 26 years and I heard very little after the word cancer came out of his mouth. I wish you the best and if I answer any more questions I would be happy to. Thanks for listening to my not so short story.

emma54

lynn2318 said:

Hi Blair, I am more than
Hi Blair, I am more than happy to share my story. I will try to keep it short. It was a God thing mine was found. A ultrasound tech was testing a new piece of equipment on me. She was scanning my carotid arteries. She scanned my left carotid then across my neck to scan my right and she stopped because she found the nodule. I then saw my internist who ordered an official ultrasound which confirmed the nodule. He then ordered a I131 uptake and scan which showed it was a "cold" nodule which are usually cancer. I then went to a endocrinologist who did a fine needle aspiration biopsy and was told I was ok, however the biopsy report was inconclusive. She told me we could wait 6 months and try again to get a better specimen to biopsy. I was not happy with that so went to see a surgeon. He told me there was no reason to repeat the biopsy (which was extremely painful). He stated the result is the same, the thyroid had to be removed. I saw him on a Monday and had surgery on a Thurs. My surgeon said there was no immediate danger to wait but let's just get it done. My surgery was not bad, not much pain. He called me on Monday and told me I had papillary carcinoma with lymph node involvement. I then was scheduled to see a different endocrinologist who ordered radioactive iodine treatment which I had in late June. I had another treatment in January 2009. Since then I have had a PET scan, I131 uptake whole body scan, ultrasound of my neck and I'm scheduled for thyrogen scan in Feb. I feel good right now but hold my breath every time I go in for any tests. I know you are concerned about waiting to see the surgeon and I will lift you up in prayer for peace of mind. Be sure to make a list of questions for the surgeon and it is a good idea to take someone with you who can just listen or take notes because you will not hear everything. Trust me on that. I am a medical assistant and have worked in the medical field for 26 years and I heard very little after the word cancer came out of his mouth. I wish you the best and if I answer any more questions I would be happy to. Thanks for listening to my not so short story.

My story
Hi

My story is exactly the same as Lynn's, except no lymph node cancer. But I, too, was having an ultrasound on my carotid artery through Life Line Screening just to see if I was OK as far as being a candidate for heart attack or stroke. It was just on a whim that I went that morning.

I know you are feeling sad and scared, but honestly you will be fine.

Blair84

emma54 said:

My story
Hi

My story is exactly the same as Lynn's, except no lymph node cancer. But I, too, was having an ultrasound on my carotid artery through Life Line Screening just to see if I was OK as far as being a candidate for heart attack or stroke. It was just on a whim that I went that morning.

I know you are feeling sad and scared, but honestly you will be fine.

Thank you
Thank you emma54, it's nice to hear kind words. I hope I will be ok

Blair84

lynn2318 said:

Hi Blair, I am more than
Hi Blair, I am more than happy to share my story. I will try to keep it short. It was a God thing mine was found. A ultrasound tech was testing a new piece of equipment on me. She was scanning my carotid arteries. She scanned my left carotid then across my neck to scan my right and she stopped because she found the nodule. I then saw my internist who ordered an official ultrasound which confirmed the nodule. He then ordered a I131 uptake and scan which showed it was a "cold" nodule which are usually cancer. I then went to a endocrinologist who did a fine needle aspiration biopsy and was told I was ok, however the biopsy report was inconclusive. She told me we could wait 6 months and try again to get a better specimen to biopsy. I was not happy with that so went to see a surgeon. He told me there was no reason to repeat the biopsy (which was extremely painful). He stated the result is the same, the thyroid had to be removed. I saw him on a Monday and had surgery on a Thurs. My surgeon said there was no immediate danger to wait but let's just get it done. My surgery was not bad, not much pain. He called me on Monday and told me I had papillary carcinoma with lymph node involvement. I then was scheduled to see a different endocrinologist who ordered radioactive iodine treatment which I had in late June. I had another treatment in January 2009. Since then I have had a PET scan, I131 uptake whole body scan, ultrasound of my neck and I'm scheduled for thyrogen scan in Feb. I feel good right now but hold my breath every time I go in for any tests. I know you are concerned about waiting to see the surgeon and I will lift you up in prayer for peace of mind. Be sure to make a list of questions for the surgeon and it is a good idea to take someone with you who can just listen or take notes because you will not hear everything. Trust me on that. I am a medical assistant and have worked in the medical field for 26 years and I heard very little after the word cancer came out of his mouth. I wish you the best and if I answer any more questions I would be happy to. Thanks for listening to my not so short story.

Hi lynn2318
Hi, how is the radioactive iodine treatment??? What are the side effects? The doctor told me I will have to take pills for the rest of my life.. how is that? Side effects??

emma54

Blair84 said:

Hi lynn2318
Hi, how is the radioactive iodine treatment??? What are the side effects? The doctor told me I will have to take pills for the rest of my life.. how is that? Side effects??

Side effects
There are no side effects from the pills you will take the rest of your life because the pills replace the thyroid hormones which your thyroid produces for you now. They may take a bit of tweeking though. By that I mean your doctor may need to adjust the dosage so that your levels are correct.

As for the radioactive treatment, you may feel very tired prior to the actual treatment which is merely a pill you take. When you are in isolation, you may feel tired and your salivary glands may hurt a little. Suck on hard candies to avoid long term damage to your salivary glands. I just felt a little "yucky", but got through it fine.

If you read some more of the entries on this site, some are really helpful.

Hope you are feeling better about all this.

usljh10

Blair84 said:

Thank you lisa
Yes, this is
Thank you lisa
Yes, this is so new to me that I can't wrap my mind around this. I did not know who I can talk to, I have great mom, friends and awesome boyfriend but they all say you will be ok.. I'm tired of hearing that especially when they have no idea what I'm going thru. So is nice to speak to people who understand me. I do have a great doctor and I'm glad for that but still... I'm lost. I just started new semester in school but already I can't focus at all, I'm not sure if is even worth it to stay in school right now. Thank you for your kind words.

There is another site
There is another site thyca.org it was very helpful to me. You can get some answers there. It also has a Low Iodine cookbook. It will give you steps to take before you take you RAI pill. It's pretty scary when you take this pill that is ratio active. Read all you can about it. The better informed you are the better you will feel.
I didn't have any problems other than a sort throat and some swelling after I took the rai pill. Good luck!
Lisa

Blair84

usljh10 said:

There is another site
There is another site thyca.org it was very helpful to me. You can get some answers there. It also has a Low Iodine cookbook. It will give you steps to take before you take you RAI pill. It's pretty scary when you take this pill that is ratio active. Read all you can about it. The better informed you are the better you will feel.
I didn't have any problems other than a sort throat and some swelling after I took the rai pill. Good luck!
Lisa

Thank you
Thank you Lisa

Blair84

emma54 said:

Side effects
There are no side effects from the pills you will take the rest of your life because the pills replace the thyroid hormones which your thyroid produces for you now. They may take a bit of tweeking though. By that I mean your doctor may need to adjust the dosage so that your levels are correct.

As for the radioactive treatment, you may feel very tired prior to the actual treatment which is merely a pill you take. When you are in isolation, you may feel tired and your salivary glands may hurt a little. Suck on hard candies to avoid long term damage to your salivary glands. I just felt a little "yucky", but got through it fine.

If you read some more of the entries on this site, some are really helpful.

Hope you are feeling better about all this.

Thank you
Thank you Emma54

lynn2318

Blair84 said:

Hi lynn2318
Hi, how is the radioactive iodine treatment??? What are the side effects? The doctor told me I will have to take pills for the rest of my life.. how is that? Side effects??

Hi Blair,
The iodine
Hi Blair,
The iodine treatments aren't so bad it is going off the thyroid medicine so you can take the treatment that sucks! You have to be hypothyroid (very low levels of thyroid) for the iodine treatment to be successful. You will be very tired, more tired than you have ever been. The actual treatment is just swallowing a pill. Then you are isolated for 4-5 days. I thought I could read, clean my closet etc. I didn't feel like doing anything except watch movies and sleep. As suggested by another blogger you need to suck on sour candy. The iodine can settle in your salivary glands and that makes them feel tight and spasm. Just have sour things on hand and you will be fine. After your treatment you will have to take thyroid medicine but that is nothing. You will do great. When are you scheduled?

Blair84

lynn2318 said:

Hi Blair,
The iodine
Hi Blair,
The iodine treatments aren't so bad it is going off the thyroid medicine so you can take the treatment that sucks! You have to be hypothyroid (very low levels of thyroid) for the iodine treatment to be successful. You will be very tired, more tired than you have ever been. The actual treatment is just swallowing a pill. Then you are isolated for 4-5 days. I thought I could read, clean my closet etc. I didn't feel like doing anything except watch movies and sleep. As suggested by another blogger you need to suck on sour candy. The iodine can settle in your salivary glands and that makes them feel tight and spasm. Just have sour things on hand and you will be fine. After your treatment you will have to take thyroid medicine but that is nothing. You will do great. When are you scheduled?

Thank you
Im going to see my surgeon on Feb 17, so I'm not sure yet when I will have my surgery. Where were you isolated? because I live in a small apartment with my boyfriend with only one bathroom so I guess I won't be able to stay in my house. I just want to be done with all this..

Perstephanie

crying
I haven't been to a single appointment since my diagnosis without crying. I'm 28, terrified, do not want the surgery, understand that I need it, but I'm on Synthroid now and I'm not doing well on it, so I know there are sort of kind of other medication options if you are really determined, but the idea of feeling as lousy as I do WITH a thyroid on Synthroid for the rest of my life has me completely hopeless... without a thyroid? No clue what's going to happen. A lot of people think Synthroid is great and do really well on it; I'm just freaked because I already know I'm not one of those people.

BellsAngel69

Perstephanie said:

crying
I haven't been to a single appointment since my diagnosis without crying. I'm 28, terrified, do not want the surgery, understand that I need it, but I'm on Synthroid now and I'm not doing well on it, so I know there are sort of kind of other medication options if you are really determined, but the idea of feeling as lousy as I do WITH a thyroid on Synthroid for the rest of my life has me completely hopeless... without a thyroid? No clue what's going to happen. A lot of people think Synthroid is great and do really well on it; I'm just freaked because I already know I'm not one of those people.

Perstephanie
If you are on synthroid already, it's probably because you were diagnosed with hypothryroidism? Just my best guess. Now you've been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After your thyroid is removed, your body will have a fresh start by taking the synthroid. I am positive it will work better for you because you won't have your diseased thyroid counteracting the effect of the synthroid. Like others have said, it will take some tweaking to get the right dosage. I gained weight, was tired, moody. My endocinologist keep telling me my levels were fine, but I listened to my body and was adamant my level wasn't right. After about six months and adjusting it three times, I finally started to feel like my old healthy self. Hang in there. I know it's scary, but you'll get through it. Stay positive and be strong!! This is a great community here. We're here for you, whatever you need!

Blair84

Perstephanie said:

crying
I haven't been to a single appointment since my diagnosis without crying. I'm 28, terrified, do not want the surgery, understand that I need it, but I'm on Synthroid now and I'm not doing well on it, so I know there are sort of kind of other medication options if you are really determined, but the idea of feeling as lousy as I do WITH a thyroid on Synthroid for the rest of my life has me completely hopeless... without a thyroid? No clue what's going to happen. A lot of people think Synthroid is great and do really well on it; I'm just freaked because I already know I'm not one of those people.

Hi Perstephanie
I understand how you feel, to be honest I can't cry anymore. I've cried so much... I'm scared too I don't know how my life is going to look like without having my thyroid. I also don't do well when it comes to medications...All you can do is pray and think positive. It can only be worst..you will get through this