Mediastinal lymph node metastases

mesteve

Quick summary: total thyroidectomy, 3 neck dissections, RAI negative. Lung metastases since 2002 that grow slowly and don't respond to radioactive iodine.  Thyroglobulin 350.  Until now the plan was always "watch and wait". I haven't tried any experimental treatments yet.  I recently found out that I have 10 - 15 mediastinal lymph nodes (behind the breast bone) that light up on a Petscan.  My thyroglobulin has not jumped recently... just sluggishly increasing, as always.  Therefore, my doctor thinks that maybe it is a new cancer, like lymphoma, or the papillary thyroid cancer has become undifferentiated, hence the lack of Thyroglobulin response.  She says that it is very strange to just have lungs mets that spread to the mediastinal lymph nodes 16 years later... another reason why she thinks it might be lymphoma.  Has anyone had this happen?  I'm a bit bewildered at the thought of fighting a second cancer.

nwerle

hope

hope you do well