Posted on 01/16/2006 1:53:42 PM PST by meowmeow
I found out today I have to have my thyroid removed (cancer - but treatable). I'm kind of freaked out as I have always been an active, athletic and thin woman. The doctor assured me I could still be active without a thyroid. But I could use some additional assurance - as in, can I run a marathon? Am I going to wake up and weigh 300 lbs? Seriously, I'm too young to become a couch potato.
Any Freepers with some experience here? I'm always amazed at what I can learn on this site.
Thanks!
Meowmeow
I was joking - I lived in Germany at the time. I just remember the villagers being really freaked out when we got the news. There were all kinds of wild speculation at the local gasthaus that night.
oh - hi! Didn't know you were here.
Thyroid cancer is generally treated with removal of the thyroid (at least partial, and usually complete) plus radioactive iodine.
My uncle had his cancerous thyroid removed in his late 20's (he's 60 now). I don't know about running marathons, but I know that he has always been very active and is a long-distance road biker.
Interestingly, his thyroid cancer was only found at the time because his mother watched an episode of "Marcus Welby, M.D." that concerned thyroid cancer in people who had been treated with ionizing radiation as children. As my uncle had received such a treatment, she insisted that he visit the doctor to have his thyroid checked. It's a good thing that he did, because he did indeed have a thyroid cancer.
That would be a possible concern; didn't the Chernobyl "cloud" pass over Europe?
Here in PA, there was an increase in birth defects (and cancers) in the Harrisburg area following the 1979 3 Mile Island near-meltdown.
Ironically, my OBGYN was the first to notice that my thyroid could actually be seen (I had no idea but wondered why I couldn't seem to wear turtle necks any more). Divine intervention truly comes in mysterious ways!
How did you make out with your thyroid issue?
I have been living with a nodule - hasn't changed at all-- for about a year. My doctor wants to do surgery and check it out. Biopsies have shown nothing.
How detailed was your biopsy? If it was one poke with a needle and a same day read out, you might want to find a better pathologist - just to be safe. Have you had a sonogram? I'm surprised your doctor wants to do surgery to check it out. It was the sonogram that tipped off my doctor that something more serious was going on, plus she was annoyed at the first pathologist because she didn't think he did a thorough job so she sent me to someone who turned me into a human pin cushion and it took a week for the results - which was cancer in the nodule.
Please let me know what happens and feel free to Freepmail me if you have any questions. And if you do have to have surgery (and I hope you don't need it), please Freepmail me because while my surgery went well, my hospital stay was a freaking nightmare so I can give you some warnings on what to expect after that kind of surgery so you and your family can plan ahead! Stay vigilant!
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