...and am doing fine. No links, but try cancer.org. Supposedly, it's the best kind of cancer to get.. .



I don't know what type it is yet, the reading I've done on the internet has been all over the place -- on one site, in one sentence alone,

There are several types...I think papillary is the most common and most treatable.


they said that treatment can be anything from doing nothing at all to them or the thyroid to removing the entire thyroid, or one lobe (although I have many and they are all large >1.5 cm)

Sounds like you have already been biopsied, if you know it's cancerous AND probably had an ultrasound, if you know there are multiple nodules and their size. That is important for diagnosis and to determine the next steps of treatment. Like with most types of cancer, the next step is usually surgery followed by radiation. I had both...My whole thyroid was removed (saw nodules in both lobes during surgery) and then I had radioactive iodine(RAI) treatment. That involves an overnight stay in the hospital and drinking the solution. After that, I was done...and that was 15 years ago.

(regarding the 'nodules' -- what exactly ARE those? Lesions? Polyps? Plaques? Scar tissue? Other?)

Nodules are hard, tumor-like growths.


and then they mention both radiation and chemo but don't say that it must be done in conjunction with surgical removal.

If the nodule(s) are contained inside the lobes of the thyroid, that is a good sign. The surgery will probably remove it all. They usually then give the RAI treatment sort of as insurance. If any thyroid cancer cells remain, the iodine targets them and the radiation kills them.

The waiting is really scary. My imagination went wild...and that was before there were such internet resources. Try to stay busy, if you can. Usually thyroid cancer turns out okay. I know four people my age who have been through this, and we are all fine. You will be, too. I am happy to listen if you need to 'talk.'

Yep, I am scared -- I know that, for a cancer, it's a 'mild' one; but there are no guarantee's on anything; plus there are four different types, each getting progressively worse.

Hate to say it, but I've always had bad luck.

I've had the ultrasound & been biopsied; I'm now going to have to wait for the pathology results as to which kind it is (or isn't! can't hurt to be positive!)
-- but that waiting is going to be the hardest part.

Of course, they wouldn't tell me it looked cancerous at all, but you could read it in their faces and body language. Years ago, I had a deep lesion in my femur, had a bone scan and surgery, and through the whole process there was the calm assumption that it wasn't cancer. As my Doc told me 'I've seen my Aunt Tilly from behind so many times that I can recognize her'. Well, this time it seemed pretty obvious they saw Auntie chilly :>


How did the radiation effect you?

Thanks so much again -- I really appreciate some knowledgeable information on this... better than reading everything from A to Z,
& each saying something different, on the interwebs

...experience. My doctors all said it would be 'a breeze'...and it really was...but my sister-in-law (also a thyroid cancer survivor) told me to expect nausea. SHE was right.

I checked in for treatment, and was put in an isolation hospital room...everything was padded and covered to contain the radiation. I felt nothing after drinking the solution, but had to stay isolated to prevent exposure to others. I was already getting a headache that morning from being off schedule, and it worsened during the time I was in isolation...to the point of nausea by the next day and they didn't give me any medication for it. By the time the doctors came in to test radiation levels and send me home, I was feeling pretty lousy. I drove myself home (not a good idea) because I didn't want anyone in the car with me (in case ). I took Advil and slept for several hours and then I was much better.


It really wasn't that bad. Just the idea that it's 'cancer' was the worst. I was really scared and there was no hospital support system at all. I imagined so many things...that was the worst. The fear was much more difficult than any of the treatments...including the surgery. I did have the support of some wonderful friends and my family, and that helped a lot.