Looking for friends who have had Thyroid Cancer or issues with Thyroid.

JDavid007
JDavid007 Posts: 331 Member
edited November 17 in Introduce Yourself
Hi, My name is Dave and I have been here with MFP for over 3 years with great success and sometimes not so great.

Last week my DR found a lump in my throat and I had an ultrasound. They found a 3.8cm nodule on my right thyroid and recommended I get a biopsy. I had my biopsy yesterday and I am now awaiting the results. She said that half of my nodule was cystic and half was mass. Not sure if that good or bad. I was scared at first but after seeing the dr. I feel better about my chances either way. I still may lose my thyroid even if it’s not cancer due to the size. I would love to add any friends who have been through thyroid cancer or been through scary thyroid issues themselves. I also welcome anyone no matter if you have had thyroid issues or not.

I am in good spirts but would love to talk with people who have been in this situation before.

Replies

  • JDavid007
    JDavid007 Posts: 331 Member
    I have been trying to join the one of the Thyroid Groups here but the site does not let me search for groups....lol only can browse which as you may know there are thousands of support groups....lol
  • Kaitlyn884
    Kaitlyn884 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi there, I had my thyroid taken out when I was 18 years old. It was VERY large.
  • kmseger64
    kmseger64 Posts: 2 Member
    I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2013 and had my whole thyroid removed and did radioactive iodine treatment. I was considered high risk due to my age- I was 49 when diagnosed. 2 years later all is good and I do annual scans to make sure. Cancer is a scary word but luckily most types of thyroid cancer are very treatable. If you are looking for a group to join there is a thyroid cancer survivors group on Facebook - very knowledgeable people there! Since my diagnosis I really don't feel any different than before - better or worse. Surgery was much easier than anticipated and I was back to work in a week. Stay positive and best of luck to you!
  • kmseger64
    kmseger64 Posts: 2 Member
    If you do find the group on this site, please let me know so I can join!
  • JDavid007
    JDavid007 Posts: 331 Member
    Thank you for your thoughts. It helps alot!
  • mdubbs1
    mdubbs1 Posts: 6,665 Member
    I have thyroid cysts. I see an endocrinologist at least once a year; sometimes more often if one of the cysts changes size. Thyroid cancer is very slow growing so I don't stress over it much. I just keep up with the appointments.

    Early on I was on synthroid for years. Great stuff! No weight issues at all. But I finally realized it wasn't really doing anything for the cysts and asked the doc whether we should stop and she said yes.
  • tugmd
    tugmd Posts: 12 Member
    edited May 2015
    Thyroid cancer (metastatic, papillary) survivor here (Jan 2011). Done a total thyroidectomy, RAI treatment and so far no evidence of disease...but it's always in the back of my mind. It's been a struggle to lose weight...but I seem to be on to something with low carb, high protein...it's working!!! I'm a newbie to Myfitnesspal and am finding it extremely helpful to keep the diary...Here's to success...feel free to add me as a friend!
  • JDavid007
    JDavid007 Posts: 331 Member
    Thank you again for your stories!
  • lngbrd
    lngbrd Posts: 279 Member
    My wife had thyroid cancer in 2008 at age 40, she had her thyroid removed and went through radioactive iodine treatment. She gets checked every year and has been good to go. She takes a once daily medication and will for life. Good luck to you, i'm sure it will all go fine for you!
  • charlotte134
    charlotte134 Posts: 2 Member
    I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer circa 2010, and was successfully treated with surgery (thyroidectomy) and with radioactive iodine therapy. Mine was very aggressive and had even spread into some of my nodes, but I'm cancer free now, due to an amazing medical team of endocrinologists, surgeons and radiologists. It is somewhat of a challenge to keep the weight off afterwards, but it is possible. My Fitness Pal is an enormous help. I agree that the whole experience is scary, but the good news is that thyroid cancer is treatable. There is a wonderful organization called THYCA that offers a cookbook that was extremely helpful when I was on the low iodine diet for the radioactive iodine therapy. They offer other support as well. I recommend checking them out.
  • efriedl33
    efriedl33 Posts: 1 Member
    2007 complete thyroidectomy due to cancer. Mine was papillary as well. Very hard losing weight. I'm at my heaviest weight and stopped trying to yoyo lose. This time around I'm working on keeping my metabolism healthy, cut sugars out and eating better foods nothing out of a box. My goal is 2 lbs a week. I'm into my 3rd week and I'm at 7 lbs lost. Omitting sugars is working for me. I would recommend clean eating as I've tried different weight loss diets.
  • LittleMissMissy6
    LittleMissMissy6 Posts: 36 Member
    I don't have any experience but wanted to wish you all the best. I hope the outcome is in your favour!!
  • LadyLots2Lose
    LadyLots2Lose Posts: 110 Member
    I have congenital hypothyroidism (diagnosed at 9 months) so I've been on thyroid meds (I assume synthetic) most of my life. I'm not sure if that's technically classed as issues though. I joined the Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism group on MFP a while ago.
    Here's the link if you're interested:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/753-hypothyroidism-and-hyperthyroidism
  • carmelamadeleine
    carmelamadeleine Posts: 31 Member
    Hi! I discovered a small lump on the right side of my neck in early 2000 but didn't do anything about it because i was asymptomatic, a student and no job or money for surgery. Went to Saudi later for work and got seen by a doc there. Dx was multinodular goiter. so i wasn't too worried. Levels were all normal.Then decided to have the right neck nodule out 2 months before my flight to come here to the US.a week after surgery, bx came out. it was Thyroid Carcinoma. Didn't tell me what type.
    Came to the US, went to see an awesome endocrinologist and did some more biopsy. Gave him the biopsy plates of my right neck. Found out it has invaded lymph nodes around surrounding tissues and left thyroid. Did a Completion thyroidectomy with radical neck dissection. got the rest of my left thyroid, surrounding lymphnodes and some nerves around below my shoulderblade. Did the RAI. Whole body Scan. These all happened in 2009- 2010.
    We are just monitoring one abnormal looking lymph node which is located near the middle of the clavicular area. Got the Papillary CA (most common). Medullary is another kind of Thyroid CA and faster in metastasis.

    I learned from the whole situation was the stay focused on getting well. Take one day at a time. Don't look at the whole process of treatment, just one at a time or step by step because you will get there. Otherwise, you'll feel overwhelmed. Now on levothyroxine for maintenance and keeping TSH low.

    All the best!
  • Becca281552
    Becca281552 Posts: 45 Member
    edited May 2015
    I have hypothyroidism and so far have been able to manage it with medication. I'm so sorry for all that you've gone through/are going through ~ keep up your good spirits & I'm glad that you're reaching out for support!! :)
  • kelli102972
    kelli102972 Posts: 2 Member
    I understand. I had a partial thyroidectomy a few years ago. The mass was benign but causing my thyroid to be Hyper (believe it or not), but I was still fat. After surgery, I went into to Hypo and started taking Levothroxine. Most masses are not cancerous. Even if it is, thyroid cancer is the easiest to treat and has a very, very low death rate (extremely rare). A lot of people can take a radioactive pill that only targets the thyroid. It ablates it and you're done. The downside is you have to spend a couple of weeks alone. Others around you can get radiation exposure. I elected to do surgery instead. I didn't want to be away from my kids that long. After surgery my neck hurt the first few days. Try not to sneeze, that pain was the worst for some reason. lol. You will be OK. It was really nice to have the lump gone. Also thyroid issues cause moodiness and stomach issues. That all went away. You will be OK. It's good you're taking care of it now. Add me if you need to talk. Good luck!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    MFP has a Hypothyroidism & Hyperthyroidism group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/753-hypothyroidism-and-hyperthyroidism

    I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease), rather than cancer.
  • sampanzee75
    sampanzee75 Posts: 86 Member
    I have hypothyroidism. I've been on medicine to keep my TSH levels under control. Weight gain has been an issue in the past and still something I focus on. Feel free to add me!

    Sending positive vibes your way. Keep up your positive spirit ☺️
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