Suspected Thyroid Cancer - Hypoechoic Nodule [Confirmed now to be FTC]

Hi MAAS,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you are under investigations and in the dreaded waiting period, which is awful. It’s hard not to google at this stage I know I certainly did but there’s a lot of outdated and incorrect information out there, so just try to stick to trusted sources. Your lesion that they’ve found is really small as you say, so that bodes really well for future treatment if you need it. Also if it is PTC or FTC it generally responds well to treatments.

They may suggest a hemi-thyroidectomy first as a lot of members have had. If you do need a full thyroidectomy later though, rest assured that most people recover really well after their surgery and do just fine on the replacement synthetic Levothyroxine, despite what you may read. Don’t forget you won’t get many people hanging around on forums if they feel really well, so opinions may be skewed. That’s great you’ve been referred promptly onto a specialist ENT surgeon, you’ll be in good hands.

Thyroid panels aren’t really a reliable indicator as they quite often come back with in-range values, especially when the lesion is small. My thyroid panels came back in range and I’d had MTC for over 10 years and been misdiagnosed! I can’t help you with the thyroglobulin as they use a different cancer marker for MTC but I’m sure others will be on soon who you can ask.

Any other questions just ask and try to keep busy and distract yourself as best you can.

I wish the best for you.

Hi k9crazy,

Thank you very much for your words.

I read that indeed the Thyroid panels don't show everything, and in my case it was really a chance to catching this in the ultrasound.

I did an MRI in 2020 to the neck and didn't detected anything, but I've read that the MRI is not good to detect thyroid nodules, so it can miss them, specially small ones. So god knows since when this nodule has been there.

I did the FNA today after the doctor spend a considerable time evaluating and seeing the nodule properly in the Ultrasound. Fortunately it seems that in one month basically the size is still the same and nothing changed since the begining of March.

He decided that due to the characteristics of the nodule after inspecting it closely, that it warranted the need of the FNA. But he said for me not to worry about it, that this nodules even if they are cancer they take years to do anything and that mine is really tiny (this was reassuring to hear). I asked him for how long I could have had this nodule for, and he said it could have been for years and that this nodules sometimes they grow and stop and stay the same for long periods of time and that people don't notice them, because they grow really, really slowly.

Now I really just need to wait for the results and see the Thyroid Specialist on the 12th of April. Hopefully they decide to remove it, and that's it. Fingers cross

Hi

So my worst nightmares got confirmed, after having the right lobe removed, I had confirmed after cythology an FTC of 5mm inside the nodule of 8mm.

My Dr said that in 35 years that he has been dealing with thyroid dealing thousands of cases that he never saw such a smaller FTC tumor.

I asked him if it was encapsulated, vascular invasion, etc. and he told nothing has been found and that there was clearly visible the limits of the cancer and all the rest of the thyroid tissue that was removed was good.

It seems there's no need for full Thyroidectomy but he then told me that because it's FTC and to cover everything and going by the books, he would ask for me to do a CT Scan to the lungs done and blood tests to seem him. Then to see him with the results. 

After this being everything ok I would see him again after 6 months then after 1 years and then after another year and being all good I would be discharged. 

Also, is it normal to have a lung CT Scan done? He told me as well that in his 35 years he never saw mestathsys of such smaller FTC, but the literature says it can happen, so he was going by the books to cover everything, but I don't stop overthinking this even despite the reassurances. Everyone tells me it's all good, but this is cancer we are talking about...

Thank you

Marco

Hi Marco, so sorry to hear FTC was confirmed. I think the take-away from all that though is that it was a small tumour and that the surrounding thyroid tissue that they took was all good, and that you don’t need a full thyroidectomy. It's easy to feel swamped with details in these appointments and lose sight of the relevant bits.

I don’t know whether it’s routine to do a lung CT for FTC, hopefully others will pop on and advise but certainly for my variant MTC they tend to do full body CT, so they know what they’re dealing with before they do the surgery. Your consultant sounds like he’s being really thorough, which is some reassurance for you.

Follow up tends to vary from area to area it seems but I think what you’ve been told is pretty standard. Make sure you have contact details for your CNS so if you have any worries in-between appointments you can get in touch with them and they will advise.

I was the same as you, despite reassurances and overly optimistic platitudes (which I often felt were dismissive of my feelings) no-one can quell the emotions you have to deal with when you are told you have cancer. What I can tell you though, is that these emotions do get easier to control as time goes by. I’ve learnt the only people who truly get it are those who have cancer themselves and that’s why this forum is so invaluable. I also went to a local Maggie's cancer centre, you can just drop in and the staff there are brilliant at just listening and advising. I found it so helpful to pour out my feelings to someone unconnected, not family.

Anyway, hope this helps. All the best for your CT scan Marco, let us know how you get on x

Thank you for your reply K9

I was indeed lucky on the consultant I got. The consultant even wrote a book regarding the Thyroid that is used by medical students. He is really, really good and nice, I was really fortunate.

I tried to go via the NHS but unfortunately I was unable to, I couldn't even book an appointment even after doing queue and calling. 

I had to revert to my private insurance that fortunately covered everything, thats why in a week and half I got the results back and the same for the surgery that was in an instant.

Now for the follow up and everything else that is required it will all be via the private

It's a shame the NHS GPs are in the state that they are, and I feel really fortunate to have private insurance.

I read your bio K9 and what happened is really criminal. It's atrocious how they can dismiss symptoms from a patient attending for years... It's criminal.

I wish all the best K9, loads of strength!

When I do the CT  and get the results ill update but I have confidence everything will come up well

Thank you