Hello DeeDee46, 

I just wanted to wish you the best of luck for your appointment tomorrow. I can imagine you are feeling rather anxious tonight and I hope that by this time tomorrow you will have had your results and you will know better what you are dealing with. 

It must have indeed been puzzling to receive this phone call when you haven't yet been given your results and it's totally understandable that your mind went into overdrive. It must have been a bit of a shock but you are right that it is probably best to wait until you know exactly what you are dealing with before telling your girls. 

The last couple of weeks waiting for results must have been so stressful for you and I hope that tomorrow you do get some definite answers. Keep us updated on what you find out if you get a chance. 

I hope that your surgery goes well and if you ever needed to talk at any time, we are always here for you. Hopefully others who have been in a similar place before will be along shortly to share their experience with you. 

We're thinking of you ahead of tomorrow and hope that your appointment goes well. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Thank you.

It was confirmed at appointment what I had already thought and prepared myself for.... it is papillary thyroid cancer.

Consultant stated that it had been there for some time and was a size but that he isnt worried. They will take thyroid gland and poss lymph nodes and go from there.

Already had pre op assessment whilst there, CT scan tomorrow then bloods again Mon. Then D-Day is Thurs so all in all from start to finish it has been a total of 8 weeks from GP app to op.

I am grateful that we have an NHS and that my doctor listened and didnt blame it on "woman of certain age" issue.

Onwards and upwards x

We're so sorry to hear cancer was confirmed DeeDee but it's good to hear things are moving quickly now.

You can find out more about papillary thyroid cancer on our website but if you'd like to discuss any of this with our cancer nurses, they're just a phone call away on 0808 800 4040, Monday - Friday between 9a.m - 5p.m.

Do keep us updated when you can DeeDee. We're thinking of you and wishing you all the best on this journey.

Kind regards,

Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi DeeDee, I just wanted to wish you well for your surgery next week, I was 5 weeks from start to finish with my situation and am now day 6 post surgery for lower eyelid carcinoma. Ironically still waiting on the CT results but at least the main thing has gone. I suspect you will be under endocrinology for thyroid. so all the best and ples keep us posted

best wishes 

HM

Thank you and will do.

Work have been great told me to work from home as of Monday (surgery Thurs) to keep exposure to Covid to a minimum (work in education and students back next week).

So will have to keep busy to stop the grey matter going into overdrive

Hi Deedee 

Hope you're keeping well and feeling ok about your surgery this week. Your story sounds very rushed, I can only imagine your head must of been spinning. But I'm glad you have answers now. It's a scary experience especially when you have kids to think about. I myself have two young children. I had a thyroid biopsy done 2 weeks ago and still waiting on results. I was told yesterday I could be waiting up to 8 weeks with staffing shortages. Any advice on how you managed any anxiety whilst waiting?

All the best

Rachel

Just to chime in, two things that might reassure you. The first is that thyroid nodules are extremely common and the vast majority are benign. The odds are against your having cancer.

The second is that even if it is cancer, it's not what one thinks of when one hears cancer. Like, in most cases, the survival rate is so high that it even sounds silly to call it a survival rate. I read a lot of studies when I was diagnosed and I think two said versions of "we also wanted to compare survival rates but couldn't find enough people who died of it to do so, so we just had to leave that out." So it's not likely to affect your time with your kids or anything.

And they rarely use chemotherapy or radiotherapy. If it is cancer, they'll remove your thyroid and that's more or less it. You might be away from your kids for up to a week while you are in hospital and if you need radioiodine treatment, you may have to be away from them for another 2 or 3 weeks because young children shouldn't be around the radioactivity, but that's it. That's as much effect as it would be likely to have on your interactions with them.

Sorry to hear that you too are going through this journey.

It all happened during summer hols so plenty of time off to over think. If it had happened in a school term at least work would have kept me occupied and sane.

My small group of friends who I had told arranged coffee dates for catch ups. They took me out. I did plenty of walking. Binge watched Netflix. And also ran around after my girls. I kept telling myself not to worry about something which is out of my control (easier said than done eh) and if I found myself going down that deep dark hole of over thinking I would try to shift my focus.

I shall be in hospital 2 days. Surgeon is taking some lymph nodes too. At CT scan today they checked throat, chest snd pelvis (lymph nodes) I can't say he hasnt been thorough. My arm feels like a pin cushion!

Sending positivity to you. Take care and keep smiling

Hi Margaret

As much as I appreciate that you have been through this journey yourself, everyone's journey is different. I do understand all of what you are saying, I have a big family history of thyroid cancer and know all too well what would be ahead of me with my results. I was just looking for advice on how to help with the anxiety of waiting for results. Thanks anyway for your reply. Rachel 

Hi DeeDee

Thanks for replying. I'm glad to hear the surgeon is doing everything thorough. It's good to know I don't feel like I'm overreacting waiting on these results. All great advice to keep me distracted. Every day feels like a week at the moment. Wishing you all the best for your surgery and pray you have a speedy recovery. 
Rachel