Stage 1 Papillary Thyroid Cancer
May 12, 2017As many of you know, I recently underwent a surgery to remove what we thought was a branchial cleft cyst this past week. Relatively simple surgery, healing has been easy as well. It's also been cool to walk around with this big wound on my neck - people stare, and I like to think it's because they think something cool or intense happened to me.
But nothing cool or intense happened, in fact, what we had removed unfortunately was not a branchial cleft cyst like we had thought. When you have a cyst removed, it's standard to send it to pathology just to make sure it's not cancerous. Sadly, I got the call from my doctor yesterday, and I'm one of the cases who had a cyst (or whatever it was) come back cancerous in the results. According to the doctor, I have Stage 1 Papillary Thyroid Cancer -- what the heck, right? Fortunately, prognosis for this type of cancer is good. I've been asked a bunch of questions by family/friends, so I figured I'd answer them all in one place! It's not because I don't want to talk to everyone individually or don't care, this is all just a bit overwhelming right now and answering questions here might be easier.
HOW AM I FEELING?
I feel good/okay! I can't complain, there are much worse types of cancer and ailments out there, but it still sucks haha.
WHAT CAUSES THYROID CANCER?
No one really knows! There are cases where exposure to radiation as a child has led to an increased incidence in thyroid cancer (e.g.: children who were near the chernobyl disaster in 1996). There are some risk factors:
SYMPTOMS OF THYROID CANCER
Usually the first sign to a person that something could be wrong is when a lump or swelling appears in the neck. The irony is that when the lump appeared in my neck the end of January, my first thought was that something was going on with my thyroid. Part of that was because I had fallen down the google rabbit hole of self-diagnosis. With where the location of the lump was, it seemed out of character for a lymph node, but I got over my fear -- clearly I was just being paranoid (so I thought). I went into Instacare a couple days after I noticed the lump to be told "It's just a swollen lymph node." Well, the "lymph node" didn't go down ever (6 or so weeks passed), so eventually I was referred to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doc. This lump was my ONLY symptom, which is why the doctor thought it was likely something else. Other symptoms include:
TREATMENT
To treat this type of cancer, I will have to have my thyroid gland removed and a portion of my neck lymph nodes. Fortunately, I won't have to be going through any traditional radiation or chemotherapy (that we know of yet). There's a possibility we may also do a treatment called Radioactive Iodine Therapy. For this therapy, I'd take a pill and it would destroy any remaining thyroid tissue throughout the body. This is to help prevent the cancer from returning. There are pros and cons to this treatment. Depending on the type of radioactive iodine used, it technically could be considered a form of radiation and I'd have to be in isolation for some time to prevent others from being exposed. There are also some unkind side effects, so I'm unsure if this is something I'd want to do at this point if it's even an option.
SURVIVAL RATES
Fortunately the survival and cure rates of State I Papillary Thyroid Cancer are very high - between 98-100%.
LONG TERM EFFECTS // FOLLOW-UP CARE
As a result of no longer having a thyroid, I will have to take thyroid medication for the rest of my life. I also will have occasional follow-up care to make sure cancer isn't returning which includes different blood tests and scans.
If you're interested in learning more, you can visit here: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/thyroid-cancer.html
But nothing cool or intense happened, in fact, what we had removed unfortunately was not a branchial cleft cyst like we had thought. When you have a cyst removed, it's standard to send it to pathology just to make sure it's not cancerous. Sadly, I got the call from my doctor yesterday, and I'm one of the cases who had a cyst (or whatever it was) come back cancerous in the results. According to the doctor, I have Stage 1 Papillary Thyroid Cancer -- what the heck, right? Fortunately, prognosis for this type of cancer is good. I've been asked a bunch of questions by family/friends, so I figured I'd answer them all in one place! It's not because I don't want to talk to everyone individually or don't care, this is all just a bit overwhelming right now and answering questions here might be easier.
HOW AM I FEELING?
I feel good/okay! I can't complain, there are much worse types of cancer and ailments out there, but it still sucks haha.
WHAT CAUSES THYROID CANCER?
No one really knows! There are cases where exposure to radiation as a child has led to an increased incidence in thyroid cancer (e.g.: children who were near the chernobyl disaster in 1996). There are some risk factors:
- Being a woman (check)
- A diet low in iodine (doesn't apply in the US, since we have iodized salt)
- Hereditary reasons (no one in my family has any known thyroid issues)
SYMPTOMS OF THYROID CANCER
Usually the first sign to a person that something could be wrong is when a lump or swelling appears in the neck. The irony is that when the lump appeared in my neck the end of January, my first thought was that something was going on with my thyroid. Part of that was because I had fallen down the google rabbit hole of self-diagnosis. With where the location of the lump was, it seemed out of character for a lymph node, but I got over my fear -- clearly I was just being paranoid (so I thought). I went into Instacare a couple days after I noticed the lump to be told "It's just a swollen lymph node." Well, the "lymph node" didn't go down ever (6 or so weeks passed), so eventually I was referred to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doc. This lump was my ONLY symptom, which is why the doctor thought it was likely something else. Other symptoms include:
- Pain in the front of the neck (I had no pain)
- Hoarseness or other voice chances that don't go away
- Trouble swallowing
- Trouble breathing
- A constant cough that is not due to a cold
TREATMENT
To treat this type of cancer, I will have to have my thyroid gland removed and a portion of my neck lymph nodes. Fortunately, I won't have to be going through any traditional radiation or chemotherapy (that we know of yet). There's a possibility we may also do a treatment called Radioactive Iodine Therapy. For this therapy, I'd take a pill and it would destroy any remaining thyroid tissue throughout the body. This is to help prevent the cancer from returning. There are pros and cons to this treatment. Depending on the type of radioactive iodine used, it technically could be considered a form of radiation and I'd have to be in isolation for some time to prevent others from being exposed. There are also some unkind side effects, so I'm unsure if this is something I'd want to do at this point if it's even an option.
SURVIVAL RATES
Fortunately the survival and cure rates of State I Papillary Thyroid Cancer are very high - between 98-100%.
LONG TERM EFFECTS // FOLLOW-UP CARE
As a result of no longer having a thyroid, I will have to take thyroid medication for the rest of my life. I also will have occasional follow-up care to make sure cancer isn't returning which includes different blood tests and scans.
If you're interested in learning more, you can visit here: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/thyroid-cancer.html
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