So hey IT’S NOT CANCER!
My endocrinologist jumped the gun, apparently. She didn’t even tell me that the hospital was still waiting to hear back on the genetic tests (does she... know these tests exist???), she just said it was cancer and that I would be having surgery. I’m super relieved, and I’m also pretty upset that she put me through all this stress for nothing.
I mean, there’s still a tumor in my thyroid and it’s still growing... not sure what we’re going to do about that. This surgeon seems to be very knowledgeable about the latest thyroid stuff (apparently hurthle cell neoplasms are very controversial these days) and she didn’t want to operate. Although I feel like crap in various ways, my thyroid function is sorta OK, so she doesn’t want to start taking things out. She said we’ll keep monitoring it with ultrasound like we’re already doing. I’m... not sure about that. Like sure, these genetic tests have great sensitivity and I’m comfortable with their insistence that it’s not malignant, but... leave it in there? Is that wise, especially when it’s already got its own blood vessels weaving their way outward? Hm. There may be a second surgical opinion in the coming months. But right now all I want is a new endocrinologist. Ugh. Yay! Ugh.
Yeah, mixed feelings. Because even though no one wants cancer, no matter how curable... I *was* kind of looking forward to geting rid of my thyroid? Is that weird? Everyone I talk to who’s had their thyroid out and is on synthroid is doing just fine. Now I get to continue the endless drama of Hashimoto’s disease. I feared the surgery (mainly because of my singing voice) but I was starting to hope that hey, once my levels are stabilized maybe I'll actually feel better than I do now? How much/many of my symptoms are because of Hashimoto’s? Maybe my RA will even chill out a bit more without another autoimmune diseae in the mix? But then of course I feel dumb because anything is better than having cancer and who knows how being on a new medication would treat me, and knows what the surgery/radiation would have done to my voice and my RA management. So.... just mixed feelings. I follow up with the endo-at-whom-I-am-mad in a couple weeks after another blood test and we’ll go from there.
Is anyone here on synthroid?
