Thyroid Biopsy update

[disney junky]

DW is having one (a fine needle biopsy) on Thursday as a result of a thyroid scan last week. Apparently she has a cold nodule (as opposed to a warm and hot one). We know everything the internet has to say on these but I was wondering if anyone has any experience. Though everything we've read is positive in all but the very worst case scenerio, it's still a bit unnerving.

 

[lindakmonty]

they do that to my thyroid every once in awhile. At first it was to find out if it was a cyst on my thyroid, which it was. Now I just take synthroid daily and cut out as much caffeine as possible and it is much better! The procedure itself isn't so bad. This is coming from someone that passes out at the dentist when needles come at me I've done fine everytime they do it. If I miss my meds or something it does increase in size and they'll do it again to drain it and it takes the pressure away. I was nervous too. It will be ok

 

[tevagirl]

I had one years ago. It wan't bad as far as the procedure itself. My doctor told me that the results would either come back positive, negative, or in a 'gray area' that the biopsy wasn't able to determine. If it was positive or in the 'gray area' then he recommended surgery. Mine was negative.

Good luck to your wife.

 

[Virgo10]

I also had one back in 2000. While it wasn't as much fun as strolling around EPCOT , it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I believe they went in 3 times because the results weren't definitive. They had someone right in the room with me reading the tests.

I ended up in that gray area and I had my thyroid removed in June of 2000. I've been pretty stable as far as my levels go with the medication I take. The only thing that's thrown me off was the gallbladder surgery I had this past December. They had to increase the strength of the pill after that.

The thyroid surgery was very bad for me but not so for many of the other people on this board who have had it. I guess you just never know. Speaking of not knowing, neither I nor the doctors knew there was anything wrong with my thyroid until an MRI for my back showed the nodules. I'd probably still be walking around with it if I hadn't had that done.

 

[mcco5543]

a large percentage of women, at some point in their life have a nodule or something on their thyroid and get it biopsied and 9 times out of 10 it turns out to be nothing.
My mother in law just had a thyroid biopsy a couple of weeks ago and went out to lunch afterword..a few days later she found it she's totally fine! She didnt' even feel any pain or anything. They just gave her a local anesthetic to numb the area and she was totally fine and said it was really easy. Hang in there!

 

[SandrainNC]

Hi! I had the thyroid scan and it showed a lot of little nodules and then one larger nodule. I think they were cold, but not sure. Anyway, they biopsied the larger one and determined I have Hashimoto's which means my body attacked my thyroid and caused me to be hypothyroid.

The biopsy itself was not pleasant for me. They were supposed to take 6 samples and I almost passed out so only got 4. The reason I had trouble is they think they were hitting a nerve. Every time they stuck the needle into my thyroid, I felt painful heat on the back of my head and if freaked me out.

Sandra

 

[floridafam]

I also had a biopsy after a scan. Mine came back inconclusive and I needed surgery.

The biopsy procedure was pretty routine and done at the Dr.'s office. The size of the needle was a little unnerving. They put a round bandaid on the spot when they were done and off I went.

Best of luck to her.

 

[kbuckley]

Not much to worry about until the results come back. It was pretty unpleasant for me. I also have Hashimoto's disease and had the right side taken out. That was no problem at all. I was asleep but even afterwards (meaning the day after) I was absolutely fine. Told me I would probably have to take off work 2 weeks but was really ready to go back after a couple days. Ended up only taking a week. Don't worry too much until you get the results.

 

[claudia]

Had one done on a large nodule 3 years ago. The doctor did several passes to make sure that he had collected cells from all areas of the nodule.
The best advice I can give is to lay back and relax as much as you can...my doc asked me to hold my breadth while he was making the pass. I tried to take in a deep breath through my mouth and when he was done, I let it out slowly through my nose....it did seem to help keep me calm. For me it was positive for cancer and I had my thyroid completely removed, but MOST come back benign.

 

[disney junky]

The surgeon gave us the option of doing the biopsy but based on the size of the nodule, he suggested that since he would be recommending removal anyway, the biopsy would likely be of little use. DW will be having surgery to remove half of the thyroid gland containing the nodule, they'll biopsy it then, and if all is benign, they'll close her up with half the gland and no need for medicine. If not, they'll remove the whole gland. We feel pretty good with the prognosis, though the idea of surgery is a bit unnerving. The surgeon did a terrific job of putting us at ease while laying out everything, so April 25th, she'll be undergoing the procedure.

 

[Christine]

I'm sure my post is not going to make you feel better.

Back in 1995, a cold nodule was also discovered on my thyroid. It was on the back of the thyroid and the surgeon was not comfortable with a biopsy and feeling like he could get enough samples.

So, I opted for surgery. Like your wife, I had half of the gland removed. They did what is called a "frozen section" pathology while I was still in the OR. It came back benign. I was stitched up and sent home the next day. The following week, I went back to my surgeon for a check up and I got the bad news that the final, full pathology showed that there were some cancerous cells within the nodule. I also had cancerous cells "peppered" in the other parts of the gland. So, I had to go back and have a completion thyroidectomy. Good thing too. While I didn't have any lumps on the other side, I had many, many "micro-cancers" in my gland.

All is well now, but please be prepared for anything. I belong to an on-line thyroid cancer support group and my situation happens often enough. Thyroid biopsies are notoriously inconclusive because the whole nodule will not be cancerous and needle biopsies can miss important cells. The only "definitive" thyroid needle biopsy is a positive one OR to have surgery and have it looked at cell by cell (like they will for your wife).

Good luck and please keep us posted here. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.

 

[disney junky]

I'm sure my post is not going to make you feel better.

Back in 1995, a cold nodule was also discovered on my thyroid. It was on the back of the thyroid and the surgeon was not comfortable with a biopsy and feeling like he could get enough samples.

So, I opted for surgery. Like your wife, I had half of the gland removed. They did what is called a "frozen section" pathology while I was still in the OR. It came back benign. I was stitched up and sent home the next day. The following week, I went back to my surgeon for a check up and I got the bad news that the final, full pathology showed that there were some cancerous cells within the nodule. I also had cancerous cells "peppered" in the other parts of the gland. So, I had to go back and have a completion thyroidectomy. Good thing too. While I didn't have any lumps on the other side, I had many, many "micro-cancers" in my gland.

All is well now, but please be prepared for anything. I belong to an on-line thyroid cancer support group and my situation happens often enough. Thyroid biopsies are notoriously inconclusive because the whole nodule will not be cancerous and needle biopsies can miss important cells. The only "definitive" thyroid needle biopsy is a positive one OR to have surgery and have it looked at cell by cell (like they will for your wife).

Good luck and please keep us posted here. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.

Thanks so much. The surgeon said as much, but as he stated, if you are going to get cancer, this is the kind to have in that survival is measured in the 15 year range rather than 5 as with others. I will keep you posted as to the outcome.

 

[claudia]

The surgeon gave us the option of doing the biopsy but based on the size of the nodule, he suggested that since he would be recommending removal anyway, the biopsy would likely be of little use. DW will be having surgery to remove half of the thyroid gland containing the nodule, they'll biopsy it then, and if all is benign, they'll close her up with half the gland and no need for medicine. If not, they'll remove the whole gland. We feel pretty good with the prognosis, though the idea of surgery is a bit unnerving. The surgeon did a terrific job of putting us at ease while laying out everything, so April 25th, she'll be undergoing the procedure.

The biopsy could be of great use if it showed specifically that there were cancer cells. As Christine stated, the nature of the cancer is that is it scattered throughout the nodule, but with several passes those cells could possibly be picked up. (It was with mine) I'm thinking that it may be worth a shot. I am only mentioning this because your DW may have to endure 2 surgeries if the biopsy does come back cancerous after the initial surgery. Of course, that decision is between you both and your surgeon. Good luck and please keep us posted on your DW.

 

[Patty3]

I have had thyroid surgery as well. Like Christine, my tumors were on the back side of my left thyroid. I was lucky in that the tumors were benign. I know how nerve wracking this can be. Since I am prone to tumors I do have to take synthroid. I was told that this shuts down my thyroid and the meds take its place. I did not find the surgery to be bad at all. One of the tricks a friend told me, after surgery when I would sit up to always brace the back of my neck with my hands. It worked, I was not in much discomfort at all.