# I need to make a decision..advice would be greatly appreciated!



## msterra37 (Sep 3, 2010)

Hi guys,

I have been battling a nodule for 5 years that keeps growing. It is now 2.2 cm I believe. The doctor is not too concerned about it being cancer but wants to do the radioactive iodine which I am very unsure about. I do get hoarse and I have some neck pain every now and then. My levels have always been in the normal range (although on the border of being hyperthyroid). I am also on atenonol for rapid HR and palpitations, but the smallest dose possible now.

I am very concerned about this procedure because I spoke to a lady that went through all of this and after having 2 needle biopsies (which I have had also and they both were benign) decided to get her taken out anyway. She said that once they got in there they saw a suspicious lymph node and it turned out that her thyroid (NOT her nodule) was cancerous. They took out 7 lymph nodes also. So this being said the needle biopsy cannot be 100% accurate of course.

I am scared of the radioactive iodine...I have 3 children and husband of course and worry about them. I am also worried about my levels being thrown out of whack when they have been in normal range this entire time and causing a problem that wasn't there already. I worry about my heart palpitations and racing getting worse..and gaining weight! ughhh...

Any advice..or has anyone been through something similiar?
Thanks!!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

msterra37 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I have been battling a nodule for 5 years that keeps growing. It is now 2.2 cm I believe. The doctor is not too concerned about it being cancer but wants to do the radioactive iodine which I am very unsure about. I do get hoarse and I have some neck pain every now and then. My levels have always been in the normal range (although on the border of being hyperthyroid). I am also on atenonol for rapid HR and palpitations, but the smallest dose possible now.
> 
> ...


Hi and welcome. I think you are better off having a thyroidectomy so pathology can look at the gland for cancer. We are finding out more and more each and every day re this stuff and one of those things is that hyper and cancer are bed fellows.

Also, if you have RAI, you won't ever know if you have cancer which is not good because your after-care is dependent on a correct diagnosis to begin with.

Pain? Hoarsness? "Suggests" cancer.

Here is information........

http://www.thyca.org/thyroidcancerfacts.htm

Again, welcome. If nothing else, we can and will be here for you.


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## lavender (Jul 13, 2010)

Hi,
I had a thyroidectomy a month ago, and would do it again in a heartbeat. I did not have any nodules, and none of my doctors even mentioned cancer, they just kept saying, "everything points to Graves Disease." But it was nice to get a pathology report back that was able to confirm no cancer.
With Graves, Surgery was my doctor's last option. He suggested I stay on meds for a a while and then resort to RAI if necessary. But RAI just didn't sit right with me, and I told him that. I was so sick I could not function, and I wanted to feel better. I asked for surgery, gave the docs my reasons, and they were willing to listen to me. 
I will say the best part about surgery is that I have not needed a single beta blocker to control my heart palpitations/HR since I woke up from surgery! My hyper symptoms disappeared immediately. I was an emotional wreck when I was hyper, and I felt like myself again the moment I woke up.
I read up about people's experiences with both RAI and thyroidectomy, and I listened to my body and how I reacted to both.
Best of luck to you and welcome!


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## msterra37 (Sep 3, 2010)

Thank you both for answering!! This is so helpful to get other opinions


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

I agree that a thyroid removal would be your best option.


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## CMantz (Jun 4, 2010)

I have had Graves disease for many years. Did the ATD route but was not compliant with the meds. For the last several years I didn't do anything and was not having any symptoms. I decided to have labs run earlier this spring and sure enough I was still hyper. Went to new endo and he gave me three options but stressed how important it was that I do something. I am 44 and with mild Graves and considering my age he said it probably wasn't a big deal NOW but the older I got the more damage it would do to my body.

During the testing (RAIU and ultrasound) they found some cold nodules. So with this in mind I had the following options: I could try ATDs to control Graves with the understanding that the nodules would require continual followup every year (ultrasound and/or FNA); I could do RAI BUT that treatment would "alter" the nodules and if at any point down the road they became cancerous it would be much more difficult to confirm as the cells would be atypical due to the RAI; or I could opt for surgery.

RAI was not an option for me...I have heard so many horror stories about people struggling after RAI to get their levels normal. I didn't want the hassle and cost of yearly ultrasounds/FNAs so I opted for surgery. I will say that I really stressed out about this surgery before hand. I was a nervous wreck which isn't like me. My surgery was two weeks ago today and honestly it was a breeze. I was up walking within a couple of hours, I took pain meds for only one day after surgery, I was back to work Friday of that week. The only discomfort I felt was a tightness in my neck for a week or so...like someone had the hands around my throat.

The last few days I have been having some REALLY bad muscle spasms and some muscle weakness in my arms and legs. I think it has to do with the fact that I haven't been taking my calcium supplement as religiously as I was the first week or so.

I took off the steri strips on Friday and my scare looks GREAT. At only two weeks, it is barely noticable. I expected it to be red for some time after surgery but it amazes me how good it looks already.

My pathology came back last week and my nodules were benign. Even knowing they were benign, I would opt for surgery again.

Good luck in your decision.


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## msterra37 (Sep 3, 2010)

CMantz said:


> I have had Graves disease for many years. Did the ATD route but was not compliant with the meds. For the last several years I didn't do anything and was not having any symptoms. I decided to have labs run earlier this spring and sure enough I was still hyper. Went to new endo and he gave me three options but stressed how important it was that I do something. I am 44 and with mild Graves and considering my age he said it probably wasn't a big deal NOW but the older I got the more damage it would do to my body.
> 
> During the testing (RAIU and ultrasound) they found some cold nodules. So with this in mind I had the following options: I could try ATDs to control Graves with the understanding that the nodules would require continual followup every year (ultrasound and/or FNA); I could do RAI BUT that treatment would "alter" the nodules and if at any point down the road they became cancerous it would be much more difficult to confirm as the cells would be atypical due to the RAI; or I could opt for surgery.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much!


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

msterra37 said:


> Thank you so much!


Please keep us in the loop. We are here for you at all times.


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