# Mostly Csytic nodual - Very anxious



## Cjax (Mar 17, 2011)

Hi everyone - Brand new to the boards.

I'm a 37 year old male with a fully active anxiety disorder, which is why I'm here to ask questions as I await by biopsy results.

Here's the story.

October of 2005 an "incidentaloma" was found during a CT scan of my head and neck. 
November of 2011 I had an ultrasound of my neck - Results:
A 5mm thyroid nodule with mixed echogenic characteristics probably representing an adenoma on the left side. Smaller nodules are seen on the right. The Thyroid echogenicity is normal, and there is no thyromegaly. (this summary didn't include the fact that the nodule was within a >1cm cystic structure.

November of 2008 I had a follow up ultrasound of my neck - Results:
There is a 5mm nodular component within a cystic structure in the mid left lobe of the thyroid. The solid component is not significantly changed in volume from November 2005. Cystic surrounding area is slightly larger now.

Just this past weekend i started to feel a pain in my neck. Sunday morning I decided to feel where the pain was and was startled to feel a huge lump. I had never felt the cyst before. My wife insists that during a routine wrestling match, my wife and son against me, that they had really been messing with my neck and they probably were the cause. Anyway - I had an ultrasound on Monday and here are the results:

The left lobe demonstrates a complex, predominantly cystic nodule at the lower pole measuring 2.6 cm in maximal dimensions. Internal debris and possible mural based solid component are identified. (everything else was ok)

It said that based on SRU criteria, fine needle aspiration is advised.

I'm worried that this is cancer. I can't focus on anything else.
Does anyone have any thoughts...comments?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Cjax said:


> Hi everyone - Brand new to the boards.
> 
> I'm a 37 year old male with a fully active anxiety disorder, which is why I'm here to ask questions as I await by biopsy results.
> 
> ...


Hi!!!









No need to reply to the other post as I just got info here I was wondering about.

Well; mural based solid component does suggest cancer. Sad to say but true.

So, yes................................I do believe FNA would be the next logical step here.

I am sorry for this. Sadly, men are more prone to thyroid cancer. Here is some info.

The first one you should find your mural based solid component.

http://radiology.rsna.org/content/237/3/794.figures-only

men more likely to have cancer than women
http://www.umm.edu/endocrin/thytum.htm

Thyroid cancer, cold nodules, men, uptake etc.
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0201/p559.html

How are you feeling over all? This is a very emotional time for you and your family. We are here for you as much as we can be.

Take one day at a time and just in case you don't know, thyroid cancer has a very very very high cure rate.


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## Cjax (Mar 17, 2011)

Hi Andros!

Thanks for your quick reply and for the information provided. However, I think one of us is misreading the information you sent in the first link. That first link shows three examples of mostly cystic nodules with small solid components, whether they be mural or not, and each of those examples turned out to be benign nodules. More importantly is that the potential solid component in my ultrasound showed no internal blood flow which is positive and there was no calcification within the nodule even over an almost 5 and half year period. Plus there was little to no growth of the solid component over that same 5 year period.

As far as men vs women goes - if a man has a detected thyroid nodule there is an 8% chance that it is cancerous. A woman has a 4% chance of it being cancerous. This statistic could be skewed due to the fact that women have more issues with their thyroids so they are more likely to have a scan done that would detect a nodule. Therefore increasing the number of nodules detected in women.

Also - even if it were completely solid but had no calcification and limited internal blood flow it would still mean that it has a 92% chance of being benign. Again my nodule was 2.6cm complex cyst. Almost entirely fluid filled.

According to the SRU criteria if you have a mixed nodule that is mostly cystic but has a small mural nodule you should "consider" performing an FNA if the nodule is >2cm. There are other presentations of nodules where they suggest the doctor "strongly considers" performing an FNA.

Now I'm not a doctor but to say that because there is a solid component in the nodule that it suggests cancer is jumping the gun a little. It may turn out to be cancer but I think the odds are still in my favor that it's not.

If it DOES end up being cancer though then, yes, it is typically very very very curable. I appreciate you saying that.

Overall I feel fine physically but driving myself crazy mentally trying to figure this all out. My family isn't too emotional about it at the moment because there is no definitive diagnosis and again I've had this thing for 5+ years.

Again...thank you for taking the time to respond to me and for everyone that you've helped on this board.

Cjax


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

>>Overall I feel fine physically but driving myself crazy mentally trying to figure this all out.<<

You have done a fabulous job of explaining it to yourself, and you are correct. If you are anxious, re-read your post above.

The FNA will tell most of the story, and then you can go from there.

Rest assured that you are acting on the changes quickly, and because of that damage control, if any, should be minimal.

And post back to let us know the results.


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## Cjax (Mar 17, 2011)

Hi Lainey and thank you for your response. Which part of my post was I right about?


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

All of it.

You will have the information you need to make some decisions very soon.

You are doing what you can do for the problem as fast as it can be done. That's all anyone can do.


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## Cjax (Mar 17, 2011)

Ok - I'll take that as you're thinking that it doesn't look so bad. 

I read through several of the responses you've been providing to people. What's your background? You seem very knowledgeable.


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## lainey (Aug 26, 2010)

Well, I am a patient treated for a thyroid disorder and what seems to be an ever increasing number of co-morbidities, so I bring my experience from that.

Because I am a patient, I have been frequenting forums for many years, so I have a lot of "anecdotal" experience from reading and researching about other people's problems.

This was the part of your post that stood out to me: "I'm a 37 year old male with a fully active anxiety disorder".

I don't know how things will turn out, but I do know that, "I've developed a new philosophy... I only dread one day at a time. ~Charlie Brown (Charles Schulz)"

While of course bad things can happen, the odds are on your side, and my goal is to help you continue to focus on that.


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## Cjax (Mar 17, 2011)

Well thank you lainey!!!

And I like Charlie's Brown's quote. Though I can comprehend it, it would seem to be a little more complicated to put into practice. I'm going to give it a shot!


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## Cjax (Mar 17, 2011)

Hi again everyone - My results came back. It's a benign nodule. Thanks for the information and discussion.

Take care!

Cjax


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