# Tall Cell Variant of Papillary Thyroid Cancer



## ETaylor1015

I am 32 years old. I was diagnosed in Nov with PTC. I had my TT last friday. I got the pathology results today and was sad to hear it was worse than I thought. I had two positive nodes in the central compartment (considered local metastisis) and also was told it was the Tall Cell type of PTC. From everything I have been reading on the internet this is a worse prognosis. My surgeon and endo said it can be a more aggessive form or PTC but since my nodule with the cancer was only .8cm and not anywhere else in the thyroid, and that I am young, my prognosis is still excellent. The tall cell finding just means definite RI at a possibly higher dose. Now I am all freaked out that this has spread to other parts of my body. Has anyone had experience with this?


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## Octavia

That was not my experience, but I'm sure glad you decided to move forward with the TT instead of taking the watch and wait approach!!!

Generally, as part of the RAI treatment and follow-up, patients receive a whole body scan. This is done 2-3 days after the RAI, and it will show any other parts of your body that the cancer may have spread to.

Your doctors are right...with the size, your age, and the apparent "containment" of your tumor, your prognosis is still excellent.

:hugs:


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## susieintexas

I have never heard of it but I am 32 with papillary that came back in less than 6 months. I don't put much stock in what is 'normal' anymore. Glad it was small and contained. That is good.


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## MJRusso

I know it's a little late of a reply, but I was diagnosed with tall cell as well.

Initially when my general doc found the tumor in my neck accidentally, we thought it was something we had caught early. During my briefing just before they rolled me in for surgery they told me the operation would take about 2 hours. I woke up 6 hours later as they were wheeling me out of OR and into recovery.

I guess I didn't have it for very long, but because of the very aggressive nature of tall cell, it had spread well beyond my thyroid and into the entire surrounding region of my neck. Lymph nodes, trachea, along my main artery... it was a mess.

Today I'm fine. I didn't really have to go through any extensive treatment beyond what they would normally do for pap, aside from maybe 150 mCi of RAI (not sure what's considered a normal dose for most others), and a little more aggressive monitoring for the following months.

If you're still around, let us know how it's going for you. I'd be interested in hearing back from someone who had a similar diagnosis.


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## Octavia

MJRusso said:


> ... aside from maybe 150 mCi of RAI (not sure what's considered a normal dose for most others)...


That's higher than the amount I received, which was either 100 or 105 mci, for plain old papillary cancer. I'm glad they were more aggressive with yours!


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## kidsabc

Your chance of survival at 20 years is 98%. Doesn't get much better than that, hope that makes you feel better.

Watch:


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## Zheni

I just found out yesterday that I have papillary with tall cell variant, too. I am 50 and very distressed. It's bad enough to have any cancer, but learning I have an aggressive one has put me back in the fetal position. I am placing all my hopes and dreams on a successful blast of RAI, which I understand doesn't always work on this variant.

Does anybody know about this? What options are there if the RAI doesn't work???

Thank you.


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## joplin1975

Zheni,

I'm sorry for your diagnosis. Do you know if they did a neck dissection along with the TT?

The vast majority of the time, RAI does work. It is less successful on tall cell variant, but I think at this stage of the game, your best bet is to focus on the majority for whom it DOES work.

Usually, if the RAI does not work, they'll go in for a different/larger dissection of the neck tissue.


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## Zheni

Thank you, Joplin1975. You are right, it makes little sense to focus on that now. One step at a time... But so far all the odds have landed against me, so I fear a pattern. Must stay positive!!!


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## MJRusso

Zheni said:


> I just found out yesterday that I have papillary with tall cell variant, too. I am 50 and very distressed. It's bad enough to have any cancer, but learning I have an aggressive one has put me back in the fetal position. I am placing all my hopes and dreams on a successful blast of RAI, which I understand doesn't always work on this variant.
> 
> Does anybody know about this? What options are there if the RAI doesn't work???
> 
> Thank you.


 Hello, Zheni. I went through the same situation with the tall cell variant. I think one thing you should note is that when they say that RAI sometimes does not work, what they mean is that it sometimes does not work the first time around (not necessarily that it doesn't work at all). Should that situation arise it's likely they would give you the option of simply scheduling a second round of RAI. Tall cell is treated in the same way as the regular strain is, it just needs to be done with an equal aggression.

As I stated earlier in this thread, the cancer spread a lot further and faster than they realized prior to opening me up for surgery, so afterwards they dosed me with 150 mCi (which as far as I could tell is quite a bit higher than what others have gotten). That was enough to do it the first time around, and even the higher dose didn't have any ill effects on me while I was going through it (other than maybe sleeping more than normal a few days in).

So, as bad as it sounds, and I understand completely, there's no need to curl up into the fetal position just yet. The odds are very good you'll be fine even if they haven't favored you up to now. Best of luck and keep us posted.

~Mike


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## Zheni

Thank you so much, Mike. Truly. I feel much better now after your explanation.
Getting down to business with the LID, then it's time to fight back.
RAI - Bring. It. On.


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## Zheni

Also, Mike - i hope you are well. It looks like you have been though an awful lot. Thank you very much for helping others here.


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## mafost

my post seems to be coming a long time after most of you posted. My daughter has tell cell variant with extrathyroid extension. She also had unclear margins. She is awaiting an appt to discuss RAI. How are all of you doing?


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