Solid Cold Thyroid Nodule

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-17-2006
Solid Cold Thyroid Nodule
25
Mon, 09-18-2006 - 1:12pm
Hi everyone! This is my first time on this message board. I just found out that I have a nodule on my thyroid. It measures 2 cm in diameter is cold and solid. I have already had blood tests done to measure the function of my thyroid and they all came back normal. Then I had a ultrasound done and it showed a solid nodule of 2 cm in diameter with numerous other smaller nodules in my neck. After that I had an uptake and scan done. I just received the reults from this test today. It showed that the nodule is cold and my primary doctor recommended that I go see an endocrinologist. When I asked the nurse what a cold nodule could be, she went around the subject. I've read online that it could mean cancer. I also have swollen lymph nodes in my neck, sore and dry throat, a dry cough, and bothersome swallowing. I have also been tired with little energy for about 4 months or so now.I was wondering if anyone else is going through or has gone through a similar situation or knows anything about it. I am just confused and scared at this point and sick of waiting to find out what's really wrong with me. Thank you in advance for any advice and support you can give me!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-11-2005
Mon, 09-18-2006 - 4:38pm
Hi. I'm sorry to hear you're not doing well. I'm afraid to say I know nothing about thyroid nodules, but I know that it does not always mean cancer. I just wanted to offer my sympathy, as I know what it can be like not getting a strait answer from a doctor. I hope everything turns out ok with you.
Avatar for cl_calley7
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Mon, 09-18-2006 - 7:45pm

Hi Aray827,


Welcome to our board.


It looks as though you're going through all the regular testing that goes along with checking the thyroid functioning and nodules.

 

Calley7

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-17-2006
Tue, 09-19-2006 - 1:34pm
Thank you Calley7! I do appreciate the support and insight. I did make an appointment with the endocrinologist and it's not until October 25th. I can't believe that I have to wait that long! That's a long time to wonder what I have. I'm hoping that once they get all of my test results they may try and move my appointment up a bit. I know that I was put on a cancellation list. It's just so frustrating not knowing. I'm glad I found this message board though. It helps to hear about other people's similar situations. I would appreciate anyone elses input as to what I am going through. If anyone knows of another route to take besides seeing an endocrinologist that would speed up this process that would be great. My mom had suggested talking to Roswell Park Cancer Institute since they have a team of doctors there. Thanks for all the help!
Avatar for cl_calley7
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Tue, 09-19-2006 - 5:54pm

Hi Aray827,


It's good you're on the cancellation list so you can get in sooner if possible.

 

Calley7

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-17-2006
Wed, 09-20-2006 - 8:45am
Thanks for that! I have to remember that I haven't been diagnosed yet. It's hard to take it one day at a time when the possibility of cancer exists. Meanwhile my symptoms seem to getting worse and it's hard for me to imagine that I still have to deal with this for another month...not knowing....
It sounds like you have a lot of info about thyroid nodules and what they entail. I can't remember, did you or do you have one yourself? What have you been through so far?
Avatar for daggs170
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 09-20-2006 - 11:03am

I just happened to catch your post as your title caught my eye. I am Bea and have been through what you are going through now. For one thing, I will say the wait is one of the hardest parts of this whole thing as it seems we all have the tendency to worry about what is happening and just what is this thing called our thyroid. However, I have to be honest with you, and the nurse probably knew the prognosis and they just don't want to look you straight in the eye--I've had that experience too. But, usually the words "solid" and "cold" do mean ca. I know everybody wants to beat around the bush and not say this, but I know I didn't hear that word until after my first surgery, after all the confidence my dr. tried to put in me, it turned out to be the one thing I feared the most.

But, do not let this get to you, easier said than done. Try to keep a positive attitude as that is going to help you more than you will ever know. Be determined that you are going to do well and that you will go through whatever your dr.s do for you and treatments if needed. It's scarey for all of us, but many have gone through this. An endocrinologist is definitely the specialist to see, he is trained in that area and will do a lot more testing and documentations of what you have or possibly might have, and he will treat you for the rest of your life. "IF" you need a surgeon, try to get the best you can, one that has done this procedure many times, preferably a thyroid oncologist surgeon if at all possible. Also, I am going to say something to you that I don't know if others have or not--that if you must have ca, then thyroid ca is the best and most treatable ca to have.

I know I have jumped ahead, but you deserve to know what some of the possibilities are--also, your appt. is the 25th of Oct. and you are on a cancellation list, but most thyca are very slow growing, so don't go thinking the worse here. I know, I know, most of us don't have time for all of this, being sick and getting treated and all the recuperation, and you're very normal to want to know what the possibilities are. I've tried to be honest, and it had been 10 years for me now with good reports--so think positive, keep us informed, and my prayers will be with you as you enter this new problem facing you. Take it one day at a time, try to continue on with your normal life and remember, others may not understand what your going through and how you feel, but we here on this board understand what your going through. I understand your feelings, but come here and vent or scream your head off--we're here to listen and help if we can. Hugs, Bea

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-17-2006
Wed, 09-20-2006 - 12:25pm

Bea,

Thank you! Thank you so much! I'm so glad that you were able to give it to me straight. I do feel like the doctors and nurses keep dancing around the term CANCER. I really needed to hear it out loud from someone else.
I have read before that if you have to have cancer, Thyroid Cancer is the best kind to have. That has kept me going, even though I don't know if I have cancer or not yet. I've been doing a lot of research online and all of my symptoms keep pointing in that direction. That's the scary part.
Since you've been through this already. I'm assuming that you were diagnosed with thyca? What symptoms did you have, if any? Right now I am experiencing a nodule on my thyroid, swollen lymph nodes in my neck, somewhat swollen stomach, a dry cough, sore throat that comes and goes, bothersome swallowing, full throat feeling, difficulty talking for long periods of time (I'm a teacher) and having to take a drink to stop from coughing/choking. I also have been getting laryngitis once or twice a year for about 8 years now not in conjunction with a cold or other illness. I have been extremely exhausted with low energy for about 5 months now as well.
I was just wondering if you have experienced these symptoms, if anyone else has experienced these symptoms, or if anyone knows if they are related or a sign of anything. Thank you all for your support! I will keep you in my prays as well!

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-17-2006
Wed, 09-20-2006 - 1:58pm
I forgot to mention one other symptom in my previous post. I have also been experiencing headaches that last for weeks at a time ever since this nodule came about. Don't know if that's related or not...
Avatar for daggs170
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Thu, 09-21-2006 - 10:37am

Right now, and as I think back, I have had some of your symptoms but not all of them. First off, I'm even thinking that the headaches you mentioned "could" be just stress and thinking and worrying about all this. It's hard to say as we are all different--we could have the same problem but still be different in so many different ways. I can remember being so tired and not knowing why, and I would eat raisens by the handful thinking that they made me feel more energetic--not realizing even then that something was wrong. My nodule did swell up every time I lifted something, and my big mistake was that they found the nodule 14 years before that, everything tested fine and I was told not to worry. But as the 14 years went on I noticed that even carrying my pocketbook the nodule would swell up, and then after a fashion I noticed that my left foot would swell up too. Well, to make a long story short, I went into first surgery after all tests, etc, and they still had not detected cancer. It was only the pathology report after the first week, which takes about a week from surgery to get the report, that told them I had cancer. They will try to dx you while in surgery, if you have to go through this, and even though they may tell you that everything is alright, it's the pathology report that you get about a week later that tells the true report. If they find ca while you are on the table though, they will undoubtedly finish taking the whole thyroid out.

I didn't have all the symptoms that you had, but I had trouble swallowing, especially if I had to take a tylenol for a headache, which people would laugh at me as it seemed like I was a baby not able to take a pill. After many years of laughter at me, I now tell people that if others can't swallow right it better be taken seriously as that could be an indication of something that is not right. I did have a few swollen lymph nodes and thankful it all turned out alright there, I always was a very slow eater, last one to always finish and I think that is now a habit with me as I'm still last to finish, but at least I'm not choking over anything. Things at this end of the cancer problem and no thyroid now slide down too easily and I still find the slow eating is more to my advantage then to have it slide down and choke from not chewing. Tired, tired, tired, yes, definitely. It's time for you to have this looked at and seriously, don't get alarmed with the dx if it turns out that they suggest surgery. Of course, they have you sign that this is elective surgery to cover their own butts, but it's really quite necessary that if there are any cells in there, get them out and go along with all the tests, dr. visits and meds that you might need. I wish you luck and prayers are with you--remember, one day at a time, and this is where we all learn patience. Enjoy your days before 10/25--I know your nervous about all this, but many of us have gone through it--so please try to think positive about the whole thing. It sounds silly, doesn't it? But it really helps. And please keep us informed.

And now off for my day, and wishing you a good one also, hugs, Bea

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-17-2006
Thu, 09-21-2006 - 3:35pm

Bea,

Thanks for all the info! It's so nice to hear from someone who has already gone through what I may eventually be going through myself. I am trying to take it one day at a time. Some days are better than others. Yesterday I was so tired, I feel asleep right after I got home from school (I am a teacher). Today I woke up feeling better, but I had a sharp pain in the back of my neck on the side that my nodule is on. It went away, but then came back this afternoon. I'm not sure what it means, this is the first time I have experienced that.
I guess my worst fear is that my biopsy (I'm assuming that'll be the next step) will come back benign, but really be cancer. I've been reading on this board and that seems to happen a lot, where people have gone months, even years with cancer and not even know it. I have a long history of cancer in my family as well. My grandfater died of lung cancer, my cousin died of luekemia, my aunt is a survivor of breast cancer, and my father has prostate cancer. I believe that my father's prostate cancer is also a cancer of the endocrine system and that scares me even more since I've read that medullary cancer is usually inherited by family members when one or more parents has a cancer of the endocrine system.
Thanks for letting me vent and get everything out that's been on my mind lately. It really helps alot. Let me know if you have any input and let me know how you're doing as well!
-Ann

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