Thyroid nodule

I went in for scan on my throat and they found a nodule on my thyroid, only rated 1. I had to push for tests as i wasnt satisfied with gps diagnosis. It was also found I had stage 2 colon cancer at the time.im not trying to frighten you. Bit I found lots of different things happening to my body over a long period, which all coincided with colon cancer. My nodule, amo got other things is being mo stored. I urge you to make sure medical professionals keep an eye on you. Don't let things slide or be ignored. You need to be the one keeping on top if things and reminding professionals you need care. The Consultant who dealt with my cancer, looked at my gp appointments and information on my gp file and said I had been seriously overlooked, as all the symptoms I complained to my GP about were colon cancer symptoms. The gps simply had not joined the dots. It was only my OWN vigilance that saved my life
I strongly urge you to keep an eye on your own health. I hope this helps you.Sent with love. Xxx

Thank you for your reply. I am sorry you have been through all this and hope that you are well now.

I found a small lump in my throat many years ago, so had it investigated and they said it was a cyst on my thyroid. A few years later it grew larger, so I then had an ultrasound scan and they said it is now a tumour. I had a needle biopsy which showed it was not malignant. But I often wonder if it can suddenly become malignant. At the moment the lump is quite small. It's a little niggly worry at the back of my mind.
Good luck with your investigations, Luckygirl

I have twice had lumps on my thyroid and had one of them aspirated. It was found to be benign. The other one went away on its own.

25 years ago I had a lump appear on my neck, I went to see a GP who referred my but didn’t bother to tell me why!
I got an appointment through very quickly and merrily went to the hospital alone.
When the consultant told me it was a tumour I was stunned.

I had thyroid cancer.

Some weeks later I had a thyroidectomy followed by some radiotherapy.

It was fine, no problems since, apparently thyroid cancer is very slow growing and rarely spreads.

I had an enlarged thyroid which was also overactive and ended up as a "multinodular goitre". A variety of tests, including needle biopsy, were inconclusive. It seems that it's very hard to know if a thyroid nodule is malignant without actually removing it. I ended up having a total thyroidectomy, because it was so enlarged, not because of nodules. Despite being covered with nodules (one of the junior docs showed me a photo she'd taken after it was removed!), none were cancerous.

I think thyroid nodules are pretty common, and in most cases need no treatment. However, I agree that we need to be pro-active with our own health - ask questions, research on reputable websites etc. If I had listened to the endocrinologist I went to, and hadn't asked GP for referral to surgeon, I could have been strangled by my enlarged thyroid!

Thank you for the replies.

This nodule was found as an incidental finding on a spine MRI. There is no visible lump as far as I can tell and no-one has actually examined me!

I have had some problems with swallowing though and croaky voice, which is a P in the A as singing is my life. All I can do is wait and see when an appointment comes through.

I am not really worrying about it. I have too many other problems to occupy my mind!

I have that, I had scans every 12 weeks for a year, as there was no change in the size it was deemed ok. I was told they are common and usually only found when scanning for something else.

I have underactive thyroid for over 20years. Im on thyroxine. I also have nodules on my thyroid and a scan 20yrs ago decided benign. Luckily my dentist feels all round neck area at each checkup for anomalies. This same dentist found my neighbours throat cancer at a very early stage and neighbour has required extensive surgery and radiotherapy. I really worry about all those folk who dont have access to dental care.

I was diagnosed with an underachieve thyroid at the age of 18 and was prescribed thyroxine at the time. When I a few years later had appendix trouble they said I no longer needed the Thyroxine so took me off it, but used to go to hospital a couple of times a year to be checked in this huge machine. Recently when I was around 75 I grew a lump on my throat, they did a biopsy, removed 1/2 my thyroid but said it was benign after all. I am now on 75mg thyroxine daily to correct my underactive thyroid and sadly always really cold as I also suffer with Raynaud's

henetha

I found a small lump in my throat many years ago, so had it investigated and they said it was a cyst on my thyroid. A few years later it grew larger, so I then had an ultrasound scan and they said it is now a tumour. I had a needle biopsy which showed it was not malignant. But I often wonder if it can suddenly become malignant. At the moment the lump is quite small. It's a little niggly worry at the back of my mind.
Good luck with your investigations, Luckygirl

Henetha I am NOT a doctor, so run this past one, please.

As far as I know benign cysts or tumours do not suddenly or gradually turn into malign ones. So if you have been told that yours is benign, I do not think you need to be concerned.

However, better safe than sorry, so we should all make sure that any lumps or bumps we find are properly diagnosed.

AuntieE

henetha

I found a small lump in my throat many years ago, so had it investigated and they said it was a cyst on my thyroid. A few years later it grew larger, so I then had an ultrasound scan and they said it is now a tumour. I had a needle biopsy which showed it was not malignant. But I often wonder if it can suddenly become malignant. At the moment the lump is quite small. It's a little niggly worry at the back of my mind.
Good luck with your investigations, Luckygirl

Henetha I am NOT a doctor, so run this past one, please.

As far as I know benign cysts or tumours do not suddenly or gradually turn into malign ones. So if you have been told that yours is benign, I do not think you need to be concerned.

However, better safe than sorry, so we should all make sure that any lumps or bumps we find are properly diagnosed.

Unfortunately this is not the case.

Malignant transformation is not unusual.

Luckygirl - a few years ago, when my daughter was about 30years old, she felt a lump in her neck. Tests , X-rays etc revealed a cyst/tumour which was on her thyroid, very near her larynx. The surgeon said that there was a small risk of the larynx being affected. It was a very worrying time - she had 2 little children at the time. Fortunately it was benign and her larynx wasn’t affected. Thank Heaven.
Hope everything goes well for you

June 2024 I had knee replacement surgery, during an emergency general anaesthetic (spinal and sedation did not work, I woke up during procedure) anaesthetist could not intubate me, stick that tube down my throat due to a suspicious lump! referred to ENT, I had a camera down my throat (via nose) CT scan, MRI scan, barium swallow, and then ultrasound with a view to taking biopsy of my thyroid nodules. They found my thyroid was very large, I had clusters of nodules at least 2cm long on both sides of thyroid, just waiting to see what theyare going to do about it back to specialist on 14th Feb as I keep choking on food and trouble swallowing. I believe in FATE! if they did not fail with my knee surgery anaesthetic then they would not have been spotted, because I have been telling my Dr for yrs about my chocking and swallowing problems

I had a goitre and had an operation to remove it and 90% of my thyroid gland.. It was a simple 3 day stay and no problems since then. I take 100 mcgms of thyroxine daily now.. I was told at the time that thyroid cancer is the easiest to contain and cure..
Mine was not cancer..

I also had quite a large goitre over 40 years ago and had it partially removed. No problems since, but am on levothyroxine for life.

I constantly sound like Phil Mitchell! I have nodules. Discovered as I have a degenerative disease and I had a swollen lymph node so I needed a scan. I have a permanent croaky voice until I clear it and if I get ill I get laryngitis everytime

I had a large goitre on the right side of my thyroid that was growing and a smaller one on the left. My endocrinologist recommended total thyroidectomy, which was carried out April 2024. It was benign, thankfully. I now take 75mcg and 100mcg Levothyroxine on alternate days for life. I can't see any scar now and was only in hospital 1 night. A big relief to know there is no cancer. Good luck. X

I have just had half my thyroid gland removed as a module was found during a PET scan for another problem (CIDP). There were some cancer cells but I have been told that removing half the gland has cured the problem. There was no spread found elsewhere and I do not need any further treatment. Try not to worry Luckygirl 3!

I have experienced this. I have a large nodule in the centre of the thyroid classed as U3. The follow up FNA sample outcome was that the nodule was benign, though the report did say the sample had been very small. The staff had anticipated the outcome from the history and examination. I was discharged. Look up National Clinical Guidelines for XXXX for any health condition. It tells you what good care should look like, based on recent research. This helps you be prepared and ask better questions and push for anything you don’t get offered. The FNA (fine needle aspiration) was not as off putting as one might think. As others have said, nodules benign or otherwise do usually develop slowly and in older age most women will have at least one. Men less likely. They are becoming more common - or found more often. If benign they are probably only treated if bigger than 3cm/obstructing breathing or swallowing

Thank you AuntieE and Sago.
Oh dear. In the unlikely event of getting a doctor's appointment I certainly will mention this. Im hoping I can at least get a phone call anyway, so will certainly do my best to have this lump investigated again.