I HAVE CANCER!!!!!!!!!! Help!!! Please help!

[Reese120]

I just got the call from the surgeon, it is pap cancer.  I am a mess.  I have to go back in on Friday and have this surgery again.  I am so scared!!!!!  I have 3 little kids, 5, 9 and 12.  Oh, I am a mess.

Please tell me positives stories.  Please.

[mrsbarnes15]

I am 24 years old with two young children. I just had my thyroid removed yesterday. Im still in the hospital! I had pap thyroid cancer. They removed my whole thyroid and my pymph nodes. They say its the most curable cancer. Im very sore and my face is tingly. They say its because my calcium level is low but they are treating it. Anyone else go threw this?

[dubilac]

Hi,

I recently got information about an ancient way to cure pap cancer.

I would love to give this info to you.

Wait reply.

Dubby.

dubilac_trade***@****

[mahendra9]

Hai Reese - A nick in time saves nine. Papillary Cancer can be cured 100% with surgery and RAI treatment. Just relax, you will be adviced what to and what not. I just had Papillary Thyroid Cancer - 5cm. The Surgeon did a TT to make the RAI treatment effective.
I am 67 years. Ater the treatment they did a scan to see whthr the RAI was absorbed by the remaining cells which normally remains after TT. Well it was all clear and the cancer did not spread as it was within the thyroid. I am back home and on Thyroxine 100mcg. per day. Do not worry this is the Only Cancer that can be cured if detected early and treatment
done. So Papillary Cancer is something that you should not be upset or worried off.
All our Cancr freiends should not be upset as everone has Cancer Cells in the Body. Sometimes something triggers and it shows malignancy. Anyone can get cancer and do not be upset at the Word Cancer. It is just a nodule which has to be removed and treated.
You will be surprised to hear that one of my friends was commenting on another riends getting of the Prostrate and withing a short lapse of time he got Liver Cancer. So do not feel as anyone will get this unexpected problem which is in EVERYONES BODY.TAKE CARE, YOU WILL BE ALRGIHT - dURING THE rai, GET SOMEONE TO HELP YOU FOR A SHORT PERIOD. THATS ALL. AGAIN PAPILLARY CANCER CAN BE CURED WHEREAS DIABETIS AND HIGHG BLOOD PRESSURE cannot be cured but can be controlled.

[donnad454]

I was diagnosed with Papcancer on dec 27 it's less that 1 cm on the left lobe in the front area. I go see the surgeon on Monday. Very scared!! Just wondering how you all felt after surgery? Was in very painful?

[Reese120]

I cannot begin to thank you all for your support and information during this very difficult time.  I had my pity party last night and today I am better.  I am still scared about getting the surgery done again, but I will get threw this.  Again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all soooooooooooo much!!!!!!

Hugs!

[shannon828]

I was diagnosed in March of this year and nothing was as devastating as hearing the word Cancer.  So far, I've had TT and one RAI treatment.  I had cancer on both sides of my thyroid, the largest being 1.5cm, fully encapsulated.  I did have spread to the lymph nodes (2 of the 3 they removed tested positive) and am working to get my TSH and Tg suppressed.  Ultimately, we have it easy compared to other cancers, but it is still massively inconvenient going on the LID, preparing for scans, treatments, etc.  Make sure that you talk to your doctor about using Thyrogen for your scans and treatments.  This is a drug that artificially raises your TSH and eliminates the need to go off your meds.  Most people will tell you that going 'hypo' for RAI is almost worse than the RAI itself.  I wouldn't know because I was lucky to get Thyrogen injections.  It was approved in 1999 for this purpose, the makers of the drug are Genzyme and they are very helpful getting insurance to cover it (it's very expensive- you need two doses and each one is around $800).

Hang in there.  You guys will do just fine!!!

[ChitChatNine]

I haveg been where you both are now .. and I know and can feel exactly how you feel as you sit at your PC writing your posts.

If you have some free time go back and do a search on my old posts .. I joined MedHelp in October 2008 and my surgery was in Jan 07.  It's been my lifeline that I now welcome the opportunity to give back to those who walk in my shoes .. and others, too, who have other issues with their thyroid.

C~

[huncher]

I just posted a few minutes ago about the 2 surgeries and papillary cancer...how weird is that!? Anyway I am sorry to hear that you are in the same boat as I am...I will be having my surgery on Tuesday 11/18.

I will follow your progress and let you know mine. We will get thru this!!!
I kinda know how you feel because I'm there too, but it is better for me since I'm old (54) and kids are grown.

Stay positive, it is an illness...we will deal...and it will get better.

Take care

[crazi]

I am sorry that u got this news, but the good news ( since I was told I had this and I did a lot of research) it is the most treatable.
We are all here for u, and u will be in my prayers.
Everything  will be fine, u will come thru this, stay positive, stay strong.
♥
Crazi

[ERNURSE86]

UTAHMOMMA gave some good advice, so...I'm not going to repeat it. Just the few important things to remember--papillary thyroid cancer is about the BEST cancer to have if you have to deal with the awful C word. I am an eleven year survivor--I had papillary and follicular cancer--in all lobes of the thyroid, as well as at least x4 lymph nodes. I was 29 years old, and had a two year old, the very idea was devastating--but as you learn more, you will come to understand that you will be fine. I was a stage I, even with the cancer in my nodes. How old are you ?  Don't quote me, but I believe if you're 45 yrs and under/female/and with pap ca locally you would be a stage I as well,  the ten year surviver rates of that are near to 100%.  I had one high dose tx with I-131, and no recurrence so far.  It is alot to go through--and you will live with the worry always...however I always just told myself to be thankful for no chemo and no RAD, this treatment literally has a magic bullet--don't we wish we could say that for all the other cancers out there ?  In addition I had two more children after my cancer--now nine and four.  A little tidbit....I have read research articles that say on routine autopsies...that up to 20% of people have been found to have papillary thyoid carcinomas and never even knew it !  That is how slow it grow's !

[bet643]

RELAX....Take a deep breath.  I had surgery 3 yrs ago for pap. carcinoma and I'm doing fine. You'll be fine and you'll be there for your children.  You'll be suprised on how strong of a person you will become because of it.  We will be here for you and give you all of the help and support you need. I know it's scary when you first find out, I know because I've been there. We all handle things differently I guess. But we are here for you.

[ChitChatNine]

Please read this .. from our Health Pages which I posted awhile ago. ThePsychological Impact of Cancer (let's face it .. this is a new chapter of your life and it is yours and NOT by choice).

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Thyroid-Disorders/Psychological-Impact-of-a-Thyroid-Cancer-Diagnosis/show/90?cid=62

C~

[Thypatient]

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this.

Obviously, you have a lot to take in but I hope you can find some comfort in knowing that we, here, will be with you as you go through this.  I also hope you can find some comfort in the stories and strength that are here.

May my most uplifting thoughts be with you.  Peace.

[ChitChatNine]

When you see the Dr., pls. ask him if these are different tumors they found or the same one that was biopsied frozen as benign.

C

[rellyrooly]

I wish you luck...

I am glad you are getting support from others here...at least someone is....

[Autumnx1003]

I'm so sorry to hear your diagnosis, and my heart truly goes out to you :(  You are in my prayers, and like everyone above has said, when--not if---but when you get through this, you will be a stronger person :)

[utahmomma]

Hi, welcome to the papillary carcinoma family!

First of all, you won't die from this.  There is a very effective, very targeted treatment for papillary carcinoma after your surgery.  You won't need chemotherapy or that radiation that you associate with *other* cancer patients.  You won't go bald or have to have IVs stuck in your arm a couple times a week and end up puking your guts up the rest of the time.

After thyroid surgery to remove the entire thyroid you will be off medication for a month or so and on a low iodine diet (your hospital will give you that diet or we can give you a link here too).  When your body has flushed out all of the iodine they will give you what we call RAI (radioactive iodine or I-131).  The thyroid (and thyroid cancer) absorbs iodine so it is very effective to radiate iodine - then the thyroid and thyroid cancer tissues absorb it (kind of like an ant taking ant poison back to the colony and wiping out the entire thing).

There will be radiation precautions you will have to do for a week or so after (like staying so far away from your kids, sleeping alone, not sharing utensils, etc.).  Don't worry, we'll help you through it all.

Papillary carcinoma has about a 90% cure rate!!!!!  Compare that to any other form of cancer - pretty impressive!  That's because of the RAI treatment and how slow growing papillary carcinoma is.  Here's some info:  http://www.endocrineweb.com/capap.html

We'll get you through it.  Hey, I had two surgeries and there are others out here who have too.  The second surgery is actually easier than the first.

Utahmomma
papillary carcinoma '03, second surgery '04
three sisters with papillary carcinoma; another sister with precancer; and daughter with precancer

[MJ13]

I am a 2-yr papillary thyca survivor.  You've been through the hard part...going through the unknown.  Since you have already been through one surgery you know what to expect.  No, surgery is ever easy but you will get through this.  The survival rate for papillary thyca is extremely in our favor.  

You doctor will probably want to have you go through radioactive iodine treatment (RAI) to make sure any remaining thyroid cells are killed off.  It's almost impossible to get all thyroid cells no matter how skilled the surgeon is.  That's why many thyca patients go through RAI.  The hardest part of this is having to go hypothyroid before RAI.  You will have to go on a low-iodine diet, which can be a challenge, but is doable You can find the low-iodine cookbook at http://www.thyca.org/ThyCa%20Cookbook%20011804.pdf.

Bottom line is you WILL survive!!!! We are all here for you.  I know you will have tons of questions.  Just ask away.

MJ

[dai3symae]

I googled "thyroid cancer prognosis" and found the following....

Baylor University lists the favorable factors:  female, less than 45 yrs old, tumor equal to or less than 4cm.  It also says that patients with the most common type of thyroid cancer have a 90% cure rate.  

here's their website:  http://www.thyca.org/pap-fol-prog.htm

New York Thyroid Center (columbia university) says survival rate is 98.2% for women under 51, tumor under 5cm without distant metastases.

here's their website:  http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/thyroid/staging.html

www.cancer.org says this.....Younger people have a low likelihood of dying from differentiated (papillary or follicular) thyroid cancer. The TNM stage groupings for these cancers take this fact into account. So, all people younger than 45 years with papillary thyroid cancer, for example, are stage I if they have no distant spread and stage II if they have distant metastases beyond the neck or upper mediastinal lymph nodes.



You will be in my thoughts......

Sandy

[basilejc]

HI, My Brother had thyroid Cancer about 4-5 years ago.  He had a thyroiectomy and iodine treatment.  He now takes thyroid supplements other than that he is doing great. The hardest part is waiting for tests, results and prodcedures to be completed.  Thyroid cancer has a very high cure rate. I hope all goes well for you.

[Jules77733]

You won't die. Think positively! Your body will feel a lot better if you do--the last thing it needs is stress. You made it through the surgery the first time, so you should be fine going through round two. Soreness isn't fun...is there any pain medication your doctor could give you (a different kind of medication, perhaps, or an increased dosage)?

I've never had thyroid cancer, but as cliche as it may sound, it is one of the easiest types of cancer to deal with and treat, and it has an excellent survival rate. As ChitChatNIne pointed out, it's great that they caught this early, and there are many community members who have been through something similar to what you're going through right now. What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger--your kids will look up to you for getting through all of this one day, if they aren't already! And we're here for you if you ever need to vent--even those of us who can't claim to be as brave. =)

[Reese120]

Hi~

I had a partial done last Tuesday and now I have to go back in and have the remander of the thyroid removed this Friday.  I had an fna and a frozen section biopsy done while I was in the OR and both came back benign.  That is why I am in such shock.  The tumor was big about 4 cm but I do not know if there was cancer in the entire thing.  I have to go to the surgeon's office on Thursday to discuss everything.  I am a mess.  I do not want to die.  My babies are little.  I dread having to have this surgery again.  I am still so sore for the first time.  I am just so scared.

[ChitChatNine]

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU .. and you will be okay.  There are many here on this community who have beenn where you are now and will be here for you from beginning to end I can promise you this .. including myself.

OK?

Can you refresh our memory on this thread, the size, and what the path report stated?  Did they do a frozen biopsy?  Did they do a partial?  

You will fine and so will your kids ... you will all grow from this experience.

It is great this is caught .. early detection is key and thyroid ca. is slow growing usually .. not to minimize this, but help you see you will be okay.

I had two small pap micro's .. others on this community have had 2 surgeries as you indicate.

Look for helsurf, rodeoqueen as two members to do a community search and see their history.  Two very brave women, as yourself, who have had extensive, extreme thyroid cancers taken care of and are here to help us here on thyroid.

C~
partial 1/07
papillary micro's
1/07 early melanoma detected and removed on arm