A few months ago I had a throat infection and my doctor noticed my thyroid was swollen. I had an ultrasound performed that confirmed the presence of two hypoechoic lesions on my thyroid. It was recommended that I have a nuclear scan performed to see if the lesions are malignant or not. The largest is 1 cm, I believe.
My blood tests are otherwise normal, though in the past (age 15-17) I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and put on Synthroid for about a year. I also had PCOS when I was a teenager, but I'm doing fine now that I'm on low-hormone birth control (I'm 30, been taking the pill since I was about 23).
Here's my problem: my health insurance is refusing to cover the nuclear scans, and I hear they are expensive out-of-pocket. I understand that 90% of thyroid nodules are benign, but with my history of thyroid and metabolic issues (that and the presence of not one but two lesions), should I argue my case with my health insurance? Or would the nuclear scan be superfluous since my blood tests (taken about a month before the ultrasound) show everything normal?
Any advice is much appreciated!
The cold nodules have 10 to 15% chance of cancer
the warm anodules have 10 to 5 % chance
5% difference may not worth this extra step.
The hypoechoic nodules without borders can be also inflammatory lesions