Back in March/April, I found a few enlarged lymph nodes on the right side of my neck. I informed my primary care doctor about it, and together we decided that I should have a CT done to investigate further. The same day I had the CT done, my doctor called me to say that the lymph nodes did not appear to be pathologically enlarged but some nodules were discovered on my thyroid and the radiologist suggested further investigation.
The same week, I went to have an ultrasound of my thyroid. The results of this showed that I had two nodules (one 0.8 cm and one 1.0 cm) on the left lobe of the thyroid and one nodule (0.6 cm) on the right lobe of the thyroid. The radiologist suggested I undergo further examination within 6 months to investigate the consistency of the nodules, but my primary care doctor decided she wanted to be a little more aggressive due to my medical history of a genetic mutation predisposing me to a number of cancers.
So one and a half weeks before I was to move to Philadelphia, I was already scheduled to see a hematologist/oncologist for a blood condition/my genetic mutation situation. So while I was there the doctor decided to get me into an endocrinologist appointment before I left to determine if this situation needs to be investigated further. I was squeezed into my endocrinologist appointment the day before I left for Philadelphia. While at this appointment, he determined that he wanted to fine needle aspirate the 1.0 cm nodule on the left lobe to determine if there are any questionable cells. He assured me that more likely than not the cells turn out just fine, because thyroid cancer is very rare.
So I was scheduled to have my fine needle aspiration the morning I was to leave for Philadelphia. My mom and I went in to my appointment (which was entirely uncomfortable) and then went on with the regular plans to head north. About a week and a half into my internship in Philadelphia, my doctor was contacting me about the results of my biopsy.
It seems that the biopsy revealed Hurthle Cells which are associated with Hashimoto’s disorder as well as follicular thyroid cancer. Due to the uncertainty of which cells are contained in the Hurthle Cells, my doctors decided that the only way to determine whether the cells were benign or malignant, the thyroid needed to be removed.
I was already planning on flying home for my dad’s birthday party the weekend of June 11th, so my doctors decided to squeeze me in for a surgical consult. At this consult, we decided that both lobes of the thyroid needed to be removed due to potential investigation that might be needed in the future. Therefore, my total thyroidectomy was scheduled for June 28th. This would require a week off from my internship that would then be tacked on to the end of my rotation, making my last day November 19th at CHOP.
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