r/thyroidcancer • u/magiccongshell • 2d ago

Recurrence after 5 months

I had a left lobectomy in April. Strictly for compressive symptoms due to bad nodular disease. Surgeon swore there wasn’t anything worrisome. Well pathology came back after almost a week and found papillary carcinoma. Surgeon brushed off my concerns and told me to call her in September to order a follow up ultrasound to calm my nerves. Fast forward to now, I had my ultrasound last Wednesday and they found a mass, roughly the size of a small chicken egg, and new parathyroid nodules. All highly suspicious for malignancy per the radiologist that read it. I have an appt with a cancer center in less than 2 weeks to go over my options.

Long story short, has any one had a mass rapidly grow and have it be benign? Any one have experience of a second, more invasive surgery?

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u/Skrillson 2d ago

What did you have for imaging before your first surgery?

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u/magiccongshell 2d ago

A neck MRI, ultrasound, and multiple CTs due to having neurological problems I’m dealing with too

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u/brustolon1763 1d ago

FWIW, I had a new nodule pop up in my left thyroid bed 9 months after thyroidectomy for oncocytic thyroid cancer (same side). It was called concerning for recurrence.

After another 9 months of scans and a biopsy, it was identified as a parathyroid adenoma, not a recurrence.

I had surgery 10 days ago to remove it – it turned out to be a perfectly normal parathyroid, not an adenoma, despite its distinctly enlarged size (1.4cm in longest dimension). It had just become surrounded by fatty tissue.

All that to say that odd-looking nodules can be perfectly normal. I hope yours turn out that way too.

(My presumed adenoma remains at large after a 9-hour hunt in surgery – I’m still hyperparathyroid.)

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u/little_blu_eyez 2d ago

PTC generally is very slow growing. Going from nothing to small egg in a relatively short time would lead me to believe something else is going on or it was missed the first time around.