- Re: Hello

[Guest guest]

wrote:

> Hi Everyone! My husband is 31 years old and was just diagnosed with

> Follicular Thyroid Cancer and had a Thyroidectomy June 12. He just

> had his Radioactive Dye Treatment on Tuesday and is out of the

> hospital and home again.

Hi, -

Welcome to the group.

It's easy to understand why you are feeling rather overwhelmed.

> I have really tried to research this and

> ask all the questions but I still am so confused.

You will learn a lot in a short time by reading the letters here.

> I am 7 months pregnant and worried sick about him.

I trust they have told you about keeping your distance from your husband - and

other post treatment precautions - for at least a week?

> He is feeling really good but

> the part that scares me is that he had this " lump " a year before he

> ever told me about it.

Denial is a powerful thing.

What's important is that it is gone now.

> The Dr. says that it will be about 6 months

> before they do a body scan to see if and where else it has spread.

I think that's not quite right. They should be doing a scan within the next

few days (it's usually done 4 or 7 days after treatment, sometimes both). That

scan will show where - and if - there was any

spread. A post treatment scan is rather standard, and if they're not planning

to do one, I would be pretty adamant about changing their minds.

The follow up scan (usually done 6-12 months after treatment) will reveal how

successful his radioiodine treatment was.

> Everything I have read says that this is one of the more treatable

> forms but I am still scared.

It's true that follicular thyroid cancer is highly treatable ( even though it's

sometimes a bit more stubborn than papillary). Aggressive treatment from the

start, and lifelong monitoring for recurrence is

what gives most of us about a 98% chance of survival.

If you haven't already gotten copies of your husband's medical records, now's a

good time to start. They will come in handy in all sorts of ways you can't

imagine now, and they will also help familiarize

you with his diagnosis and progress.

Good luck to you both, and please continue to ask any questions that come to

mind.

NYC

TT 2/99 dx pap/foll; RAI 100 mCi 3/99 & 4/00; clean scan 3/02;

current TSH ~.06

(for help in deciphering this, and for other frequently used abbreviations,

see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca/message/21248 )