My Thyroidectomy Journey

Husband and I went straight home after getting my biopsy result. We then spent the rest of the day in bed, cuddled. He handled the news better than I did. Meanwhile,  I could barely feel.  I could barely think of anything. "Papillary thyroid carcinoma" echoed in the back of my mind.

Well, the oncologist did not exactly said I have cancer, yet. According to biopsy result, I was on stage V of Bethesda Diagnostic category with 60% - 75%  risk of malignancy. At this point, surgery is necessary. Whether partial or full thyroidectomy, that depends on several things: 1. Partial thyroidectomy The oncologist will take out my left thyroid gland. During surgery, a frozen pathology report will be conducted. If the sample appears benign, the oncologist will not take out the rest of my thyroid gland. Unfortunately, frozen pathology report conducted during surgery was not 100% accurate. Some samples will be also sent for full pathology test in which takes about a week for the result. If final pathology report showed malignancy, I must go to my second surgery for a full thyroidectomy. 2. Full thyroidectomy First plan was to remove the left thyroid. However, if the oncologist saw any sign of malignancy, or the frozen pathology test during the surgery showed mali...

I was not able to sleep the night before my biopsy reading.    That afternoon, I met my oncologist for the second time. He held my biopsy result in his hand, and the look on his face told me everything I fear of. Biopsy result came back as "suspicious papillary thyroid carcinoma". My heart dropped to the floor. I have cancer.

It was Saturday afternoon, March 24, 2018 . The thought of someone sticking a needle to my neck was scary enough, but I was more scared of the result. The room was already being set up when I came in. I laid with a pillow under my shoulder. The nurse made me feel as comfortable as possible.  A radiologist first conducted an ultrasound on my neck, then t he FNAB was performed by an anatomical pathologist with a help from the radiologist. I asked if anesthesia necessary, but the pathologist said the needle used for FNAB was even smaller than the one to draw blood. The process itself was not more than 5 minutes, but the pathologist asked me to wait for a few more minutes so she can assured the sample was sufficient.  Ten minutes later, the pathologist came back and told me she had enough sample. The result will be ready for next Tuesday and directly sent to my oncologist. I came home with mixed feelings.

My surgical oncologist was dr. Bayu Brahma, SpB(K) Onk, of Mayapada Hospital Jakarta Selatan. He was very warm and friendly. He even greeted my husband and me at the door as we walked into his office. I gave him my ultrasound and we spent the next half an hour discussing my treatment plan. The oncologist was against my will to have surgery immediately. He was not satisfied with my first ultrasound because it was inconclusive and would prefer me to have ultrasound again and FNAB to determine the type of the mass. From the FNAB result, we could also determine the next step. I agreed to have the FNAB by the end of that week. My endocrinologist made a very good decision by referring me to this oncologist. dr. Bayu was exactly what I consider a good doctor. He was cautious, detailed, and very open for discussion. (I remembered how he repeatedly asked if we have another question). Overall, I was very impressed with my oncologisst, and confident that he was the best option I have to...

I was not quite satisfied with my first internist. To be fair, maybe because I was not at my best state to absorb any information he gave me.   So, I decided to see an endocrinologist in another hospital (let's call it Hospital B).  My endocrinologist was probably on his early 40s. I spent more than half an hour discussing my ultrasound. The endocrinologist explained steps I can take and also its functions and effects: 1. Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB) Basically, the procedure was to stick a fine-gauge needle to take tissue sample, then a pathologist will observe the sample in a laboratorium. More about FNAB, you can read it  here . 2. Thyroidectomy Thyroidectomy is a procedure where all or a part of your thyroid gland is removed. At that moment, all I can think of was, I need to remove the lump. I need to stop worrying.  Hearing this, the endocrinologist referred me to an oncology surgeon at another hospital. Funny thing is, the rea...

Early February, I met my physician and she asked if I had gone to an internist. I hadn’t. I promised her I will, as soon as possible. A week later, my husband and I went out of town for birthday getaway. Unfortunately he fell sick and had to be hospitalized. Being in the hospital during his treatment, I finally have free time to see an internist, I thought. So, I made an appointment for any internist available on that day. I had to wait for 2,5 hours before I met my first internist. He checked the lump, and thought it was probably a cyst. However, I need to have an ultrasound just to make sure. I came back to see the internist with my ultrasound result a couple of days later. In summary, the result said it was not a cyst, but a mass with malignancy probability. He also explained steps I can take for treatment, but I could  barely digest the information. I crushed.

January 2018 I still remember that particular day. It was my aunt who noticed a nodule on my left part of the neck. I remember I rubbed it, and yeah, I can feel it. I thought it was just my thyroid gland, so I slept it off. The next day, I went to my office’s physician. She suspected I have hypothyroidism and recommended me to get my blood tested. OK, no big deal. Or so I thought. I got my blood drawn  the day after, and received the result in the afternoon. My FT4 and TSHs level turned out to be normal. The physician then recommended me to see an internist.