Question:
Thyroid Cancer-anyone been diganosised AFTER WLS?

My husband has just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer-had his thyroid removed and looking at having another surgery to remove enlarged lymph nodes in his chest area-he had WLS 9 months ago and everyone chalked the bumps on his body as being "fatty tissue" and when after a chest xray they saw a mass in his chest they said the same thing and never followed up b/c he was "too big" for the cat scan(2 yrs later he finally had a cat scan after losing 160lbs)Has anyone been diagnosed with thyroid cancer-and at what stage in the cancer are you-do you find that you're farther along in the cancer because of your size? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks Heather    — Heather D. (posted on November 1, 2004)

November 1, 2004
Hi, Heather. I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer ("thyca") two months after my WLS in 2002. I've since had two surgeries for thyca mets to lymph nodes (including one for nodes in thc chest that became more visible on scans due to weight loss), and am having a third surgery soon. Also had two rounds of radiation and will have a third. Despite all that, my prognosis is still good. Thyroid cancer prognosis depends most on what type of thyroid cancer you have and how old you are when it's diagnosed. Other factors such as lymph node involvement, while relevant, are actually secondary to type of thyca and age at time of diagnosis. Yes, it's cancer, but there are many worse cancers to have. Do you and your husband subscribe to the yahoo thyroid cancer support group? It's a great resource. You can look for it at http:// health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Thyca. (take the space out after the "//" to get to the URL). Also, please feel free to email me if I can be of any help. Good luck to you and your husband.
   — Suzy C.

November 1, 2004
DEAR HEATHER, I DO NOT HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU. HOWEVER, YOUR POST HAS RAISED QUESTIONS FOR ME. I HAD A PARTIAL MASTECTOMY LAST YEAR BEFORE WLS. I AM GOING TO GET IN FOR A MOMMOGRAM ASAP, MAYBE THEY MISSED SOMETHING BEFORE THAT THEY COULD SEE NOW BECAUSE OF THE WEIGHT LOSS. GOD BLESS YOU & THANK YOU, LORIANN http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ChristianWLSJourney/
   — Loriann J.

November 1, 2004
Also, there is an amazing website that helped me, especially that first year...thyca.org its a jackpot of info and support...BTW, Suzy C has the best attitude!! (read her profile, I love it!!) That makes all the difference in the world when dealing with Thyroid Cancer; a great outlook and attitude helps to get thru the tough times. Best of luck to your family Donna
   — missdjv

November 3, 2004
I had my surgery on 2/4/02 and was diagnosed with colon cancer on 6/18/04. I don't know if one had anything to do with the others, but I'd like to think not. I'm still going through chemotherapy and when that's complete, I should be cancer-free. Good luck to your husband...Cindy T
   — Cindy T.