First post on this board. I have Papillary Carcinoma..which was the original report after they removed my Thyroid on May 9th, 2008. On my pre-surgery biopsy - the pathologist indicated it "may be" tall cell variant... I insisted on a 2nd opinion of the thyroid tissue after removal...and they sent it to the University of Pennsylvania lab - where they concluded it was definitely tall cell variant...but the tumor was only .9 centimeters...(less than 1)....and it appears to have been confined to the thyroid. I also had three lymph nodes biopsied prior to surgery - and they came back negative. No lymph nodes were removed during surgery. For the record...the pathologist at the Hospital who said it "was not" tall cell...was extremely confident he was right. He told my oncologist the biopsy mention was fairly useless and he was confident. The lab at the University of Pennsylvania...looked at the same tissue..and said it was clearly tall cell. I am thinking...there may be more tall cell than we know...but many pathologist miss it. The lab at Pennsylvania also indicated they had not really seen a tall cell tumor this small before..so they said no data was available to make any type of prognosis. FWIW - this was found on a full body MRI I have done annually...my thyroid blood levels were fine and it appeared to be functioning normally...but it is now removed. I am a 44 year old male.
I was on one cytomel a day for approx. 2 weeks after surgery...but stopped 3 weeks ago and after my blood test this week - was given clearance to do RAI. I am not exactly clear from speaking to my doctor...and figured I would ask all the folks on this board...many who have been thru this!
1) How long after taking the RAI did you go in for a followup scan? My oncologist initially said 3 days....but the endo said 7 - 10 days...figured the 7 - 10 days was right.
2) can you start armoroid or synthroid immediately after the scan - assuming they find no more signs of cancer elsewhere?
3) How long does it take for the replacement thyroid medication to "kick in"?
Any input appreciated....