I don’t know but I’m thinking my family doc who referred me is assuming I’m going to need surgery, hence the ENT? All my thyroid function and thyroid antibody tests come back normal so I’m not sure what an endocrinologist could do? That being said, I have very little faith in the family dr or her office staff so I don’t actually know what I should be doing.
I assumed thyroid surgery is generally done by an endocronologist which is why I was confused that you were being sent to an ENT. After researching a bit further I discovered that ENT’s are now doing thyroid surgeries as well. Maybe it would be a good idea to get a second opinion after you get the results back from the biopsy if it is cancerous?
Hoping for the best possible outcome for you as well.
Boy could I tell you some stories of quacks and young doctors that need to Google symptoms!
I finally found a good ultrasound technologist but I actually feel guilty because it takes 45 minutes for my multiple thyroid growths to be properly scanned.
The one before this one did not do a thorough scan and that’s maybe why the technician gave a bad report saying “no follow up” on the thyroid? I was getting other follow up scans done at the same time because of already having cancer. When I go in once a year I get a thorough vaginal, cervical and abdominal ultrasound…not fun for me or the technologist but it needs to be done and done properly. The technologist from last year kept looking at her watch, hurried the scans and actually knocked on the bathroom door asking me if I was done peeing from the full bladder needed for the pelvic scan. Because I hurried I didn’t completely empty my bladder which messed up the rest of my scan and then the technician recommended I see a urologist because I was unable to empty my bladder! Total incompetence from the technologist as well as the staff for booking too many patients before and after my appointment that should have taken an hour if done properly.
I think I’m going to start splitting my yearly ultrasounds up although it’s easier for me to get them all done at the same time it’s obviously too much for the professionals to handle.
If I had listened to the technician I wouldn’t have had a follow up done and who knows what could have happened, especially if my growth had been cancerous.
In the Google searches I did, it seems to be ENT surgeons with a strong recommendation to find a surgeon who specializes in thyroid removal surgery (if that is what is required).
I suspect ENT vs endo for the surgery is that the surgeon specializes in the structures of the ear, nose and throat while the endo specializes in what hormones are produced or not.
Maybe a little like the difference between a urologist and a nephrologist. Same general area of the body but different focus.
As for Googling, I’m with wanting to know but before any of my major surgeries the only Googling I really did was to research the track record of the surgeon and the hospital… lawsuits, infection rates, etc. Figured every surgical case is different and reading all the scary possible risks and outcomes, would just drive me crazy.
Before surgery the surgeon should go over all the possible risks so you know. Sometimes surgery doesn’t go according to plan but you are you and no sense in getting too wrapped up other than picking a very qualified surgeon. 
From Healthgrades on finding a Dr for thyroidectomy (if that is what ends up being recommended). I would say all these are spot on and yes, feel free to Google looking for this type of information
Find a surgeon who:
- Is board certified and specializes in thyroid removal surgery
- Has experience treating patients with your specific condition
- Practices at a hospital known to have high-quality outcomes
- Accepts your insurance
- You are comfortable talking with and who fully answers your questions
I don’t know about all ENTs but this one specializes in face, head and neck surgeries. Originally they had tried to refer me to a general surgeon but the referral was denied. When they said they were referring to an ENT I asked for this one because he did my sinus surgeries a few years ago
If the nodule is malignant I will definitely seeking a referral to an oncologist. I assume that’s standard practice / automatic but I’m not taking that for granted. Trying not to freak out until I know if there is actually something to worry about but the wait is killing me.
I can completely understand these feelings. At this point, worry won’t change the outcome, whatever it is, so take a deep breath and know we wait with you. It would be driving me nuts as well.
Oh, and glad to hear the referral to a general surgeon was denied. As Healthgrades suggested, you want a specialist in ENT and preferably with thyroid-specific surgeries. I know you said you liked your surgeon that did your sinus surgery but I’d be up front with asking him how many/often he does thyroid surgeries. If he doesn’t do many, maybe get a second opinion from a surgeon who does many.
Did I mention the ENT has horses?
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The different experiences we’ve had are odd. I first went to an endo to try and figure out my crazy diabetes and he was the one that found my thyroid nodule and it was just recommended that I go for an ultrasound which ended up being a yearly scan. I had just found a new and quite young GP when moving to a new city and old GP had retired and he took a look at the tests and said I should go for a biopsy and referred me to another endo. That endo said the technician’s report said no follow up, palpated my throat and sent me on my way, suggesting that my new GP was a panicky millennial, three months later I was going for the biopsy after another scan and a GP change. I have no idea of the actual type of surgeon that did my biopsy but he did a fantastic job and I barely felt a thing.
I may have missed you mentioning this but did your doctor tell you why he was referring you to a surgeon before knowing the results of the biopsy? Is it possibly the size or shape of it? Mine was large and a mass of nodules but it actually shrank after the biopsy.
I’m not going to tell you not to worry because it’s really irritatingly placating when facing A potential cancer scare and being told not to worry. The waiting is rough and hard to deal with, hang in there! I hope you get your biopsy appointment soon.
Well that’s a bonus…you can talk shop! :lol:
Plot twist - I had a call from my GP this afternoon - she had re-read my pathology report. I guess it had a bunch of 'it could be"s and a definite “suspicious for follicular something something”, so there is not a confirmed malignancy. I still have to see an oncologist to determine what the next step will be. I don’t want to get my hopes up now that I’ve gotten used to the idea.
I woke up this morning with “I have cancer”, but I’m going to bed tonight with “I might have cancer”.
Hoping for the best possible outcome!
Honestly I have no clue, and I’m worried that she has no clue. She did not order the biopsy at all initially, just referred me to a surgeon and seemed to assume they would order it. It’s only because this ENT won’t see me until I have the biopsy results that her office is now trying to book it for me, and only because I went in and followed up in person. The paperwork from the ENT had been sitting on their desk for days. They tried to book at our local hospital but the earliest they could do it was January! So now they are trying at two other hospitals in neighbouring towns that are part of the same healthcare network as our hospital. Should be within a couple of weeks.
Well that’s just gross incompetence on your doctors behalf…no wonder you’re so frazzled! It was her responsibility to order the biopsy then the referral to whomever to handle it if it’s cancerous, the ENT was probably shaking their head at your doctor’s stupidity.
I think that because Canada needs doctors so badly that they’re popping them out of university without being fully trained and educated let alone having learned proper protocol or people skills. Staff is only as much as what their employees are and what they expect.
Here in Ontario teachers are going to be put through a mandatory math skills test and if they don’t pass it they have a chance to upgrade their skills or lose their certificate. If something similar were to happen to our doctors we’d be in really big trouble!
That’s promising!
It’s also incredibly stressful to have resigned yourself to a cancer battle only to be told, “Oops…I read the report wrongly!” Is your doctor young?
Fingers crossed for a good outcome!
My new doctor is youngish, but has been a Dr for a few years. In the initial appointment she did say the report was rather vague and unclear, and then she apologized during the call yesterday. I’m happy that she looked it over again and gave me a call and remembered what I specifically had asked her.
I’m not going to get my hopes up, as I don’t want to have the shock again. I’m the kind of person who tends to think worst case scenario, the is pleasantly surprised when it turns out to be not too bad. But yes, my fingers are going to stay crossed.
Don’t know about Canada but I know here in the US, I always ask for copies of reports, copies of scans, etc when I have any type of diagnostic procedure or lab work done. Lab work, I can log in online and read the results within a few days.
Yes, the reports are not always easy to understand but I can take them to any specialist for help in “translating” if I need to or ask my PCP for “interpretation”.
I have tried to get to the radiologist who wrote the report but that has not been as successful. But, the requesting healthcare professional has always been willing to explain and answer my questions.
I’ve recently started doing this as well.
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I will also admit that I do not go Goggle shopping often after I get the reports.
Oftentimes I read things that may, to my untrained eye, sound scary but become much less so after a discussion with appropriate Dr 
Cautious optimism has always been my go to.
Please keep us updated!
I visited the surgeon I was referred to today and have good(ish) news.
I have a follicular lesion of undetermined significance. In other words, when they look for cancer they look at 5 markers. If you have all 5, you have cancer. If you have 0, you don’t have cancer. If you have 2 or 3 markers, it could go either way. That’s where I am.
At this point, no surgery. We are going to re-biopsy it again in 6 months. At that time I’m being referred to a doctor who does the pathology at the same time that he pulls the samples - if he doesn’t like the sample, he’ll pull another one right away. And apparently he is likely to give me the results at that time.
Then I’ll see the surgeon again a couple of weeks later. If it comes back undetermined again, we’ll likely look at removal just to be safe.
So I get a reprieve for a few months, but no confirmation as to if it is for sure malignant or not. In six months I get to go for a ride on this roller coaster again (and I hate roller coasters). But in the meantime I can start saddle shopping!
And he had a hard time with the pathology report as well - he said there were some weird things in there. So it wasn’t necessarily the fault of my primary doctor that she gave me incorrect news in the beginning.
I have another appointment with an endocrinologist at the end of the month, so I’ll ask him about the repercussions of living without a thyroid. I’m not sure what will get removed if it happens in the spring - just the nodule, just the right lobe, or the whole thing. Obviously I’m hoping I get to keep some of it!
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