Anyone have experience with goiter and/or thyroid removal?

[AHASRADA]

My dear SIL, age 43, has a 2cm growth on her thyroid. Her doctor has strongly advised her to simply have her thyroid surgically removed.

 

This seemed extreme, so I did a little googling, and read that it is rarely necessary to remove the thyroid completely, unless of course if it is cancerous. There are several causes, often iodine deficiency and a few conditions like Hashimoto's. It doesn't appear the doctor is looking into the cause, he just wants to remove it.

 

She lives in a developing country where it seems very common to remove the thyroid due to goiter. She named at least 6 women she knows off the top of her head who have had the surgery. When I asked why they don't just biopsy the growth, and if it is benign, try to find the cause and alternative treatment, she said oh, they never do biopsies here, they just remove it. The radiologist even said, based on the size and shape of the growth, there is a 60% chance it is malignant. Again, so biopsy the thing!! Grr.

 

I feel terribly that SIL is being coerced into this surgery, because she is very interested in holistic medicine and treating health conditions with diet. When she suggested this alternative to the dr., he just said, "Oh, just remove it and relax/don't bother yourself" (I'm translating). I can see his perspective when working with an uneducated population who would rather take a pill once a day for the rest of their lives than follow a strict diet and supplement protocol, but that's not her. He even said he had a patient try that once, and they died. Well, yes, if you don't bother to biopsy it first and look for the cause!!

 

Her husband is also in favor of the surgery, because the doctor has recommended it and he is afraid of doing otherwise and jeopardizing her health. So, she has resigned herself to the surgery and the lifelong daily meds.

 

I guess this is primarily a vent, but I am also looking for thoughts and perspectives from those with experience in this area, as I have none. Is surgery really the best option and not a big deal, as she has been told? Are the daily meds really an excellent replacement for having your own thyroid intact, or are there side-effects? Anything else we or she should know going into this surgery?

 

Thanks for listening.

[JFSinIL]

Had half of mine out last fall - doctor had lab check tissue sample before she closed up - if it had been cancer, she'd have taken the entire thyroid.  It wasn't so she only took the enlarged half. Easy peasy.  Both my MIL and my mom  (and the lady at the hospital who took  my insurance info) had the same thing done about my age (mid-50s). 

 

I had looked up thyroid cancer ahead of time - usually is NOT cancer, and if it is, is easy to treat (well, for a cancer) so I was not worried about it.

 

I have not needed any meds as the remaining half a thyroid is working fine.

 

Had to have it done, as it was pretty large and surgeon didn't want to do other surgery (post-car crash abdominal repair work) until thyroid was taken care of.  In fact, surgeon was surprised it wasn't putting pressure on my windpipe.

[OneStepAtATime]

Can she get a second opinion from a doctor that is in a more developed nation?  I realize travel costs might be prohibitive.

 

FWIW, I ended up having mine destroyed with radioactive iodine instead of surgery.  MUCH larger than it should have been.  I had Graves disease.  But it was not cancerous.  Just extremely enlarged.  I have to take meds every day but it isn't a big deal.  If they could have saved any of my thyroid that would have been better, but the whole thing was too big.