Mary,

It’s hard to know what nodules really are without doing a biopsy. Many people live with nodules in their thyroids and nothing really ever happens. When a doctor found my nodule, they gave me a biopsy and determined it was not cancerous. They put me on thyroid hormone medication to suppress the production of my thyroid (if I already have the hormone, my body wouldn’t produce it as much naturally) so that the tumor would not get bigger. Then, they monitored things by measuring size and occasionally biopsies. Shortly after having my last ACL surgery, I decided to have another biospy done just in case… and I’d used my deductible so it was a good time to do so. This biopsy came back with conflicting results and my endocrinologist said there was a 50/50% chance it was cancerous. Since I had used my deductible, I decided it was just time to take the nodule out, which requires removing one lobe of the thyroid. A thorough biopsy of the tumor after removing it showed that it actually was not cancerous, which is good because that would have required removal of the whole thyroid. I know you are scared, but lots of people – women especially – have some or all of their thyroids removed – which is the worst case scenario of your nodules are suspicious. But, there’s a good chance your nodules are just cystic fluid and you can peacefully coexist with them! Thankfully, thyroid nodules are fairly easy to deal with compared to many other kinds of tumors. Good luck and I wish you only the best!

Hi Loise! I still have half of my thyroid. Only the left lobe was removed. I am doing fine without the left half! I am on thyroid hormone supplements. It is important for me to keep up with blood tests every year or so to make sure the thyroid hormone levels are still good. I did have to bump up the dosage once, and I could tell because I was tired a lot. Other than that, I’m healthy, very athletic, and happy! Most people never even know I have half my thyroid gone. So, no, I wouldn’t have done anything different!

Thanks for your comment! I am glad you found our blog and hopefully some of it has been helpful for you. It’s always nice to know someone who is going through the same thing. I’ll surely keep posting after my surgery. So, then you’ll have a better idea of what a thyroid lobectomy is like!