Thyroid Problems Post Radition for Rectal Cancer

[lorrainem]

Hi all,
Picking the brains of experience here. Has anyone developed thryroid problems/cancer as a result of radiation treatment? I have had classic thryroid symptoms and though blood tests game back normal, except for white being high and lymph being high bloods for TSH were "normal." Thryoid sonogram showed 8 mm nodule that I will have to follow up on and 3mm cyst.
As a survivor these results freak me out, only slightly, because unless I hear words like "chemo" or "get affairs in order," everything else is doable. Main concern is DDs wedding in three months and don't want to throw any "unhappy" into a happy occasion.
If anyone has thoughts to share they are welcome. Thank you.

[jintyb]

Hi I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer following bowel surgery chemo and radiotherapy. The thyroid Oncologist want me to get my bowel cancer stage 4 under control before doing anything with it at the moment. They have told me it is unrelated to the bowel cancer.
I was treated in 2009 for an over active thyroid which was picked up by a routine blood test and was treated with radioactive iodine.
I didn't have any symptoms for either my bowel cancer or thyroid cancer before they were diagnosed.

[steiconi]

They found I had thyroid cancer when I did a PET scan, a few years after radiation. The mets in my lung were more urgent, so I did surgery and chemo for that, and didn't have the thyroidectomy until a year after diagnosis.

I don't think there's any way to tell if colon radiation caused it--as I understand it, that radiation is pretty much focused below the belt. More likely, all those dental xrays did the trick, or the many CT scans, or maybe it's genetic, or caused by environmental pollution or something.

Apparently, thyroid cancer is extremely widespread, but most people who have it never know because it doesn't have obvious symptoms and grows really slowly, and may not ever cause any problems. I had one doc tell me, "If you have to have a cancer, choose thyroid!" But don't tell thyroid cancer survivors that, they get upset that you're disrespecting their cancer experience.

My onco said thyroid cancer is not well understood, and they probably don't need to do as many thyroidectomies as they do. Too bad I had a different onco when I was diagnosed!

http://thyca.org/ is a forum (similar to ColonClub) for people with thyroid disorders. Lots of friendly people and helpful info!

And if you still have your thyroid, ask for a thyroid shield when you're having xrays or scans! They should have the shields right there (even at the dentist); they might downplay the importance, but just ignore their laughter and insist.

[Emilea]

I was actually diagnosed with thyroid cancer 7 years before being diagnosed with colon cancer. My dad also had both types of cancer but his thyroid cancer was found and treated during the year and a half he was NED from colon cancer. I was told that since I was so young (33 at the time) when mine was found that thyroidectomy was necessary.