I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2020.
Looking back, I had no symptoms (that were obvious). Not one. The only symptom was found “by accident” on my yearly ultrasound … 2 enlarged nodules, … one which had grown larger, and one which was a new one that was large as well, and they were both big enough to warrant biopsies.
For decades I had always had very small nodules on my thyroid, but they were checked yearly (by ultrasound) to make sure they didn’t grow. (I did have some of the nodules biopsied a very long time ago, and they were all benign).
Fast forward to 2020. My endocrinologist had me schedule the yearly thyroid ultrasound, and I went to the appt. A couple of days after that ultrasound, my DR’s office called me and said one of the nodules had grown and there was a new one there also, and she wanted both biopsied.
A couple of days after getting them biopsied, on a Friday night, I remember getting an unexpected call from my endocrinologist. She told me the nodules were found to be cancerous, and that I would need surgery to remove them. She didn’t know if the cancer was contained in the nodules or not, but that I needed to call my surgeon and make an appt to see her.
After seeing the surgeon, I learned that I would need a total thyroidectomy to get rid of all the cancer; she didn’t know if it had spread or not.
I had surgery March 17th, 2020, to remove the cancer. Fortunately, it had been contained to my thyroid gland, and not surrounding tissue. I didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation.
But to answer the question, after finding out I had thyroid cancer, looking back I did not have any obvious symptoms. The only symptoms were “accidentally” found on a yearly thyroid ultrasound … which were abnormally large thyroid nodules.
EDIT: I was 47 when diagnosed (turned 48 later that year).
EDITED TO ADD:
I was just recently diagnosed with cancer again, in February 2023, but this time it was basal cell carcinoma. I am now 50 years old, turning 51 this year.
I went to my endocrinologist for a follow-up appt and she noticed a lightly scabbed over crater on the top of my left ear. I told her I didn’t know what it was from and that I’d had it for awhile. She didn’t appear alarmed so after that appt I left thinking nothing of it.
(The scabbed over crater on the top of my ear was not the result of anything that would have caused it to bleed and scab over … it was just a scabbed over area that had turned into what looked like a crater on the top of my ear).
A few months later, in February 2023, I had a physical and I mentioned it to my primary care DR. She looked at it and immediately said, “You need to see your dermatologist ASAP because an unhealed wound like that can be a sign of cancer.” I would have never guessed this little scabbed over area on the top of my ear could be cancer.
The dermatologist saw me within the week, and right away she said it was probably basal cell carcinoma but that she was taking a biopsy to make sure. I asked her a question about the biopsy, and she said I had a growth under the scabbed area that has been eating away at the skin, causing the crater to form.
The biopsy results came back positive for basal cell carcinoma, and I had Mohs surgery done. About Mohs surgery:
The Mohs surgeon only needed to take 2 layers of skin off until the cancer was gone. After removing all of the cancer, he also did a skin graft so my ear would be rounded at the top again, taking some skin from the area next to my ear.
I am currently still recovering form the surgery. The Mohs surgeon said it takes about 2 months for it to completely heal, so I have about a month to go. I need to put mupirocin (a prescription antibiotic ointment) on it with a band-aid covering it at a ll times, except when showering.
So to answer the main question, after finding out that I had cancer again, looking back the very first symptom I had that I didn’t think was one was a scabbed over crater-like appearance on the top of my ear. And it wasn’t until my dermatologist did a biopsy that I found out I had basal cell carcinoma.