Pregnant and may have cancer?

ajpnaah10 · January 2011

I'm super scared. I'm 22. I got blood drawn last week because I the doctor thought I had hyperthyroidism. Well the same day I found out I am pregnant for the first time. I am about 6 weeks pregnant. Today I went to the doctors for the lab results of my blood work. Well the doctor had ordered a CT scan last time but I didn't go cuz I wanted the blood results first. Well today he said everything came back normal with my blood except one thing. My cell rate is high. I've had a small pea-sized lump on my left side of my neck for about 3 or 4 years now. He says with that and the blood results it's one of two things. Inflammitory from something in my body like my wisdom tooth but he doubts it. Then he said or it might be cancer. He said he doesn't like the look of things. I'm so scared. The radiologist wants to do an ultrasound of my thyroid before a CT scan cuz I'm pregnant. I do not know what to think now.

snowclouds · January 2011

Congrats on the pregnancy and so sorry to hear about the possible diagnosis.

Sending T&P your way...

MrsMiller1002 · January 2011

I'm very sorry you're going through this! T&P with you and your family.

W111MRP · January 2011

I'm sorry to hear that and hope its not. If it is cancer, I hope it can be removed safely. Thoughts and prayers.

baugust · January 2011

I am so sorry you are going through all this! I can't imagine how you feel but please do not panic till you have results. There is no sense in stressing yourself and the baby out when you do not have a straight answer.

I hope only the best and you will be in my thoughts.

gigglingtoes217 · January 2011

Well you know Dr's have to give you all of your options.

My ex had a lump on his neck and they had to drain the fluid and take a biopsy to find out what it was, and it was getting larger the longer he left it there- it ended up being nothing but the waiting killed him. Try to wait for the results and think positive.

Do you have a history of cancer? Have you had your wisdom teeth removed? You are young. While it's possible to have cancer at 22, I have not heard/seen of many people with it at such a young age.

annelise k · January 2011

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

I am so sorry to hear about your concern; I am sending t & ps that it is a begnin issue.

I've had thyroid issues since I was 15, and ended up needing a partial thyroidectomy is 1996 (cysts were not cancerous). My father had thyroid cancer and is fine, thankfully. There are so many possible explanations and treatment plans in case of a worst case scenario. From my understanding, (in case you are facing a worst case scenario) many thyroid cancers are slow growing and not aggresive. I know it's hard, but try to keep positive.

I am seeing my endo on Monday. I have 3 fairly new cysts in what's left of my thyroid and he is not concerned as they have not been growing.I never had a CT for my thyroid- just ultrasounds and fine needle biopsies.

GL to you

ajpnaah10 · January 2011

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and advice. there is history of cancer in my family but not in the neck that I know of. I am trying to patienty wait for the doctors to call me back with an appointment for me to get an ultrasound on my thyroid or whatever they plan on doing. I will try to keep ya'll updated with this. I hope and pray it is not cancer. I hope its something simple and esy to take care of and its nothing major. Thank you all again.

whalen_sa · January 2011

Keeping you in my T&P

Fisherman'sWife · January 2011

I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this.

It sounds like your doctor is doing the right steps. The number in your blood work that you want to make sure they check is your SED rate. This number can give a good indication of cancer. More than likely they may want to do a biopsy. There are several types of biopsies. The easiest is called a Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) where they just stick a needle into the lump and pull out fluid. The other kinds of biopsies are surgery and can be either partial removal of the lump or full removal of the lump.

I had Hodgkins Lymphoma at age 22 (I actually started chemo the week of my 22nd birthday). 3 years later I have had no recurrence and I am pregnant! It started with a lump in my neck. However, it is estimated that of all the people that have swollen lymph nodes and glands in their neck, about 1% will turn out cancerous. Its a possibility, but maybe not. I first had the FNA then a partial biopsy via surgery to determine it was indeed Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Other symptoms of Hodgkins include night sweats, itchy skin, and weight loss. If you have had any of these things you should immediately tell your doctor. The best type of doctor to be seeing for this type of thing would be an Ear Nose and Throat doctor.

Feel free to send me an email (bride06052010@gmail.com) if you have any other questions. Again, odds are there is nothing there and no reason to worry.

Fisherman'sWife · January 2011

gigglingtoes217:
Do you have a history of cancer? Have you had your wisdom teeth removed? You are young. While it's possible to have cancer at 22, I have not heard/seen of many people with it at such a young age.

Sorry, I just had to comment on this. Cancer in young adults is one of the fastest growing populations with cancer and is one of the least talked about age groups. Most of these cancers that occur in this age group do not have any family history of cancer.

gigglingtoes217 · January 2011

Fisherman'sWife:
gigglingtoes217:

Do you have a history of cancer? Have you had your wisdom teeth removed? You are young. While it's possible to have cancer at 22, I have not heard/seen of many people with it at such a young age.

Sorry, I just had to comment on this. Cancer in young adults is one of the fastest growing populations with cancer and is one of the least talked about age groups. Most of these cancers that occur in this age group do not have any family history of cancer.

Interesting! Thanks for the info.

daisy0501 · January 2011

Sorry to hear about all of the stress you are going through!

Just wanted to check to make sure that your doctor knows that you were pregnant when they drew your blood? I'm not sure what you mean by cell rate - if you are referring to white cells or sed rate (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) or something else. However, the sed rate is an inflammatory marker and most inflammatory markers can be elevated with pregnancy. Make sure they know you were pregnant so they can interpret the results appropriately.

It is generally reassuring that the lump has been stable for 3+ years. T & Ps! Let us know how it all turns out.

AshleyMF1983 · January 2011

My husband is a two-time cancer survivor - he had Hodgkins Lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes). The lumps he had in his neck grew. If yours have not grown, maybe it's nothing to worry about. My mom has high cell counts every time she had bloodwork and she's 100% fine. I'm not trying to get your hopes up, just trying to help you see that it may be nothing. Best of luck to you.

ces25c · January 2011

Congrats on the pregnancy and thoughts and prayers for your health. I doubt it's possible not to worry, so I won't even say that but I know of quite a few people with thyroid problems which has caused lumps that had to be removed and none of them ended up having cancer.

J&MsMom · January 2011

Congrats.

I had a suspicious nodule about six years ago. They did the fine needle aspiration and it was inconclusive. Anyway, during this time I did a lot or research on Thyroid cancer. My ENT told me if he had to get any type of cancer, he would want Thyroid because it is usually non aggressive and you don't usually need chemo or radiation to cure.

I had the partial thyroidectimy (sp?) and everything is fine.

I know you are scared but it looks like you have a good doctor who is on top of it.

GL

jchickiem · January 2011

I found out I had thyroid cancer 2 years ago (it's all gone now after surgery and 1 dose of radioactive iodine treatment). It is almost always VERY treatable, and also quite common in women in their 20s and 30s. Most of the time, the diagnostic tests for thyroid nodules/tumors are ultrasound, fine needle aspiration biopsy, and lots of bloodwork.

Upon visiting with my endocrinologist concerning our plans to get pregnant, she let us know that she wanted me to come in for a neck ultrasound at the very beginning of the 2nd trimester. Her reasoning was that she could treat any reoccurence (which there was none) during this phase of the pregnancy.

Find a good endocrinologist. I hope for that your thyroid issues get straightened out and monitored closely--hopefully no cancer! Message me if you have any questions--I've been there--so very recently! Good luck!!

ShannonSky · January 2011

MrsMiller1002:
I'm very sorry you're going through this! T&P with you and your family.

This! Hang in there and try, try, try not to worry until you know there's something to worry about!

NeonEyeliner77 · January 2011

Fisherman'sWife:
gigglingtoes217:

Do you have a history of cancer? Have you had your wisdom teeth removed? You are young. While it's possible to have cancer at 22, I have not heard/seen of many people with it at such a young age.

Sorry, I just had to comment on this. Cancer in young adults is one of the fastest growing populations with cancer and is one of the least talked about age groups. Most of these cancers that occur in this age group do not have any family history of cancer.

Yes

And OP, T&Ps your way, I hope they get everything figured out.

heylee · January 2011

Congratulations on your pregnancy! It could also be a non-cancerous lump. My sister in law had one on her thyroid. T&P to you!

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