Well, today was the day I was supposed to have thyroid surgery at Royal Perth Hospital (I would have been there right now, appointment time was 6:30am) but they phoned me last Thursday and said they had to reschedule it for March 11th due to an emergency).

I'm having the right side of my thyroid and the lump that's attached to it removed, I was supposed to be there all day today and overnight. I had a biopsy done at RPH last July but the results were inconclusive. The doctor said last September there was a 15% chance it might be the beginning of thyroid cancer (0% chance that it could be prostate cancer appearing in the thyroid).

The good thing is I can now be with my aunt today on her 91st birthday. I did organize for my cousin and his wife to visit my aunt for lunch while I was supposed to be in hospital (they're still coming).

At least the 8 weeks of 5 day a week radiation treatment I had for prostate cancer at GenesisCare, Fiona Stanley Hospital from mid October to mid December seems to have had the desired effect so far. Got the results back from a blood test I had a week ago and my PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) level has dropped to 1.8 ug/l. It was 69 when I had blood tests done in September, 2019 and it had dropped to 6.5 two months after my first Lucrin injection last June (Lucrin stops testosterone production which 'feeds' prostate cancer).

It usually takes between 18 months and 2 years for the PSA to drop to its lowest level (the nadir) after radiation treatment for prostate cancer and I need to have Lucrin injections every 3 months until then at least.

Apart from all that I feel fine, the minor urination problems (sudden urges to 'go' and not much coming out a lot of the time) from the radiation treatment seem to have almost disappeared now.

So glad I had shingles in September 2019, I know that sounds strange and I was cursing it at the time but if it hadn't been for that I probably wouldn't have found out about the prostate cancer until it was too late to treat it effectively since I'd never been to a doctor in my life up until then.

Hope alls well Carl.

wow you have had a rugged time Carl  sorry to hear all that news...and the delay can be frustrating    but then you wouldnt have been there for your aunties very special birthday.....so that can be a plus...I wish you well for March   a thumbs up for only good news..I always tell them that when I am having anything done....and so far so good..

Thanks, Bojack and Cods.

I really would have been happier to get the thyroid surgery out of the way today instead of having to wait another 2 weeks. It was originally going to be on December 3rd but because my prostate cancer treatment didn't finish until December 10th it had to be rescheduled (I was originally told October/November with no specific dates for the prostate cancer treatment when RPH made the December 3rd appointment for my thyroid surgery last September).

At least I won't be aware of what's going on during the surgery now on March 11th because I'll be under general anaesthetic. The doctor did say it could be done under local anaesthetic but he didn't recommend it (and I definitely wouldn't want that anyway).

Carl D wrote on Feb 25^th, 2021 at 8:52am:

At least the 8 weeks of 5 day a week radiation treatment I had for prostate cancer at GenesisCare, Fiona Stanley Hospital from mid October to mid December seems to have had the desired effect so far.

[smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Poor Carl,
I hope you get better soon.  :'(

Carl D wrote on Feb 25^th, 2021 at 10:00am:

Thanks, Bojack and Cods. I really would have been happier to get the thyroid surgery out of the way today instead of having to wait another 2 weeks. It was originally going to be on December 3rd but because my prostate cancer treatment didn't finish until December 10th it had to be rescheduled (I was originally told October/November with no specific dates for the prostate cancer treatment when RPH made the December 3rd appointment for my thyroid surgery last September). At least I won't be aware of what's going on during the surgery now on March 11th because I'll be under general anaesthetic. The doctor did say it could be done under local anaesthetic but he didn't recommend it (and I definitely wouldn't want that anyway).

so many complain when they get delayed!    so well done to you for sucking it up.. I remember spending a whole day in emergency with a bag pf peas that were once frozen on what ended up a fractured ankle  I  was just about to see someone  [ it was a public holiday I only so stuff then]   after many hours when a gun shot wound came in... we all sat back...there are just so many doctors and specialists...]

dont ever do something dumb on weekends or public holidays..

I must get checked for that myself as we have a history of it in the family and most recently one sister had one the size of an orange growing inwards, surprisingly she did not have difficultly swallowing.

As I do have issues with food being swallowed that is regurgitating food that hasnt gone down properly, its probably worth checking.

Good luck with it all Carl. Hope it all turns out well for you!

Redmond Neck wrote on Feb 25^th, 2021 at 2:17pm:

I must get checked for that myself as we have a history of it in the family and most recently one sister had one the size of an orange growing inwards, surprisingly she did not have difficultly swallowing. As I do have issues with food being swallowed that is regurgitating food that hasnt gone down properly, its probably worth checking.

Thyroid or Prostate?  :-/

Setanta wrote on Feb 25^th, 2021 at 8:47pm:

Redmond Neck wrote on Feb 25th, 2021 at 2:17pm: I must get checked for that myself as we have a history of it in the family and most recently one sister had one the size of an orange growing inwards, surprisingly she did not have difficultly swallowing. As I do have issues with food being swallowed that is regurgitating food that hasnt gone down properly, its probably worth checking. Thyroid or Prostate?  :-/

Poor wiping technique?

Best wishes Carl.

Thanks, everyone.

My aunt enjoyed her birthday yesterday, especially the visit from my cousin and his wife. We haven't seen them for 12 years.

He also had serious prostate cancer which was diagnosed about 10 years ago and he decided to have his prostate removed. I did ask about having surgery myself but these days radiation treatment is just as effective as surgery - with less unwanted side effects.


Redmond Neck wrote on Feb 25^th, 2021 at 2:17pm:

I must get checked for that myself as we have a history of it in the family and most recently one sister had one the size of an orange growing inwards, surprisingly she did not have difficultly swallowing. As I do have issues with food being swallowed that is regurgitating food that hasnt gone down properly, its probably worth checking.

Definitely worth getting checked out. The lump on the right side of my thyroid is actually pushing my windpipe sideways (the doctor at Royal Perth showed me the images last September) but I haven't had any difficulty swallowing food up until now.

Carl D wrote on Feb 26^th, 2021 at 7:04am:

Thanks, everyone. My aunt enjoyed her birthday yesterday, especially the visit from my cousin and his wife. We haven't seen them for 12 years. He also had serious prostate cancer which was diagnosed about 10 years ago and he decided to have his prostate removed. I did ask about having surgery myself but these days radiation treatment is just as effective as surgery - with less unwanted side effects. Redmond Neck wrote on Feb 25th, 2021 at 2:17pm: I must get checked for that myself as we have a history of it in the family and most recently one sister had one the size of an orange growing inwards, surprisingly she did not have difficultly swallowing. As I do have issues with food being swallowed that is regurgitating food that hasnt gone down properly, its probably worth checking. Definitely worth getting checked out. The lump on the right side of my thyroid is actually pushing my windpipe sideways (the doctor at Royal Perth showed me the images last September) but I haven't had any difficulty swallowing food up until now.

one of my son in laws is seeing a liver specialist next week..he also has a 5cm  aneurysm .. so worrying times  you stay positive carl  we are in good hands we have the best in the world here I believe..

Thanks, Cods.

I hope he's OK.

The lump on the right side of my thyroid was 2.5cm when I was first informed of it in October, 2019.

When I spoke to the doctor at RPH (the one who will be performing the surgery) last September he said that it was nearly 4cm so it must be slowly getting larger.

From what I've read and heard, thyroid lumps are very common as people get older. Apparently, women tend to have them more often than men although the majority of lumps (for both sexes) turn out to be benign and not cancerous.

Setanta wrote on Feb 25^th, 2021 at 8:47pm:

Redmond Neck wrote on Feb 25th, 2021 at 2:17pm: I must get checked for that myself as we have a history of it in the family and most recently one sister had one the size of an orange growing inwards, surprisingly she did not have difficultly swallowing. As I do have issues with food being swallowed that is regurgitating food that hasnt gone down properly, its probably worth checking. Thyroid or Prostate?  :-/

Was talking about getting the thyroid checked,  but am already taking tablets for enlarged prostate (Duodart?)

Best of improvement Carl D.
I've been told, and experienced it a bit myself.
But Regional Hospitals, which are ironically smaller staffed - have few line-ups as most regional people are healthier than their city counter-parts.
I've heard people even flying to Fiji for operations - a lot cheaper than Australian Health System (or long waits on the Public) even with the airfare and they have a holiday too. A cash in hand bonus to the surgeon is still a lot cheaper than to a Private Hospital - the cost of which has seen a dramatic drop in Private Health customers.

Jasin wrote on Feb 26^th, 2021 at 3:41pm:

Best of improvement Carl D. I've been told, and experienced it a bit myself. But Regional Hospitals, which are ironically smaller staffed - have few line-ups as most regional people are healthier than their city counter-parts. I've heard people even flying to Fiji for operations - a lot cheaper than Australian Health System (or long waits on the Public) even with the airfare and they have a holiday too. A cash in hand bonus to the surgeon is still a lot cheaper than to a Private Hospital - the cost of which has seen a dramatic drop in Private Health customers.

Perth public hospitals are actually very good.

The RPH building might be a bit old, but the care given by the doctors and nurses is really quite extraordinary.

Well, today was supposed to be the day for my thyroid surgery but it has now been cancelled (again) and rescheduled for March 31st.

Quite understandable of course - Royal Perth is a very busy hospital (at least they don't consider my surgery to be urgent which is a good thing for me, I guess?).

Hope it gets done on time without problems, Carl!

Thanks, Jovial Monk.

I should have been a bit suspicious before I went to Royal Perth last Thursday because they hadn't sent me a new appointment letter after they phoned me on February 18th to tell me the surgery had been changed from February 25th to March 11th and they also didn't send me a reminder text to my mobile phone the day before the appointment like they usually do.

Oh, well, at least I know now to call them to confirm the appointment for March 31st if I don't get a new appointment letter and reminder text message before then.

My sister-in-law had thyroid cancer, had surgery, and is doing quite well years after the fact. I believe she takes synthetic thyroid now but am not sure ...

AiA wrote on Mar 15^th, 2021 at 10:20am:

My sister-in-law had thyroid cancer, had surgery, and is doing quite well years after the fact. I believe she takes synthetic thyroid now but am not sure ...

Hi, AiA.

Good to hear she's doing well. I'm just having the right side of my thyroid (and the lump that's attached to it) removed.

If you have the entire thyroid removed then you need to take tablets for the rest of your life to replace the hormones the thyroid normally produces.

If you just have half of the thyroid removed like I'm having done then the remaining half can usually take over the full function of a complete thyroid but if it doesn't then I'll probably need to take tablets to make up for the hormone 'shortfall'.

I know a Chinese guy who has to take so many pills and tablets that he puts them in a bowl and eats them with chopsticks.

Well, today is (hopefully) the day.

Have to be at Royal Perth for 10:30am (7:30am now) which at least is better than when I went there at 6am on March 11th only to be told the surgery had been cancelled again and changed to today.

Mind you, I'm going to call Admissions at 8am just to double check. I received an updated appointment letter 2 weeks ago and I had a call from a lady there last Thursday to confirm the appointment but they usually send a text message to confirm the appointment on the day before and I didn't get that.

I don't want to go all the way down there for nothing again.

Carl D wrote on Mar 31^st, 2021 at 9:29am:

Well, today is (hopefully) the day. Have to be at Royal Perth for 10:30am (7:30am now) which at least is better than when I went there at 6am on March 11th only to be told the surgery had been cancelled again and changed to today. Mind you, I'm going to call Admissions at 8am just to double check. I received an updated appointment letter 2 weeks ago and I had a call from a lady there last Thursday to confirm the appointment but they usually send a text message to confirm the appointment on the day before and I didn't get that. I don't want to go all the way down there for nothing again.

Hope it goes ahead   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Me too!

I guess it has, CarlD has not come back to say it was cancelled.

Thanks, guys.

Unfortunately, after waiting at RPH from 10:30am until 4pm I was told that they couldn't do the surgery today because they'd run out of time.

All I got for my journey was a little plaster on my left arm where they took a blood sample and a nice texta arrow on the right side of my neck presumably to let the doctor know which side of the thyroid he's taking out. 8-)

They were very apologetic (not their fault, of course) and they almost managed to fit me in for another appointment tomorrow morning but couldn't do it.

Wasn't too keen on the idea anyway just before Easter and I would have had to either stay there overnight tonight after being there nearly all day today and stay there all day tomorrow and overnight again and come home Friday morning.

I said that it was a bit difficult leaving my 91 year old aunt on her own for 2 days and 2 nights so I said I could go back for 6:30am tomorrow after coming home tonight but, as I said, they couldn't fit me in tomorrow morning anyway (they rang me as I was coming home to let me know) so I'm guessing the next appointment will be sometime after Easter.

Carl D wrote on Mar 31^st, 2021 at 9:13pm:

Thanks, guys. Unfortunately, after waiting at RPH from 10:30am until 4pm I was told that they couldn't do the surgery today because they'd run out of time. All I got for my journey was a little plaster on my left arm where they took a blood sample and a nice texta arrow on the right side of my neck presumably to let the doctor know which side of the thyroid he's taking out. 8-) They were very apologetic (not their fault, of course) and they almost managed to fit me in for another appointment tomorrow morning but couldn't do it. Wasn't too keen on the idea anyway just before Easter and I would have had to either stay there overnight tonight after being there nearly all day today and stay there all day tomorrow and overnight again and come home Friday morning. I said that it was a bit difficult leaving my 91 year old aunt on her own for 2 days and 2 nights so I said I could go back for 6:30am tomorrow after coming home tonight but, as I said, they couldn't fit me in tomorrow morning anyway (they rang me as I was coming home to let me know) so I'm guessing the next appointment will be sometime after Easter.

drat, what an awful few days.

Take care

Bummer!

Thanks, guys.

Might have had all this done a bit faster if I had private health insurance (which I cannot afford) but I've heard that even with private a lot of people still have surgery delays these days.

Well, a week has passed and still no news of a new appointment.

I'll wait until next week and if I haven't heard anything I'll give them a call. I wouldn't be surprised if they forget to book me in again with all the pressure the hospitals and health system generally here in Perth have to deal with right now.

Mark Mcgowan is on  holiday, so any crisis in the health system will have to wait until he gets back. To think that you praised and voted for these idiots.

rhino wrote on Apr 8^th, 2021 at 10:55am:

Mark Mcgowan is on  holiday, so any crisis in the health system will have to wait until he gets back. To think that you praised and voted for these idiots.

Yeah.

Coz if the Liberal Party work experience kid was Premier now, everything would be hunky dory.

greggerypeccary wrote on Apr 8^th, 2021 at 11:15am:

rhino wrote on Apr 8th, 2021 at 10:55am: Mark Mcgowan is on  holiday, so any crisis in the health system will have to wait until he gets back. To think that you praised and voted for these idiots. Yeah. Coz if the Liberal Party work experience kid was Premier now, everything would be hunky dory.

What Football guernsey does McGowan wear?  ;D

greggerypeccary wrote on Apr 8^th, 2021 at 11:15am:

rhino wrote on Apr 8th, 2021 at 10:55am: Mark Mcgowan is on  holiday, so any crisis in the health system will have to wait until he gets back. To think that you praised and voted for these idiots. Yeah. Coz if the Liberal Party work experience kid was Premier now, everything would be hunky dory.

I realise MCgowan is Premier by default , not the point.

Carl D wrote on Apr 8^th, 2021 at 10:37am:

Well, a week has passed and still no news of a new appointment. I'll wait until next week and if I haven't heard anything I'll give them a call. I wouldn't be surprised if they forget to book me in again with all the pressure the hospitals and health system generally here in Perth have to deal with right now.

why is it any worse than anywhere else Carl?...

to the rest of us  WA is as safe as houses thanks to McGowan giving the rest of us the big finger...

Hi, cods.

The problem is caused (and, I'm sure its the same all over Australia) by State and Federal governments not keeping up with the population increase when it comes to things like hospitals and housing, etc.

And, yes... we are "safe as houses" (for the moment, anyway) thanks to Mark McGowan but I'm inclined to agree with a few recent letter writers to our West Australian newspaper who said they believe the reason why our Premier was so quick to order the "hard borders" since the Covid pandemic began and the recent 5 day lockdown due to a single Covid case was because he knew our hospitals would be completely overwhelmed if there was a major Covid outbreak here.

And, I've just heard in the past few days (from our next door neighbour and a letter writer in yesterday's Sunday Times) that all non urgent elective surgeries have been cancelled again here at Perth hospitals for at least the next 2 weeks due to the ongoing health crisis.

I can't find any "official" source for this at the moment but, if its true, it would probably explain why I still haven't received a new appointment letter yet.

Well, I've received another appointment letter from Royal Perth in the mail today.

Now my surgery is scheduled for May 26th which is 6 weeks from this Wednesday!!.

When I call them to confirm the appointment (which they've asked me to do at the end of the letter) I'll have to ask if they're really really going to do it this time.

(I notice the letter took 6 days to arrive but that was probably Australia Post's fault).  ::)

---

Carl D wrote on Apr 12^th, 2021 at 9:12am:

Hi, cods. The problem is caused (and, I'm sure its the same all over Australia) by State and Federal governments not keeping up with the population increase when it comes to things like hospitals and housing, etc. And, yes... we are "safe as houses" (for the moment, anyway) thanks to Mark McGowan but I'm inclined to agree with a few recent letter writers to our West Australian newspaper who said they believe the reason why our Premier was so quick to order the "hard borders" since the Covid pandemic began and the recent 5 day lockdown due to a single Covid case was because he knew our hospitals would be completely overwhelmed if there was a major Covid outbreak here. And, I've just heard in the past few days (from our next door neighbour and a letter writer in yesterday's Sunday Times) that all non urgent elective surgeries have been cancelled again here at Perth hospitals for at least the next 2 weeks due to the ongoing health crisis. I can't find any "official" source for this at the moment but, if its true, it would probably explain why I still haven't received a new appointment letter yet.

I wouldnt call a HEALTH CRISIS  safe  carl...watch out you are not having the wool pulled over your eyes..

we are pretty safe here in the ACT as well..  but our health system isnt anywhere near as bad as yours....its not great I give you that and its not  top rate as it should be...BUT  ... anyway  you do have another date now so lets hope they mean it....btw hope you are no where near this cyclone that is doing a lot of damage by the sound of things...must be scary stuff....all the best to you and your fellow sandgropers....stay safe.

cods wrote on Apr 12^th, 2021 at 5:42pm:

Carl D wrote on Apr 12th, 2021 at 9:12am: Hi, cods. The problem is caused (and, I'm sure its the same all over Australia) by State and Federal governments not keeping up with the population increase when it comes to things like hospitals and housing, etc. And, yes... we are "safe as houses" (for the moment, anyway) thanks to Mark McGowan but I'm inclined to agree with a few recent letter writers to our West Australian newspaper who said they believe the reason why our Premier was so quick to order the "hard borders" since the Covid pandemic began and the recent 5 day lockdown due to a single Covid case was because he knew our hospitals would be completely overwhelmed if there was a major Covid outbreak here. And, I've just heard in the past few days (from our next door neighbour and a letter writer in yesterday's Sunday Times) that all non urgent elective surgeries have been cancelled again here at Perth hospitals for at least the next 2 weeks due to the ongoing health crisis. I can't find any "official" source for this at the moment but, if its true, it would probably explain why I still haven't received a new appointment letter yet. I wouldnt call a HEALTH CRISIS  safe  carl...watch out you are not having the wool pulled over your eyes.. we are pretty safe here in the ACT as well..  but our health system isnt anywhere near as bad as yours....its not great I give you that and its not  top rate as it should be...BUT  ... anyway  you do have another date now so lets hope they mean it....btw hope you are no where near this cyclone that is doing a lot of damage by the sound of things...must be scary stuff....all the best to you and your fellow sandgropers....stay safe.

The cyclone is hundreds of kilometres away from us.

But thanks for the thoughts   :)

We've just had a bit of rain, that's all.  Probably not even 5 mm.

And the wind is only about 35 kph, at its peak.

Today was actually a very nice wintry autumn day.

Thanks, cods.  :)

Hi, Greg.

Bit darn windy this afternoon - at least here in Rivervale. And, its a south/southwester which is also keeping things rather cool (which I'm happy to see finally after the unusually warm weather we've had for the start of April).

Well, at least I've managed to book my yearly flu shot for tomorrow afternoon at Terry White Chemmart at the Kooyong Road shops. I booked it online but I'll have to ask them how come today I managed to book it for tomorrow yet when I checked a few days ago they didn't have any appointments available until May 8th (and neither did the Terry White at Belmont Forum)??? :-?

I dont think we get the flu jabs in the chemists here...
I still get mine at the doctors.. glad you are not near the bad weather   it doesnt look like its over yet all the same...

Back from my thyroid surgery.

Arrived at Royal Perth Hospital at 10:15 yesterday morning, went into surgery at 1:15pm, woke up from the general anesthetic at about 3:45pm and spent the night at the hospital.

Doctor who did the surgery said there didn't appear to be anything 'sinister' about the nodule (lump) he removed along with the right side of the thyroid but it will be sent to the lab for analysis.

Have to wear a big bandage on my neck for the next couple of weeks until my follow up appointment where the doctor will check to see if the remaining half of the thyroid still produces the required amount of hormones, if it doesn't I'll probably need to take tablets for the rest of my life.

Overall, the experience wasn't bad at all. The doctors, nurses and staff at RPH are excellent.

No problems so far nearly 2 weeks later, apart from having the dressing over the stitched area changed on Saturday and it will probably be changed again when I visit my GP tomorrow. The stitches are 'internal' and should dissolve by themselves if they haven't already.

I have a follow up appointment at Royal Perth on the 15th June where I assume they will do the first of probably several blood tests to see if the remaining half of the thyroid is able to produce the required amount of hormones, If not,  I may have to take tablets for the rest of my life. (Oops... already said that in my previous post).

Apparently I had a bit of a skin reaction to the glue used in the strip to cover the stitches after the surgery, it came up in lumps under the dressing the day after I came home but I thought it was normal since I was taking anti inflammatory tablets (Celecoxib APOTEX), 2 a day for the first 3 days.

The lumps under the dressing disappeared a day or 2 later but the dressing (a large plastic bandage with a pad inside) began to fill with fluid from the lumps after they went down and then the fluid started leaking out. All OK now though.

Went to Royal Perth Hospital today for my first follow up appointment after my surgery 3 weeks ago.

Good news.

They have the results back from the lab, the almost 4cm nodule (lump) which was removed with the right side of my thyroid has tested negative, no cancer at all. That's a relief. I was told after the inconclusive biopsy last July that there was a 15% chance it might have been the start of thyroid cancer but everything is OK.

I have another follow up appointment in a month's time. I only need to change the small bandage covering where the incision was made every few days.

More good news, I also had a second PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test done last week after my 5 days a week radiation treatment for prostate cancer mid October to mid December last year and the results have just come back - my PSA is 1.8 ug/l (micrograms per litre), same is it was in February. If it gets up to 4 or above then it might become a worry but so far so good (my PSA was 69 when I first found out about it over 18 months ago).

Next thing to do on my 'health list' will be my first Covid 'shot' (AstraZeneca) on Thursday, I'll let everyone know how that goes.  :)

Sorry I missed this… (saw you referring with link to this in the Covid topic)

Good to hear all went well.
Hubby is under medical watch for the psa count as it was on the high side about a decade or so ago.
Found out cough medicines are not good for prostrate!

Hi Carl

First time I saw this, hope all has gone well for you mate and good health for the future.

You might be interested in this link below, I for one believe it but its up to every individual to make his or her mind up about it.

Anyway all the best.

https://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1623627639

Thanks, Ajax.

I was having a look at that the other day. Interesting.

Things are going well so far, a second blood test a couple of weeks back shows my PSA is the same low level it was in February, it just needs to stay like that for another 12 months and hopefully the prostate cancer has been dealt with.

The right side of my thyroid and the nodule attached to it which was removed on May 26th returned a negative cancer result, thank goodness. I have another follow up appointment at Royal Perth on July 21st with a blood test a few days before that so they can determine if the remaining half of the thryoid is producing the required hormones, etc. It does in about 80% of cases, so I've read.

Had a second follow up appointment at Royal Perth this morning with the Doctor who performed my thyroid surgery.

The results of the thyroid function blood test I had done on Monday show that the remaining half of my thyroid is still producing the required hormones but the levels are "borderline" at the moment.

He asked if I was feeling a bit tired and lethargic lately and I said yes, I had noticed it a bit (thought it might have just been due to reading some of the posts in the Coronavirus section here  ;D).

The Doctor asked me to have another blood test in 3 months time and if the thyroid hormone levels haven't increased I may have to take some tablets which isn't a problem for me.

Carl D wrote on Jul 21^st, 2021 at 4:37pm:

Had a second follow up appointment at Royal Perth this morning with the Doctor who performed my thyroid surgery. The results of the thyroid function blood test I had done on Monday show that the remaining half of my thyroid is still producing the required hormones but the levels are "borderline" at the moment. He asked if I was feeling a bit tired and lethargic lately and I said yes, I had noticed it a bit (thought it might have just been due to reading some of the posts in the Coronavirus section here  ;D). The Doctor asked me to have another blood test in 3 months time and if the thyroid hormone levels haven't increased I may have to take some tablets which isn't a problem for me.

you will probably  have a blood test every year carl I havent had n operation but the thyroid had  malfunctioned so have taken pills for years,,and they work well..

...

---

Thanks, Cods and Neferti.

Yep, those are the tablets I may have to take... I'll see what happens after another blood test in 3 months time.

Just a follow up here... had another blood test 2 weeks ago for thyroid function, the previous one was in October and my thyroid hormone production levels were still borderline but my GP didn't see the need to put me on tablets at that stage. I'll see what he says today when I go there for another 3 monthly Lucrin injection.

Also had a call from the doctor at GenesisCare, Fiona Stanley Hospital yesterday with another follow up to my 8 weeks/5 days a week prostate cancer radiation treatment which I finished a year ago. I had my PSA checked again when I had the blood test 2 weeks ago (had thyroid and PSA done in the same test).

The doctor told me my PSA is now 0.9 ug/l (the previous ones were 1.8 in March and June. It was 69 when I was diagnosed nearly 2 years ago) and she now recommends I have another blood test in 6 months time and make the Lucrin injection at that time my last one and then just have yearly checkups from then on.

So, it looks like I may have 'dodged a bullet' with prostate cancer seeing as it had infiltrated most of the prostate and also started to appear in one of the lymph nodes outside the prostate when I was diagnosed early last year.

I can't stress this enough, guys... if you're over 50 you really need to start getting regular prostate checkups if you're not doing so already. Even a simple blood test for PSA will suffice to begin with.

I nearly left it too late myself. If I hadn't had shingles in September 2019 and decided to go to a doctor for the first time in decades I wouldn't have found out about my prostate cancer until it had probably spread to bones and other parts of the body.

I also may not have found out about the slowly enlarging (fortunately non cancerous as it turned out) right side thyroid nodule until I started having trouble swallowing or breathing as it was pushing on my windpipe.

I'm glad it's worked out well for you Carl.

;)

Thanks John. Much appreciated.

Well done Carl!