Thread: I've said it before - Medicine is more Art than Science.

Some of you may recall I was in hospital 12 months ago. I had my thyroid gland removed, along with a huge lump on the thyroid. Subsequent pathology revealed a tiny speck of cancerous tissue inside the lump.

Those two words “huge” and “tiny” are what this is all about.

At the time, the surgeon told me that any bits of cancerous thyroid tissue that he had missed, or any cancerous thyroid tissue elsewhere in my body, would be killed by a subsequent drink of radioactive iodine.

So, six months later, off I went to the thyroid cancer clinic for my drink.

When that was over, they said, “Come back every 6 months. We’ll be checking the levels of certain hormones in your blood, to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned.”

Given my age, and my location at an extreme distance from the clinic, I saw this as an unnecessary imposition. Today, I put it to them that - to monitor hormone levels in my blood - my local GP could do as good a job, and that we’d only need to contact the clinic if those levels became unacceptably high.

“Oh no,” said the head nurse. “That will never do. You had a massive cancer in your throat. It measured 75mm across. It’s a Stage 3 cancer. We need to keep a close eye on it. We might need to do a scan or an ultrasound sometime, to see what’s going on.”

What a load of cr*p.

The lump, not the cancer, was 75mm; the surgeon’s words to me, which he would have obtained from the pathologist, called the cancer “a tiny speck.” A referral that the surgeon sent to a separate radiologist described it as “minimally invasive.”

Somewhere, somehow, someone transcribed something incorrectly. And Muggins here would still be jumping to their tune if he hadn’t thought to look closely at a few reports and to question the anomalies.

And the clinic is dragging people in unnecessarily, merely as a way of justifying their taxpayer-funded existence.

Phooey to all of it.

Yikes, those people better get their act together.

How are you doing with it all? Did you talk to your GP?

My GP hides when he sees me coming. Monday, I'm bringing him in to the circus.

As a man with a thyroid, in the sense that it indeterminately defective; once so overactive I was losing weight at the rate of 14lbs a month, so the hospital scheduled an appointment 5 months hence! It was pointed out to my GP that if I had to wait that long they might as well cancel the appointment immediately as I would be dead long before the appointed time. Over the next 4 years they so overdosed me on Carbimazole that I gained 70lbs while being assured that everything was fine and drove it into underactive, during which time I never saw an outpatients consultant, let alone an endocrynologist! For 10 years, until I persuaded my new GP, they denied that my thyroid was underactive; now I'm on thyroxine, but it's still difficult to shift the weight gained. I told the GP and consultant very bluntly that it was my body and I knew a lot more about it than the hospital did, so got the dose adjusted until I felt right, I told tham that there were times when they should treat the patient, not the test results. Doctors don't read patients notes and as a consequence pass on incorrect information; I take alphacalcedol for a dodgy parathyroid, which I explained at great length to the man who did my gastroscopy, he wrote in the covering letter to my GP that I took it for osteoporosis - You have to keep checking up on them or they'll remove the wrong kidney!

If the tests are biochemically derived from blood tests then there is no reason to visit that particular clinic.

Weren't you looking for something to do just last week? Your travels and ensuing adventures at the faraway clinic could have been your new hobby!

Please forgive my gallows humor. My sister had cancer twice—yes, she's still here—and things that are considered minuscule by the average joe can really be humongous when it comes to cancer. Ask your local physician what he thinks. If he or she feels that it would be best for you to make the long trips to the clinic, then do so, unless you're realllllly bored. …

Originally Posted by Bloggsworth

As a man with a thyroid, in the sense that it indeterminately defective; once so overactive I was losing weight at the rate of 14lbs a month, so the hospital scheduled an appointment 5 months hence! It was pointed out to my GP that if I had to wait that long they might as well cancel the appointment immediately as I would be dead long before the appointed time. Over the next 4 years they so overdosed me on Carbimazole that I gained 70lbs while being assured that everything was fine and drove it into underactive, during which time I never saw an outpatients consultant, let alone an endocrynologist! For 10 years, until I persuaded my new GP, they denied that my thyroid was underactive; now I'm on thyroxine, but it's still difficult to shift the weight gained. I told the GP and consultant very bluntly that it was my body and I knew a lot more about it than the hospital did, so got the dose adjusted until I felt right, I told tham that there were times when they should treat the patient, not the test results. Doctors don't read patients notes and as a consequence pass on incorrect information; I take alphacalcedol for a dodgy parathyroid, which I explained at great length to the man who did my gastroscopy, he wrote in the covering letter to my GP that I took it for osteoporosis - You have to keep checking up on them or they'll remove the wrong kidney!

If the tests are biochemically derived from blood tests then there is no reason to visit that particular clinic.

Bloggs – Re weight loss - For some vague reason to do with cancer suppression, I had my thyroxine dosage increased to 200mcg daily. A side-effect of what might otherwise be seen as an overdose can be weight loss (plus rapid heartbeat, if that's any help). The dosage for someone in your condition is also governed by body weight. If you’re somewhere around 13-14st (180-195lbs; 82-88kg) and on less than 200mcg, perhaps you could ask your GP what he thinks about increasing the dosage.


My weight has dropped from 14½ to 11½.(snigger)

When I had my stroke the DOC (Doctor in Charge) wrote out a long list of medication which he assured me I would have to take and keep taking or I would die in a few months. When I showed the list to the owner of the farmacia he whooped, did a little dance, and shouted to his wife, 'Ahora podemos enviar al muchacho a la universidad'. So I told him never mind and to sell me a box of 500mg aspirin tablets. I have taken two a day for about nine years.

The doctors no doubt saved my life in the hours immediately following the stroke, but once the crisis had passed, I felt it was time to relax and let my body do the healing.

garza - Without speaking Spanish and without the help of a translator, I'd hazard a guess he shouted something like "We all need friends at the university." Was that close?

Originally Posted by garza

… When I showed the list to the owner of the farmacia he whooped, did a little dance, and shouted to his wife, 'Ahora podemos enviar al muchacho a la universidad'. …

No, way, LOL! Either those medications were way expensive or tuition was cheap!

Originally Posted by garza

… The doctors no doubt saved my life in the hours immediately following the stroke, but once the crisis had passed, I felt it was time to relax and let my body do the healing.

Wow, you really took a chance there. Glad you still came out on top.

What the fellow said was, 'now we can send the lad to university'. In truth he didn't say that out loud in my presence. His smile, however, bespoke his thought. The medication was very expensive.

I've played games with death all my life. One day I'll lose. Meantime I enjoy walking outside every morning to watch the sun rise, feel the breeze blow, hear the birds sing, and feel good about it all.

To quote a favourite line, 'Este día ha sido bueno. La noche será larga'. 'This day has been good. The night will be long.'

wrong thread