**Photo warning: Post-surgical neck incision, drain, and (possible) hematoma buildup photos attached.**

I’ve spent a long time reading other people’s stories and commenting here and there, but now I feel like I need advice from people who understand what this is like.

I’m 24F. When I was 14, I went to the doctor because I had missed my period for 3-4 months. There was obviously no chance I was pregnant, so they started running tests and found that my thyroid levels were off.

I went through multiple ultrasounds and two biopsies, and everything kept coming back as “suspicious” or “indeterminate.” At 14 and 15 years old, I didn’t really understand why everyone was so worried. I felt fine. 

Meanwhile, my parents—who were divorced and normally couldn’t agree on anything—were both terrified about the opossibility of cancer.

In 2018, when I was 15, doctors recommended a thyroidectomy. The way they explained it was that it was better to risk removing my thyroid and needing levothyroxine for life than risk leaving a cancer behind. 

Pathology confirmed thyroid cancer, but I was told I was lucky. No chemotherapy, no radiation, just surgery.

For years, I tried to focus on that. I know things could have been worse.

But life didn’t exactly go back to normal.  
I’ve continued struggling with my health since then. I was later diagnosed with PCOS, high testosterone, insulin resistance, asthma, and sleep apnea. I worried constantly about fertility because I’ve always wanted children. Thankfully, I learned that I am still fertile, but it’s been a long road.

Fast forward to 2026. I finally established care with a new endocrinologist after years without one. My primary care doctor had been managing my thyroid medication, but this endocrinologist wanted updated labs and a neck ultrasound.

A few weeks later, she called me. She increased my levothyroxine from 175 mcg to 200 mcg and ordered a CT scan with contrast and an ENT consultation.  
The reason? My thyroglobulin.

The only thyroglobulin test I’d ever had before was in 2020, and it was 0.2. This year it came back at 4.5. My ultrasound also showed multiple enlarged lymph nodes with increased vascularity.

I kept hearing the same words I heard as a teenager: “suspicious” and “indeterminate.”

The CT scan wasn’t definitive, but it was concerning enough that I was referred to oncology. The oncologist showed me the scans and explained that the most concerning lymph node was sitting right against my carotid artery, making biopsy risky. He also said it was narrowing my airway and could potentially explain breathing issues that I had always assumed were asthma-related.

The recommendation was surgery.

I was told it would be straightforward—similar to my thyroidectomy. Outpatient procedure. Home the same day. Back to work a few days later.

That isn’t how it went.

I woke up in recovery with a drain coming out of my neck and severe pain. I ended up being admitted overnight and stayed inpatient until the next day. I’m now several days out from surgery and still struggling. Swallowing hurts. Showering is difficult. Getting dressed hurts. My bowel habits still aren’t back to normal. I work from home in healthcare, spending almost my entire shift on the phone, and I’m supposed to return to work this week. Honestly, I have no idea how I’m going to do that when talking and swallowing are still painful.

Then, the day after discharge, I became terrified that something was building up in my neck after the drain was removed. It feels hard, almost like a hematoma, though there isn’t much bruising. The surgeon’s office told me to monitor it since I’m not having trouble breathing and swallowing beyond the expected pain.  
Now I’m waiting for my July 7 appointment to discuss radioactive iodine treatment.

I think what has been hitting me hardest is that everyone always told me how lucky I was. When I was younger, I was the one reassuring my parents. Now I’m the one struggling.

My partner recently lost both of her parents. We were also in a serious car accident that we’re lucky to have survived. And now she’s watching me go through a second thyroid cancer diagnosis. It’s heartbreaking watching someone you love carry that much grief and fear all at once.

I know thyroid cancer is often considered one of the “better” cancers to get, but right now I just feel exhausted, scared, and overwhelmed.

Has anyone else dealt with a recurrence years after thyroidectomy? How did you cope with the waiting, the surgery recovery, and the uncertainty around radioactive iodine? How did you help your family and friends cope? Do you think this is concerning buildup?

First time posting here. Recurrence at 24 and feeling lost.