# Yay! I got the "best cancer!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 2, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774 "2015-08-02T02:08:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/21 "2015-08-03T01:53:25Z")
Now I am confused. Recently I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I have been told that if a person has to have cancer, prostate is the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/22 "2015-08-03T01:58:39Z")
I thought that prostate cancer was good, because it often can be left alone if it is slow growing. I’m keeping my fingers crossed because after finding blood in my urine I just had the blood test to screen for prostate cancer and I am going to have my bladder scoped as well. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/23 "2015-08-03T04:39:17Z")
I hope everything works out. I found out the hard way that melanoma can go from “easy fix” to “holy fuck” real quick. Best not to get cancer at all. It’s easier. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/24 "2015-08-03T10:47:41Z")
> [@Mona\_Lott](#): > > Now I am confused. Recently I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I have been told that if a person has to have cancer, prostate is the way to go. Yeah, well, 51% of us don’t have a prostate to begin with, so that’s one I will never have to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/25 "2015-08-04T00:54:09Z")
I have a ‘good-ish’ cancer, and my young, enthusiastic PCP broke me up when she was sharing the good news with me “That’s a cancer you can have until the day you die!” I waited a beat and replied “Isn’t that all of them?” (what she meant to say, of course, was ‘until you die of something else’!) One of my best moments. Good times… Good luck. I have heard your cancer is the best. Now I’m jealous! ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/26 "2015-08-04T03:34:32Z")
Ugh…I knew this thread was about thyroid cancer as soon as I read the title. It was one of the earlier suspicions for the big ol’ medical mess I’ve been enduring for the last few years. I have Hashimoto’s (the first in my collection of 4 diagnoses during this process, whee!), and one of the first things they did was do a thyroid ultrasound followed by a biopsy of the nodules. One, I was surprised how much the biopsy hurt–you? Two, “good cancer,” no matter how it’s spun, is an oxymoron. So boo them. Thinking the good thinks for you and that you have doctors who listen. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/27 "2015-08-05T03:08:36Z")
We just were discussing these at work (with regard to some medical software). Thyroid cancers tend to be very slow-growing, and often don’t affect people at all. Doctors often take them out because CANCER. ’ That’s also the case with other cancers, include a a lot of prostate cancers. Medicine is diagnosing and treating more cancers because of improved technology. The problem is that we don’t yet have a way to determine which cancers will become problematic in which people. Best of luck to you! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/28 "2015-08-05T22:16:47Z")
> [@Mona\_Lott](#): > > Now I am confused. Recently I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I have been told that if a person has to have cancer, prostate is the way to go. Right. It’s typically slow-growing and the man will die of something else before the prostate gets him. YMMV, etc. As Wesley Clark said, better tests mean possibly unnecessary surgery or treatment as men say they want it gone even if it won't ever hurt them. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/29 "2015-08-05T22:31:33Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > I have a ‘good-ish’ cancer, and my young, enthusiastic PCP broke me up when she was sharing the good news with me “That’s a cancer you can have until the day you die!” > I waited a beat and replied “Isn’t that all of them?” Why of course not! Some kinds of cancer are curable. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/30 "2015-08-06T00:12:31Z")
I found out today that it’s stage 1 and I may only need a partial thyroidectomy. Surgery is set for September 22. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/31 "2015-08-06T00:15:49Z")
> [@Ruffian](#): > > Ugh…I was surprised how much the biopsy hurt–you? It hurt like a sumbitch. I didn’t get an IV, only a shot of Lidocaine. I felt everything! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/32 "2015-08-06T01:15:48Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > I found out today that it’s stage 1 and I may only need a partial thyroidectomy. Surgery is set for September 22. Stage 1 of the friendliest cancer there is! Hooray!!! Seriously, good luck with the surgery. Any kind of partial xxx-ectomy deserves compassion. ---
**Author:** ![mustanglovrsue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@mustanglovrsue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mustanglovrsue)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/33 "2015-08-06T17:14:48Z")
so far my cancer has been on removable body parts. I had overian cancer, they gave my hysterectomy and removed my overies, ive got a tumor in my breast that pretty much stays put, so im going to leave it alone. so mine has been on removable body parts so far. no chemo im not doing that. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/34 "2015-08-06T17:27:05Z")
My mother had thyroid cancer when I was a small child (in the 80s). It was treated successfully with surgery. She has had significant neck problems ever since, though – her neck muscles have been weak ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/35 "2015-08-09T19:51:20Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > I found out today that it’s stage 1 and I may only need a partial thyroidectomy. Surgery is set for September 22. Best of luck, no complications, and a complete recovery! ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/36 "2015-08-18T20:33:31Z")
My surgery is set for Friday, August 28th. I’m only in stage 1 and the nodule is small but they’re taking the whole thyroid as a precaution. ---
**Author:** ![trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trapezoidal_jellyfish)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774/37 "2015-08-20T01:14:01Z")
A friend of mine had her thyroid removed, and she had someone on the surgical team take a picture of it. Now she has a picture on her phone of her enlarged thyroid (4 cm nodule included) that she whips out on occasion. If you’re into medical oddities, you could give that a try! Also, once her incision had healed, she used vitamin E oil on the scar. She said it helped the scar fade faster. I have no idea if that is actual science or just woo, but it’s something you could look into. I’m sorry you have to go through this, and you have every right to shake your fist at the universe in rage. However, hopefully you can find some comfort in the fact that you will almost certainly be living a perfectly normal and healthy life afterward. I wish you good luck with the whole process and a quick and easy recovery. Keep us posted! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-i-got-the-best-cancer/726774.md?page=1)