Surgery is the main type of treatment for thyroid cancer. Most surgeons use a procedure called near-total thyroidectomy — an operation that removes practically the entire thyroid with the exception of small rims of tissue around the parathyroid glands to reduce the risk of parathyroid damage. If you have enlarged lymph nodes as a result of thyroid cancer, your operation may be extended to remove the affected lymph nodes, both sides of the neck , and some upper chest incisions will be made but will be according to the location of the cancer cells, and you have a good life chance if you have this treated, also this can reacur after 20 to 30 years,

I have findings of of papillary thyroid carcinoma the evidence is scanty. I was told this is a slow growing cancer. If i choose not to have surgery what are a person survival chances?(years to live) Has any studies been done on this?

Papillary tumors are the most common of all thyroid cancers 70%. Papillary carcinoma typically arises as an irregular, solid or cystic mass that arises from otherwise normal thyroid tissue. This cancer has a high cure rate with ten year survival rates for all patients with papillary thyroid cancer estimated at 80-90%. Cervical metastasis (spread to lymph nodes in the neck) are present in 50% of small tumors and in over 75% of the larger thyroid cancers. The presence of lymph node metastasis in these cervical areas causes a higher recurrence rate but not a higher mortality rate. Distant metastasis (spread) is uncommon, but lung and bone are the most common sites. Tumors that invade or extend beyond the thyroid capsule have a worsened prognosis because of a high local recurrence rateMost thyroid cancers are very curable. In fact, the most common types of thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular) are the most curable. In younger patients, both papillary and follicular cancers can be expected to have better than 97% cure rate if treated appropriately. Both papillary and follicular cancers are typically treated with complete removal of the lobe of the thyroid which harbors the cancer, PLUS, removal of most or all of the other side. The bottom line, most thyroid cancers are papillary thyroid cancer, and this is one of the most curable cancers of ALL cancers that humans get. , if you must choose a type of cancer to have, papillary cancer would be your choice. Treat it correctly and the cure rate is extremely high, hope this helps you make up your mind about this, if you need any thing else let us know,

This depends on your surgeon, but if you have a really great surgeon like I did, the incision is about 2 inches long and barely visible right running horizontially on the front of your neck (where an adam apple is located)

My mom had her thyroid removed, the surgeon made the incision in a wrinkle she already had in her neck (at 75 she had some to choose from). You can't see her scar at all, it just folded into the wrinkle even though the wrinkle wasn't very deep.