Often the first sign of thyroid cancer is swelling in the neck, a sore throat or an unusual bump. For Chyane Garmer, 32, who lives with her husband, Michael, and their two girls in Temple, Texas, it was something she had never felt before.
“I felt a lump in the front of my throat,” said Garmer, an adult probation officer for Bell County. “I immediately made an appointment with my primary care physician to examine it.”
The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland at the front of your neck. Its main job is to control the speed of metabolism – how your body transforms the food you eat into energy.
While lumps and nodules on the thyroid gland are usually benign (non-cancerous), it’s always important for the growth to be examined by a healthcare professional.
“I’ve had nodules on my thyroid since my oldest daughter was born in 2016,” recalled Garmer. “We were concerned that the nodules were cancerous, so I had an FNA (fine needle aspiration).” An FNA is a procedure that uses a thin needle to extract tissue and fluid from a lump or mass to check for cancer.
With inconclusive results, Garmer and her doctor decided it was safer to have surgery to remove the right side of her thyroid gland where the nodules were located. Fortunately, those nodules turned out not to be cancerous.
More nodules
Within a year, however, more nodules appeared on her thyroid gland, so Garmer met with a different physician about her condition.
“Having been through one surgery, I knew what questions to ask,” recalled Garmer. “However, this doctor did not provide a lot of information about my current condition. ‘Just trust me,’ he said. That’s when I knew I needed to see someone else.”
That led Garmer to a 2022 meeting with Evan Longfield, MD, an otolaryngologist with Wellstone Health Partners in Harker Heights, Texas who specializes in ear, nose, and throat illnesses.
“The first day I met Dr. Longfield,” recalled Garmer, “I was very nervous because my visit with the other doctor didn’t go very well. But Dr. Longfield said that he understood my frustration. ‘Doctors are supposed to teach patients what’s going to happen, especially when it’s a process with many steps.’ When he said that, I was immediately at ease.”
After monitoring Garmer’s condition for another year, another FNA showed the presence of cancerous cells. Dr. Longfield recommended that they remove the other side of her thyroid gland.
“Garmer’s most recent biopsy was somewhat suspicious for cancer, so we recommended removing her remaining thyroid gland,” wrote Dr. Longfield. “She did well after surgery without any complications.”
Regular follow-up appointments
Follow-up appointments at Dr. Longfield’s office continued when Garmer met with Brooke Black, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, a nurse practitioner specializing in otolaryngology.
“Brooke is great,” recalled Garmer. “She handled most of my post-op appointments, such as checking my bloodwork, making sure I was taking my calcium supplements, things like that. Another nurse in the office told me about silicone scar sheets I could order online. Those patches will help me get rid of the scar on my neck from the surgery. I am so grateful for their helpful information.”
Going forward, Garmer will still have appointments to check for evidence of thyroid cancer, but the outlook is good.
“Ms. Garmer likely has an excellent prognosis and may not require any additional treatment,” said Dr. Longfield. For the next couple of years, Dr. Longfield and Garmer’s endocrinologist will continue to monitor her condition to ensure she has no reoccurrences of the cancer.
In the meantime, Garmer and family are looking forward to warmer weather when they can enjoy family time on the lake.
“We’ve got a boat slip on Belton Lake and love to spend time there,” said Garmer. “We love to go wake surfing and just spending time together.”
If you would like to learn more about our Ear, Nose and Throat services, visit the Wellstone Health Partners website.