Thyroid Cancer is rare but numbers are on the increase with about 2000 new cases a year affecting twice as many women than men. About 30% of those who have thyroid operations will experience temporary symptoms of low calcium and may require treatment. If treatment is still ongoing after 6 months it is known as ‘late hypocalcaemia’ or hypoparathyroidism and may be permanent, requiring lifelong medication. Late hypocalcaemia after total thyroidectomy is the commonest reported complication. The overall incidence is about 9%.
If you developed hypopara following an operation for thyroid cancer you will need to manage hypopara and thyroid medication as well as have regular neck checks and blood tests.
There are some excellent places to find support for thyroid cancer such as the Butterfly Thyroid Cancer Trust.
But only Hypopara UK provides ongoing support for people who went into hospital with one condition and came out with another. Our Facebook group is very friendly, informative and and supportive and we highly recommend joining.
Our sister group is Thyroid Cancer Support UK. Both groups were set up together by Ruth Pink (thyroid cancer patient) and Liz Glenister (thyroid cancer & post surgical hypoparathyroidism patient) in 2005 to provide support for both conditions.
I was fifteen when I knew something was seriously wrong with me. My neck had swollen to twice its size and felt like a solid mass. My then GP didn’t believe I was sick and told me I was just going through puberty. It was only the protruding hard lump that had appeared in the […]