Around 2 years ago, I felt a lump on my neck. During a regular checkup, my doctor recommended that I get an ultrasound, visit a thyroid specialist and receive a biopsy. The biopsy scared me a lot, and unfortunately the results came back cancerous. At the time I didn't know anything about thyroid cancer, and whenever you hear the word "cancer" it kind of takes you aback. After doing research, I found out that thyroid cancer is the safest one you can get, but you never want any type of cancer.

My husband recommended that I go to UCLA, and there, I was referred to Dr. Yeh. He explained all the options to me, and I decided to get my full thyroid removed to be safe. The surgery went well and the recovery process went exactly as Dr. Yeh had informed me. Now for the yearly checkup, I'm happy to say that everything is going as expected. My experience with UCLA was very positive: they value your time and it wasn't difficult getting an appointment.

My advice for other patients would be to stay positive. Negative thoughts bring negative results. For me, it helped a lot to talk to other people - you find out that others may share similar experiences and it makes the entire process feel less isolating.

Tags: biopsy, cancer, Dr. Michael Yeh, Endocrine, Endocrine Center, Endocrine Surgery, Endocrinology, endocrinology, lump on neck, patient stories, Surgery, thyroid cancer, thyroid specialist, ucla endocrine, ultrasound, yearly checkup