"Don't know. Good question. Need to think about it."

... was pretty much what my endocrinologist told me this morning. To be fair, it has only been a week since the surgery and he hadn't yet seen the final report. I only scheduled the appointment so soon because he's going on vacation in August.

He's not sure what the next steps should be, if any. He is considering recommending a radioactive iodine treatment as an attempt to eradicate the microscopic presence of cancer that is left over (the treatment is easy; the only big downside is radiation exposure, which increases risk for other cancers; and it may not be effective). Beyond that, he said it is very difficult to assess future risks at this point.

We drew blood for a thyroglobulin test, which is the marker for thyroid cancer presence. I'm waiting to see what he recommends once reviewing the surgery & pathology reports, and the results of the latest blood-work; and has had time to think about it.

Tomorrow morning I follow up with my surgeon.