Student, 20, Finds a Lump On Her Neck She Thought Was Just the Mumps; It Turned Out to be Thyroid Cancer

"The lump felt huge, probably just a little smaller than a golf ball," she tells the Daily Mail. "I sort of forgot about it but when it didn't develop into mumps, I started to worry. It was visible, and if I looked up and swallowed in the mirror, I could see it moving up and down."

She showed the lump to her mother a few weeks later when she returned home for Christmas break; her mother insisted she get it checked out by a doctor, who referred her to the hospital for a biopsy and an ultrasound.

In June 2020, Phillips, now 22, had the lump removed and tested for cancer. She explains that, "I had to go into (the) hospital for the operation by myself as we were in the middle of the (Covid-19) pandemic. It was probably harder for my mom and dad that they couldn't be there, and they felt so helpless."

"None of us had been through anything like this," she adds, "and they just had to wait at home for me to call to say that the operation went OK, and I had woken up."

Phillips was told there was a very low chance that the lump was cancerous, but she was later diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma, the most common type of thyroid cancer.

"I was recovering really well and was expecting positive news; it was a total shock," Phillips says. "To be in your bedroom at home and find out you have cancer on the phone is awful."

One month later, Phillips had a second surgery, as well as radiation treatment.

"Because I was radioactive, I had to stay in a lead-lined room at the hospital on my own for 48 hours after my first treatment," she says. "It was absolutely bizarre; I was attending university lectures on Zoom in there."

Her first scan after treatment to see if the cancer had gone was inconclusive; Phillips says she remembers thinking, "Was it (the cancer) now in my head or my heart?" But last year, Phillips had another scan and a face-to-face appointment with her doctor, who told her there was no evidence of disease. She was cancer-free!

"It was an immediate relief to hear that," she says.

"My favorite part of this whole journey was getting to tell all the people that I love that I was clear and healthy, and seeing their reactions a year on from my diagnosis was amazing after having to see their initial shock and worry," she adds.

Thyroid Cancer: The Symptoms

Thyroid cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the thyroid gland that creates hormones that help regulate your metabolism, heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature.

Spotting thyroid cancer can often be difficult. ACS reports that symptoms may include a lump, swelling or pain in the neck (like Phillips), voice changes, trouble swallowing or breathing or even a constant cough.

"Most people have no discrete symptoms; the majority of cases now are found incidentally," Dr. Allen Ho, a head and neck surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, tells SurvivorNet. "However, a sizable number of people may first discover their cancer when they feel a bump on their neck." This is exactly what happened to Phillips.

"Other possible late symptoms include problems swallowing, the sensation of something in their throat, neck compression when laying flat or voice changes," Dr. Ho adds.

The good news is that many of these possible symptoms, including lumps in the thyroid, are both common and commonly benign, but it never hurts to ask your doctor.

Chances of cancer recovery increase significantly with early detection, so it is important to address any warning signs of thyroid cancer, or any cancer, with a medical expert as soon as possible.

The Importance of a Support System

The support from family, friends, or even those who understand what you are going through is what is going to get you through; Phillips says the support of her family, friends, her boyfriend and the Teenage Cancer Trust (a cancer care and support charity in the United Kingdom that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people) is what got her through her cancer battle.

"My boyfriend and friends became like a little family," Phillips says of her support system while battling thyroid cancer. "They took me to appointments and picked me up; they probably know more about what's happened to me than I did."

"I count myself very lucky because I think I have the most incredible boyfriend, friends and family that scooped me up and looked after me through every step of my treatment," she adds, "even in the weird situation where the world was in lockdown (because of Covid)."

The Benefit of Support Networks for Cancer Patients

This is something fellow cancer survivor Kelly Sargent can agree with. She moved to San Antonio, Texas, not knowing anyone, but she says she has been "blessed with having met some incredible ladies."

"When I was diagnosed (with ovarian cancer), as soon as I got in the hospital, I started going online to find not only information, but also support groups, stories from survivors, anything that I could find as far as my treatment I definitely looked for," she tells SurvivorNet.

"I have an incredible set of friends that I met after my diagnosis through a Bible study group that have become very, very close friends of mine that are an incredible part of my support system. That support from those ladies has been life-changing for me."

Contributing: Abby Seaberg

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