Indeterminate Nodules Episodes

If your thyroid biopsy came back indeterminate — Bethesda 3 or 4 — you may have been told surgery is your only option. For decades, over 70% of those surgeries revealed tissue that was actually benign. There is a better way. It's called molecular testing. And today's guest helped prove it works. Dr. Joshua Klopper is the Medical Director for Endocrinology at Veracyte and was an investigator on the original clinical study that validated the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier. He served on the board of the American Thyroid Association and spent over two decades managing thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer. Disclosure: Dr. Klopper is an employee of Veracyte, maker of the Afirma test discussed in this episode. In this episode Dr. Klopper breaks down everything a thyroid patient needs to know about molecular testing in plain language. Why the test was designed to find benign tissue rather than cancer. What a benign result actually means. Why a suspicious result doesn't automatically m…

Here's the episode summary for Episode 120: For most thyroid patients, an indeterminate biopsy result with a 50% malignancy risk means one thing: surgery. Chelsie Paulson refused to accept that. Chelsie had two solid thyroid nodules — one on each lobe — when her Afirma molecular testing came back with a 50% risk of malignancy and a suspicion for follicular thyroid cancer. Four ENTs told her the same thing: the protocol is clear, remove the thyroid. Two nights before her scheduled thyroidectomy, at 2 a.m., she sent an email to Dr. Emad Kandil at Tulane University. She didn't expect much. Instead, Dr. Kandil called her personally the next morning and told her to cancel her surgery. She got on a plane that day. Chelsie underwent Microwave Ablation on both nodules — combining MWA for the solid tissue with ethanol ablation for the fluid-filled spaces. She paired the procedure with an aggressive integrative health protocol to support her body's healing from the inside out. The result…