In 2019, after 5 years of watchful waiting, Scott Millward went to see a specialist at USC Keck School of Medicine for his benign thyroid nodule, which he was initially diagnosed with in 2014. It had grown to a 5.5 cm tumor and was protruding out of his neck, “It was golf ball-sized,” he says in his testimonial below. The specialist told him he had a certain window for treatment before it progressed. He asked what treatments there were available, and surgery to remove his entire thyroid was recommended. Scott was motivated to find an alternative treatment to removing his thyroid, known as thyroidectomy. Patients with their thyroid gland removed are required to take a thyroid hormone pill usually once a day, every day, for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n
A benign thyroid nodule, or tumor, is a growth on the thyroid gland that can grow to protrude from the neck and ultimately cause other health problems. Unlike a goiter, which is an enlarged thyroid gland that is often caused by a diet deficient in iodine or hormone fluctuations, nodules can be caused by a simple overgrowth of normal thyroid tissue, fluid-filled cysts, or a tumor (either benign or cancerous). The decision to intervene for a benign nodule usually comes down to an individual’s symptoms, if there are any, if there is significant growth, or it is large in size.<\/p>\n
In the past, surgery was the only treatment available for benign thyroid nodules. Many patients we speak with today echo a staunch advocacy to keep their thyroid, waiting years for an alternative treatment, sometimes a decade, rather than removing partial or all of their thyroid. Scott was one of those individuals who didn’t want to remove his thyroid. “You need it. It shortens your life if you take it out,” Scott suggested.<\/p>\n
Scott found he had a benign thyroid nodule during a routine check-up at age 41 and decided then to wait. He had no symptoms and no visible signs something was growing in his neck.<\/p>\n
I decided to monitor it, I was not anxious to take anything out of my body proactively if I could help it.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
– Scott Millward<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Once symptoms started to occur, however, such as feeling fatigued while working out, having no stamina, and while enduring a growing bulge that can affect his breathing, Scott sought-out treatment. “I was mentally tired from fighting it. After losing my father in 2020, I reevaluated what was important, and took this situation more seriously.”<\/p>\n
In his search for alternative treatments, he had two hurdles to climb: waiting for Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) to be approved in the United States while his symptoms continued to manifest and waiting for his health insurance to agree to cover the procedure.<\/p>\n
RFA for thyroid has been available in Asia and Europe for a decade now. It’s been 4 years since its approval in the US, and 2 years since it’s been available at Providence, Saint John’s Health Center.<\/p>\n
Once his insurance gave word that they would approve of the treatment, which took a while, Scott went to UCLA for treatment initially. However, he was not pleased with how things were progressing, so he opted to forgo treatment there. “The process was cumbersome and self-directed.”<\/p>\n
At age 49, Scott received treatment at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California with Dr. Melanie Goldfarb.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n[Dr. Goldfarb] made me feel at ease. I felt so confident with her skill. I felt like it was a team effort. I decided to go with Dr. Goldfarb, and BOY what a good decision that ended up being!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
– Scott Millward<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Listen to Scott recount his journey of treating his thyroid tumor with radiofrequency<\/h3>\n