Florence, I only hope for his sake it will not affect his thyroid because that is a difficult thing to deal with.
Good luck. I'm sorry this year has been so tough on you!

Carla

Zeffy, I don't have any experience with parathyroid - I looked and there is just brief mention of them (there is more than one gland) in a thyroid book my endocrinologist gave me years ago. If you are worried about that "C" word - quit! While tumors on the glands are common, they are almost always benign and parathyroid cancer is EXTREMELY RARE!

There is a minimally invasive procedure for surgically removing the gland with its lump (the others take over and he won't miss it) ...he should be sure to ask about that if that isn't what was described to him. Does he have a consultation appointment with someone who commonly operates on parathyroid and knows all the newest tricks?

Florence:
Yes!!! My husband had a large benign tumor removed from his parathyroid about a year and a half ago. (I'm not a regular on this Roses Forum anymore but my roses are in serious trouble because of unusually bad weather and I decided to check in on the Conversations side and just happened to see your post.) I did LOTS of research (including reading original studies and journal articles) when my husband had hyperparathyroidism---it is quite a strange and interesting condition, to say the least. And that's right---don't worry about cancer; it's very rare in this condition. Bone density loss, however, is very common. Your huband DOES need surgery and a surgeon who knows what he's doing. That's something really important--Try to find the surgeon in your area who has done the most of this kind of surgery. Two other things that are really, really critical---a special type of scan to locate the tumor prior to surgery and calcium supplements (probably in high doses and possibly for the rest of his life) after the surgery. DO NOT LET THEM SEND HIM HOME IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SURGERY WITHOUT HIGH DOSES OF CALCIUM. (I'll spare you the scary details on what happened to my husband because they didn't---but it is extremely critical.) But the wonderful news is that your DH will feel SO much better after the surgery---for my husband it was quite life changing, really, because he had had so many strange and diffuse symptoms and complaints for several years and that all pretty much just disappeared after the surgery. Here's a great article about it: http://www.endocrineweb.com/hyperpara.html
The good news is that the surgery works miracles!!!

RoseWest

Thanks for all your kind thoughts----

We did see an Endocrinologist----I was pleased with her--

She said---if Bob was under 50 they would definetly operate but since he is 71 she has prefers a few tests to see if in fact this tumor is causing any symtoms------
On Tues Bob will be having an Ultrasound----a Bone Density test-----blood work and a 24 hour urine test.

We will know more when she gets results of these tests----

Hopefully Bob will not require surgery but if he does it will be done as soon as possible.

Thanks again for all your kind concern---

Florence

Zeffy, that sounds encouraging and I'm glad you liked the endo - feeling confident with her is about half the battle :)

Seems she has things well covered and if by chance surgery is indicated, at least you'll know it's the best possible resolution. But for now let's hope all the tests show he's not having any effects and we'll certainly hope for no loss in bone density - you need him outdoors doing the heavy gardening chores so you can do the parts that are more artistic :)