The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of your neck, right above Adam’s apple. It is responsible for regulating the heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and body weight.
Thyroid cancer occurs in the cells of the thyroid gland. Thyroid cancer can be treated, even at later stages.
Causes of Thyroid Cancer
- Iodine Deficiency – If you don’t get a sufficient amount of iodine in your diet, you could be at a higher risk.
- Inherited Genetic Syndrome – It can be a result of the inheritance of abnormal genes.
- Radiation Exposure – Exposure of your neck or head to radiation treatment as a child may increase your risk.
Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer
- Neck or throat pain
- Difficulty swallowing
- Hoarseness
- Vocal changes
- Cough
- Lump in the neck region
Prevention of Thyroid Cancer
- Avoid radiation to treat less serious diseases.
- Undergo genetic tests to identify gene mutations responsible for thyroid cancer.
Diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer
- Physical Exam – In this, the doctor examines the neck and looks for thyroid nodules.
- Blood Tests – Blood tests help the doctor determine whether or not the thyroid gland is functioning properly.
- Biopsy – The doctor inserts a fine needle through the skin into your thyroid nodules and takes a sample of suspicious tissues. The tissue is further studied in the lab to look for any signs of cancer.
- Imaging tests – Ultrasounds, MRIs, and CT Scans might be done to determine whether cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Treatment of Thyroid Cancer
- Surgery – Thyroid cancer patients typically undergo surgery to remove the thyroid gland. The type, size, location, and metastasis of the cancer determine the necessary surgical procedure. In some cases, surgeons may remove only the thyroid tissue, while in others, they may need to remove either half or the entire gland.
- Thyroid Hormone Therapy – After the removal of thyroid tissues, the doctor may ask you to take thyroid hormone medication for life. This is to make up for the missing hormone in the body.
- Radiation Therapy – Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation like X-rays and protons to kill the cancer cells or halt their growth.
- Chemotherapy – This treatment uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells. It does this either by killing the cancer cells or by preventing their further division. It can be done either intravenously or orally. The drugs then travel across the body, killing the rapidly multiplying cancer cells.
- Targeted Drug Therapy – Target therapy aims at specific abnormalities that are present within the cancer cells. It uses drugs that are designed specifically to target the tumor cells.