Thyroid is a gland present below the Adam’s apple and its job is to produce hormones that play a key role in regulating blood pressure, weight, heart rate, and body temperature. The thyroid gland is a part of the endocrine system and thyroid cancer is cancer that develops in the thyroid gland. It is a common type of cancer and so, everyone should know about symptoms of thyroid cancer, causes, and treatment.
Types of Thyroid Cancer
Thyroid cancer can be of different types:
1. Papillary thyroid cancer
Papillary cancer grows slowly and is around 80% of cancers in the thyroid gland.
2. Medullary thyroid cancer
Medullary thyroid cancer is usually seen in people with a family history.
3. Follicular thyroid cancer
Nearly 15% of cancers in the thyroid gland are follicular thyroid cancer and it has a tendency to spread to organs and bones.
4. Anaplastic thyroid cancer
This grows quickly and spreads to surrounding tissues, making it the hardest to cure.
Early Signs of Thyroid Cancer
Lump formation in the lower or front part of the neck is the most prominent thyroid cancer symptom. The lump can be visible from the outside and can be felt through the neck skin. The lump is generally formed right under the under the Adam’s apple and is usually painless even when it’s cancerous. But as it is cancerous, it will keep increasing in size.
Some other symptoms of thyroid cancer include:
- difficulty breathing or swallowing
- hoarseness in voice
- pain or soreness in the throat or neck
- feeling discomfort, as if something keeps pressing against the neck
- enlarged thyroid gland
Some other signs and symptoms are:
- diarrhea or softer stool
- a red face
- persistent cough
- weight loss
Note: You should not panic as soon as you notice a lump on your throat. These lumps are called thyroid nodules, and most nodules are non-cancerous. Out of 20 nodules, only 3 end up being malignant. So, stay optimistic but make sure you visit a doctor.
Causes of Thyroid Cancer: Thyroid Cancer Risk Factors
Doctors aren’t sure why cells in the thyroid gland may become cancerous. However, these can be some of the risk factors:
- prolonged exposure to radiation
- deficiency of iodine
- thyroiditis
- goiter (enlarged thyroid gland)
- having a family history of thyroid cancer or other thyroid diseases
- gene mutations that are responsible for causing endocrine diseases
- excessively high body mass index (obesity)
Diagnosing Thyroid Cancer
If an individual has a thyroid nodule and experiences other symptoms of thyroid cancer, the following tests can be done for proper diagnosis:
- a thyroid blood test for checking the thyroid hormone levels
- radioiodine scan
- fine needle aspiration biopsy
Thyroid Cancer Treatment
Treatment for thyroid cancer depends on how far the cancer has spread. These are the treatment options:
- Surgery: It is the most common type of treatment, and it means removing the thyroid gland. As opposed to total thyroidectomy, in many cases, surgical removal of just the cancerous lymph node is enough.
- Chemotherapy
- Radioactive iodine therapy: If it is possible to detect the cancer during thyroid scan, radioactive iodine therapy can be tried.
- Hormone therapy: Hormone therapy is done to block the release of those hormones that can help the cancer return or spread to lymph nodes.
- Alcohol ablation: The injection of alcohol into specific areas can shrink the size of cancerous cells. As mentioned already, thyroid cancer may spread to other parts and then, alcohol ablation is performed before doing surgery.
Wrapping Up
That was all about thyroid cancer symptoms, causes, and treatment. If you have developed thyroid cancer, remember that with treatment, it is completely curable. As long as the cancer cells do not spread to nearby body parts, the tumor doesn’t usually return after surgery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What are the early symptoms of thyroid cancer?
For common types of thyroid cancer, some thyroid cancer symptoms are lump in thyroid gland, persistent neck pain, enlarged thyroid gland, difficulty swallowing, and voice changes.
Q. How can I tell if a thyroid lump is cancerous?
To find out if a thyroid nodule is benign or cancerous, a special kind of test is performed. It is known as fine needle aspiration biopsy, and it involves extracting a cell sample from the lump and testing it under a microscope.