Thyroid Cancers Can Be Detected Early

WHAT IS THE THYROID GLAND?

The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped endocrine gland that is normally located in the lower front of the neck. The thyroid's job is to make thyroid hormones, which are secreted into the blood and then carried to every tissue in the body.Thyroid hormone helps in body metabolism use energy, stay warm and keep the brain, heart, muscles, and other organs working as they should.

WHAT IS THYROID CANCER?

Thyroid cancer develops when cells change or grow out of control. The abnormal cells begin to grow in your thyroid and, once there are enough of them, they form a tumor. If it's caught early, thyroid cancer is one of the most curable forms of cancer.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES AND RISKS?

Exact cause of thyroid cancer is still not known in most of the cases butsome things may raise the chance of getting it.

Sex and Age

Women are 3 times more likely to get thyroid cancer than men.But women are often diagnosed in their 40s and 50s. Men tend to be older in their 60s and 70s. And in men, thyroid cancer grows and spreads more quickly.

Radiation Exposure

Children who get radiation therapy for some cancers, such as lymphoma, have a higher chance of getting thyroid cancer. Compared with children, adults exposed to radiation have lower odds of getting it.

Heredity and Genetics

Chances of getting thyroid cancer are higher if your mother, father, brother, sister or child got it.Also, thyroid cancer is linked to certain genetic or hereditary problems.

Not Enough Iodine in Your Diet

Iodine is a mineral found in some foods. Your body needs it to make thyroid hormones. Certain thyroid cancers are more common in parts of the world where people have low levels of iodine.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

● Swelling in the neck sometimes growing quickly.

● Pain in the front of the neck, sometimes going up to the ears

● Hoarseness or other voice changes

● Difficulty in swallowing

● Trouble breathing

● A constant cough of unknown reason.

Many thyroid cancers are diagnosed incidentally in people without symptoms because an abnormality is seen on scans done for another reason.Having any of these symptoms does not mean that a person has thyroid cancer but it is worth consulting an oncologist for early detection.

HOW IS THYROID CANCER DIAGNOSED?

No other cancer can be diagnosed at a faster rate than thyroid cancer and can be detected early.The first is evaluation of your thyroid and neck with high-resolution ultrasound which allow doctors to find thyroid tumors that were too small.A diagnosis of thyroid cancer can be suggested by the results of a fine needle aspiration biopsy of a thyroid nodule and can be definitively confirmed only after a nodule is surgically excised. Although thyroid nodules are very common, less than 1 in 10 will be a thyroid cancer.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT FOR THYROID CANCER?

Most of the time, thyroid cancer can be cured.Although most people have symptoms, they don't want to approach an oncologist because of panic created by the word cancer. Present day with MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH which include a head & neck surgical oncologist, medical oncologist & radiation oncologist we offer an individualised standard treatment protocol to achieve the best possible cure.

Surgery in most cases is curative.

The extent of surgery for curable most of the thyroid cancers except anaplastic cancers (removing only the lobe involved with the cancercalled a lobectomy or the entire thyroid called a total thyroidectomy) will depend on the size and spread of the tumor. Sometimes findings either before surgery or at the time of surgerysuch as spread of the tumor into surrounding areas or the presence of lymph nodes will indicate a total thyroidectomy. After surgery most patients need to be on thyroid hormone tablets, 1 pill a day forrest of thelife.

Radioactive iodine therapy (I- 131 therapy)

If the cancer is larger, if it has spread to lymph nodes or if the patient is at high risk for recurrent cancer, radioactive iodine is used after the thyroid gland is removed.Thyroid cells and cancers absorb and concentrate iodine. That is why radioactive iodine can be used to eliminate all remaining normal thyroid tissue and potentially destroy thyroid cancer after thyroidectomy anywhere in the body. Hence some stage IV thyroid cancers also can be cured by giving radio iodine therapy.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT OF ADVANCED THYROID CANCER?

Thyroid cancer that spreads outside the neck area is rare, but can be a serious problem. When Surgery and radioactive iodine therapy is no longer effective, other forms of treatment are needed like anaplastic cancers. Radiation therapy precisely to areas that need to be treated can kill or slow the growth of those cancers. Newer chemotherapy drugs and immunotherapy agents arewidely available and rarely cure or slow down advanced cancers that have spread widely throughout the body.

The cure rates range from 80% to 90% in most of the thyroid cancers.Expert evaluation of patients with thyroid cancers combined with expert thyroid surgery provides patients with the best outcomes. Under the roof of Omega Hospitals, one of the top oncologychain in India we offer cutting edge technology and targeted therapy in the field of head and neck oncology so that your loved ones live with a peace of mind.

Doctor details:-

Dr. Benod Kumar

Medical director

Chief Head & Neck surgical oncologist

Omega Century Onconet cancer hospital

Hyderabad, Banjarahills.

M :- +91 8412866898.