The Facts Associated With Thyroid Cancer

The Facts Associated With Thyroid Cancer First let us get familiar with the facts. And let us get them straight. The thyroid gland in the human body secretes different hormones including thyroxin that plays a vital role in metabolism. Improper or abnormal secretion can affect metabolism and can lead to many abnormalities. One such rare abnormality is the outbreak of thyroid cancer that can be visible at any level of age but is more widespread in old people. Alternatively, it affects women more than men. The four broad types of thyroid cancers are anaylastic thyroid cancer, modularly thyroid cancer, papillary thyroid cancer, and follicular thyroid cancer.

The exact causes of this category of cancer have not been pinpointed. But the likely causes that are accepted unanimously by all physicians are lineage and heredity, exposure to prolonged and extensive phases of radiation, myxodema and goiter. Those who have received radiotherapy treatment in one’s childhood in the head or neck should visit the doctor every couple of years to be on one’s guard. Although the symptoms of thyroid cancer can be misleading at times, the best way to diagnose it would be to visit the doctor if you feel a lump in the throat, experience shortness of breath or have real trouble in swallowing of food. An increase in the hoarseness of your voice is another symptom.

Pains and aches in the neck or in the throat is another symptom. Although nodules are present in the thyroid glands in most men and women, most of these happen to be benign in nature.

But if it is found on examination (a MRI scan or a Doppler scan) that a thyroid nodule is unusually large that is causing the lump or the pain then it can be concluded that the person has thyroid cancer. A biopsy test or a CEA blood assay will also confirm that. CT Scans and PET Scans are also used. Some of the thyroid cancer symptoms align with symptoms of many other diseases making it difficult to diagnose the disease in the early stages. The examinations listed above are impeccable ways to diagnose the disease.

The most viable form of treatment is going for excision of the thyroid glands or surgical removal of the glands. This is the best treatment option to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and radioactive iodine management are other standard alternatives. Survival rate in most cases of thyroid cancer is very low and most patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer expire. But it is again a very rare form of cancer. This form of thyroid cancer like all other forms originates from the cells. The epithelial layer of cells lining the epithelium of the thyroid gland in case of thyroid cancer becomes malignant and multiplies geometrically. They also take on a metastatic characteristic. And the symptoms of thyroid problems begin to show up indicating the abnormal growth of the epithelial cells. A nodule in the lymph nodes becomes abnormally large in contrast to the other nodules in the vicinity. Although most of us have nodules in our thyroid glands, these are benign. Only when any one of these nodules exhibits carcinogenic characteristics, the alarm bells start ringing.