What Is Thyroid Cancer?
Thyroid cancer is the cancer of thyroid gland. It is the most common cancer of endocrine system. The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped gland consisting of two lobes, joined together by isthmus. It is located in your neck at the base of Adam’s apple. Thyroid gland controls various metabolic activities of the body such as weight maintenance, regulation of heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature.
Thyroid cancer is named based on the cells they develop from. These cancers do not produce any symptoms initially. However, with the advancing growth, these may result in pain and swelling of the neck. Early diagnosis of the thyroid cancer has successful cure rate. The incidence of thyroid cancers are increasing recently. The doctors assume it to be due to the advanced investigations which made the diagnosis easier. Visit 3MEDS-Cancer medicines provider in Delhi, India.
What Are The Types Of Thyroid Cancer?
· Papillary carcinoma: it is the most common type of thyroid cancer accounting for around 80% of all the cases. These are differentiated cancers which grow slowly. It is common in women of a reproduction age. It can arise in one or both the lobes of thyroid gland. This cancer has the tendency to spread to nearby lymph nodes.
· Follicular carcinoma: it is second most common type of thyroid cancers. These are differentiated form of cancer and are more aggressive in nature than papillary carcinoma. Common cause for cancer to develop is the lack of iodine in diet. The cancer has the tendency to spread to lungs and other organs and less likely to lymph nodes.
· Hurthle cell carcinoma: it is the variant or subtype of follicular carcinoma consisting of 3% of all thyroid cancers.
· Medullary thyroid carcinoma: these are aggressive and less differentiated type of thyroid cancers. These comprise 4% of all thyroid cancers. They arise from C cells of the gland. C cells produce hormone calcitonin. The elevated levels of calcitonin indicates medullary thyroid carcinoma. They spread to the lymph nodes, and also spread to other organs.
· Anaplastic carcinoma: it is the rare form of thyroid cancer, often difficult to treat. It is the aggressive form and spreads quickly to other areas of the head and neck. Seen in adults above 60 years of age.
· Thyroid lymphoma: this form of cancer is rare, and arises in immune cells of the gland.
· Thyroid sarcoma: it arises in the connective tissue of the thyroid gland, and is rare.
Possible risk factors of thyroid cancer:
· Age: if you are above 40 years of age, there comes the risk of developing thyroid cancer.
· Gender: females are more prone to develop thyroid cancer than males.
· Radiation history: if you have a history of the radiation exposure, screen yourself to rule out cancer development.
· Familial history: individuals with history of thyroid cancer are more likely to develop thyroid cancer.
· History of breast cancer increases the risk of thyroid cancer.
· Certain inherited syndromes like Cowden’s syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis.
What are the symptoms of thyroid cancer?
· Lump in the throat.
· Cough
· Hoarseness of voice
· Difficulty in swallowing
· Neck or throat pain
· Swollen lymph nodes
If you come across any of these symptoms, get yourself screened to diagnose any cancerous changes.
What are the treatment options for thyroid cancer?
Metastasis of thyroid cancers is very rare except in few cases. Regular monitoring is sufficient for certain cancers while others may require treatment. Some thyroid cancers may not show any growth and monitoring is sufficient. The treatment modalities for thyroid cancer are surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, etc. Order Anti-cancer medicines Delhi, from 3MEDS.
Surgery: it involves removal of the thyroid gland followed by oral supplements to compensate for the hormone.
Surgeries employed for thyroid cancers are;
· Thyroidectomy
· Thyroid lobectomy
· Lymph node dissection
Radioactive iodine: after removal of thyroid gland, radioactive iodine is used to destroy any remaining cancer cells and remaining tissue of thyroid gland.
Radiotherapy: external beam radiation is given to destroy the cancerous growth. It is used when surgery cannot be performed or there is a recurrence.
Chemotherapy: it is use of drugs which is rarely used for thyroid cancer. More commonly used for anaplastic cancer. Buy cancer medicines from 3MEDS-medical store online Delhi.
Targeted therapy: it is the destruction of targeted cells with the help of drugs.
Outlook of thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer has better outlook if diagnosed in early stages. However, you need to regularly visit your doctor for follow-up. Your doctor will monitor for growth, hormonal level in the body. If you have undergone surgery for thyroid cancer, then you must follow regular follow-up to avoid recurrence. You may need lifelong oral supplements of thyroxin hormone after surgery.