Cancer awareness has increased among the public in the past few years. This awareness has helped to decrease the number of cancer patients. However, people are still not aware of thyroid cancer. The number of thyroid cancer patients has increased by about 4 % every year in the last ten years.

The main reason for the increase in thyroid cancer is related to lifestyle habits and exposure to increased radiation. In the US last year, around 52,000 people were diagnosed with thyroid cancer. To create awareness among people, September is recognized as Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month by cancer organizations around the world.

Also Read: External Beam Radiation therapy for Thyroid Cancer

What is Thyroid Cancer?

The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland. It is found inside the lower front of the neck. It releases several hormones that regulate the heart rate, body temperature, and weight. Thyroid cancer grows when cells or tissues in the thyroid mutate and begin multiplying abnormally to form a tumour. It is the most common type of endocrine cancer.

Types of Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer is mainly divided into four types based on the kinds of cells found in the tumour. These are:

• Papillary thyroid cancer:This type of thyroid cancer accounts for about 85% of total thyroid cancers. It arises from the follicular cells and grows very slowly.
• Follicular thyroid cancer: Accounts for around 10% of total thyroid cancer cases diagnosed. It is usually diagnosed in people over the age of 50 and is a more aggressive type of cancer.
• Medullary thyroid cancer: About 4% of all thyroid cancer cases fall in this category. This thyroid cancer is easier to diagnose and treat since the cancer produces a hormone called calcitonin. This can be easily checked throughblood tests.
• Anaplastic thyroid cancer: This is a rare type of thyroid cancer that accounts for around 1% of all thyroid cancer cases diagnosed. It grows very fast and it is very difficult to diagnose and treat. It is typically diagnosed in adults above the age of 60.

Symptoms

Thyroid cancer is hard to diagnose at the earlier stages as it shows very few symptoms in the beginning stages. But as the cancer grows, it shows symptoms such as:

• A lump in the neck
• Changes to the voice, an increase in hoarseness
• Pain in the neck and throat
• Cough without any fever
• Difficulty in swallowing
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Thyroid Cancer Causes

Research is still on to find out the exact cause of thyroid cancer. But several factors increase the risk of getting thyroid cancer:

Thyroid Cancer Risk Factors:

• Exposure to radiation
• Deficiency of iodine
• Inherited genetic mutations
• Risk increases with age

Thyroid Cancer Treatment

Thyroid cancer has a high chance of successful treatment, even if the cancer is in an advanced stage. The prognosis mainly depends on the type of cancer, the area it has spread to and the stage. In some cases, treatment may not be needed right away, since the growth would be too slow to cause any damage, and in such cases, the doctor would only advise regular screening. The methods of treatment include:

Surgery:Surgeryis a common treatment method used in thyroid cancer patients, which can effectively cure the patient. ButSurgeryincludes the removal of the thyroid and sometimes nearby glands which may cause some side effects. TheSurgerycan also affect the vocal cords and may make your voice hoarse after theSurgery.

Radiation Therapy: High energy beams, similar to X-rays, are focused on precise points in the body to remove the tumours.

Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs are typically administered through the veins or taken orally. Chemotherapy is not usually used in the treatment of thyroid cancers.

Thyroid Hormone Therapy: Usually, after surgery, patients are advised to take thyroid hormone medication such as Levoxyl or Synthroid for life. This medication aids in supplying the hormones that are usually made by the thyroid and helps to avoid the recurrence of the cancer.

Radioactive Iodine: This method is used after surgery, to eliminate any minute cancer cells that may remain after the removal of the thyroid throughSurgery. It uses large doses of radioactive iodine, but the thyroid cells and thyroid cancer cells usually take up the radioactive iodine, thus reducing the risk of harming other healthy cells.

Also Read: Surgery in Thyroid Cancer

Need for Thyroid Cancer Awareness: Treatment procedures for thyroid cancer have seen definitive growth in recent years, making thyroid cancer one of the easily treatable types of cancer. Promising immunotherapy-based treatments are on the rise, which may further make the disease easily curable. But to realize this dream become a reality, increased funding for the research is imperative. And to realize this funding, awareness about the disease has to increase manifold.

If diagnosed early, thyroid cancer can be treated easily. However, the rate of recurrence is almost 30%, which is why, the need for more effective treatment procedures are required. Women are three times more likely to get diagnosed with thyroid cancer than men, but men are more likely to die from it. Thyroid cancer has many complications, thus further research is required to learn more about the disease and to fight it better.

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