Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer - Causes and Treatments

What is Thyroid Cancer and the symptoms of thyroid cancer?

These questions keep on circulating in our mind. Thyroid cancer is the abrupt growth of abnormal cells in the thyroid gland of a person. The symptoms of thyroid cancer are many, but before discussing them we need to know what is thyroid gland, and its basic functions.

What is Thyroid gland?

The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped gland, that secretes hormones using the energy fuel of the body and makes the body balance well and work normally. The thyroid cancer is among the biggest thyroid problems, and found so rare. It is also easily removed as the symptoms of thyroid cancer are identified initially and they help in a sooner treatment.

Thyroid Cancer

“Thyroid cancer, as we know is a tremendous uncontrollable growth of the cancer cells in the thyroid glands of a person.”

What is Thyroid Cancer caused of?

The thyroid problems generally arise due to some deficiencies or genetically. Similarly the thyroid disease is related.

As such no exact causes of the thyroid problems have been found that give rise to the symptoms of thyroid cancer, but the changes in DNA is the main reason to it.
Also the thyroid disease arises due to long-term exposure in the high-energy radiations. This also tends to show the symptoms of thyroid cancer.
Generally, a few imaging tests don’t result in that much of exposure to the high-energy rays. But more frequent or longer exposure to it can lead to the thyroid disease and the symptoms of thyroid cancer.
A diet low in Iodine also causes the increased risk of thyroid disease, the thyroid cancer. The thyroid glands use Iodine from the blood stream to generate hormones. But since the thyroid glands get low Iodine it may give rise to the thyroid problems, and may also start showing some symptoms of thyroid cancer.
If someone is having a family history of thyroid problems and thyroid disease, then the risk of getting the symptoms of thyroid cancer increases.
Thyroid disease can also cause due to genetic mutations, due to some sudden changes.

How can Thyroid Cancer be prevented?

As I told you earlier, the symptoms of thyroid cancer are rare to find. But, what is thyroid disease exactly, we need to know. Symptoms of thyroid cancer in women can be easily found at times, because they are more prone to improper diet and improper routine. So, the very first thing to take care in order to prevent the symptoms of thyroid cancer is having a proper diet.

Iodine rich diet

Everyone, either it’s a man or a woman, must take a proper diet, which should be rich in Iodine content. The deficiency in Iodine leads to thyroid problems and the symptoms of thyroid cancer to grow.

Least exposure to Radiations

Secondly, the exposure in the high-energy rays should be avoided. As these radiations if absorbed by a body for a long-term may lead to genetic mutations and thus, causing the symptoms of thyroid cancer to arise.

Types of thyroid cancer

The different types of thyroid cancer show a few different symptoms of thyroid cancer, but most of them are similar. It is important to understand the types of thyroid cancer that create thyroid problems. The symptoms of thyroid in women are easily detectable.

The types of thyroid cancer are according to the parts from where they originate:

Papillary thyroid cancer
Follicular thyroid cancer
Medullary thyroid cancer
Anaplastic thyroid cancer

What is thyroid cancer 5 –year’s survival rate?

The survival rates explain us what number of cancer patients are alive at what stage of the cancer, after how many years or months of showing symptoms of thyroid cancer. The doubt what is thyroid and why does the thyroid disease appear early in women, always hit our mind. Though the survival rates are almost similar in every patients having thyroid disease.

In the different surveys the statistics show that mostly the patients with thyroid cancer, survive for 5-years easily after the symptoms of thyroid cancer appear and are diagnosed. If treated earlier, the patients having thyroid disease can survive easily without any further thyroid problems.

Still these survival rates do not show the actual story.

By knowing what is thyroid and the symptoms of thyroid cancer in patients, it may become easier to identify the disease.

Signs and Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer

What are the main symptoms of thyroid cancer?

Thyroid cancer is basically related to the thyroid problems arising in the thyroid gland, there are some symptoms of thyroid cancer that can be easily identified to cure the thyroid disease shortly and permanently.

They are:

A lump in the neck, that grows gradually.
Consistent swelling in the neck – if such symptoms of thyroid cancer persist for a long time, then you needs a checkup soon.
Permanent pain in the front part of the neck, sometimes this pain passes to the ears. Rush to doctor if these symptoms of thyroid cancer appear.
Problem in swallowing food is also among the symptoms of thyroid cancer.
Trouble in breathing caused by thyroid problems lead to severe thyroid disease, you need an immediate check.
Hoarseness in the voice, or change in the voice, that do not change away. This is one of the most painful symptoms of thyroid cancer.
A cough sustaining, that too without cold is because of the thyroid problems. These are common thyroid symptoms in women too.
Memory loss and depression may also become the symptoms of thyroid cancer.

Women generally are more vulnerable to the thyroid cancer. We will also come to know what is thyroid disease in women. If you have these symptoms of thyroid cancer, go to your doctor right away, don’t delay.

After the appearance of these symptoms of thyroid cancer, your doctor may ask you to go through the diagnosis or some tests.

What are the Techniques to diagnose if the Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer are true?

The doctors take a number of diagnosis tests to check if the symptoms of thyroid cancer actually there. They may help identifying the thyroid problems and thyroid disease one is going through.

What is thyroid and its symptoms in women, is a must to understand, as it may confuse patients with the symptoms of thyroid cancer. Diagnosis helps here.

Physical Exams and Medical Tests

By touching your neck and checking the swelling on your neck, doctors may tell if they are the symptoms of thyroid cancer or not.

The doctors also check your voices and its hoarseness that may indicate the symptoms of thyroid cancer.

Chest X-Ray

A chest x-ray is performed to check the cancer in the glands. The symptoms of thyroid cancer such as pain in the neck and chest directs you for the diagnosis.

CT Scan

To check thyroid problems CT Scan is also performed, which displays the internal condition of your neck. In case, you observe the symptoms of thyroid cancer go for a CT Scan.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound helps in detecting if there is a thyroid disease or not. The ultrasound of the front part of the neck is done.

Biopsy

Through biopsy the tissue from the neck of the patient is taken out to confirm the symptoms of thyroid cancer.

Blood tests

Blood tests are the simplest ways to diagnose if it is a thyroid disease, a cancer or not. You can easily take these tests as soon as you get to notice the symptoms of thyroid cancer in your body.

Thyroid tests

The thyroid test, in which the levels of T3 and T4 hormones are checked so as to confirm of there are some thyroid problems. Generally the hormone level remains in an optimum range, but if it fluctuates the doctor asks for further tests. Often women have the thyroid problems related to hormone levels.

This shows symptoms of thyroid in women and also the general symptoms of thyroid cancer, which needs to be taken care of.

What are the options for treatment of thyroid cancer?

Now we all know what is thyroid cancer. The decision in thyroid problems is really tough, which treatment to choose for thyroid cancer. There is a team of doctors that discuss and decide which type of treatment is suitable for the patient with thyroid disease and the patient is informed of this.

The decision is based on the type, stage and symptoms of thyroid cancer.

Even the doctors allow the patients to get a second opinion if there is a doubt or fear about the treatment related to the symptoms of thyroid cancer. In reality, a second opinion makes you more confident for the treatment you are going to have for the thyroid problems causing in your body.

Here according to the stage, treatment and symptoms of thyroid cancer, there can be a risk in holding a baby afterwards. Sometimes the treatment for thyroid problems creates issues in having babies in future due to some complications arising in the body due to the treatment, especially the “chemo”.

Following are the options for the treatment of thyroid cancer, the thyroid disease:

Surgery

This is the first possible treatment, for the cancer in the thyroid.

What is thyroid cancer type? If the cancer is in the form of tumor, then doctors prefer to do the surgery.

Surgery can be of different categories:

Lobectomy: In lobectomy, the doctors remove only the lobe in the thyroid, which is having the thyroid disease, cancer. Generally, the symptoms of thyroid cancer are not visible in the beginning, but doctors can ask for biopsy tests.
Thyroidectomy: This type of surgery, involves complete removal of the thyroid gland, which has the thyroid problems and shows symptoms of thyroid cancer.
Lymph node Removal: The doctors remove the lymph nodes in the neck in this type of surgery, as it may be a sign that the cancerous cells have invaded in the lymph nodes around the thyroid gland as well.

Radiation Therapy

The specialists use this therapy to treat the symptoms of thyroid cancer, through high-energy radiations to the cancerous parts of the patients’ body.

Thyroid Hormone Therapy

The thyroid hormone therapy is done by giving regular doses of hormone to the patient suffering from the thyroid disease.

What is Thyroid Hormone Therapy?

The thyroid hormone therapy is the treatment of thyroid cancer by giving the patient daily dose of thyroid hormone, through the thyroid hormone pills or through injecting the hormone in their blood.

What is thyroid hormone therapy helping in?

The patients having severe thyroid problems can get a right track metabolism after starting this therapy. Thus, the body helps in working properly and not showing any symptoms of thyroid cancer.
Doctors can also combine it with the surgery in treatment for thyroid disease, it helps in further removal of remaining cancerous cells present in the thyroid gland.
The intake of thyroid hormone helps the body not to cause the cancer again. Through this treatment no symptoms of thyroid cancer appear again.
After thyroidectomy, there is no thyroid gland in the body to form thyroid hormone. So, the thyroid hormones pills help in maintain the balance of thyroid hormones.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy or the ‘chemo’ is the use of high doses of anti-cancer medicines or drugs that circulate through the body to destroy all the cancerous cells present in the patient suffering from thyroid disease. It is also decided by the symptoms of thyroid cancer.

The doctors inject the drugs into the blood or through the mouth of the patient to circulate through the body.

Targeted therapy

In the targeted therapy, the doctors give the treatment drugs at the specific point of infection, that cease any more of the cancerous growth. The symptoms of thyroid cancer help in deciding if targeted therapy is suitable or not.

How does the thyroid cancer treatment affect our body?

We got to know what are the symptoms of thyroid cancer, but it is essential to understand the side effects of thyroid disease treatment. They cure thyroid problems may cause some side effects. They are constipation, mouth sores, loss of body weight, hair loss and loss in the hair color, increased blood pressure.

Mostly there are no severe side effects in the body after the thyroid disease treatment. But you ought to be alert to take a note on the symptoms of thyroid cancer appearing again.

What is thyroid disease in women?

While discussing what is thyroid and the thyroid problems, women are the ones most commonly affected with them. The thyroid disease occurring in women is more in comparison to men. Researchers say that 1 out of 8 in women population suffer from the thyroid problems.

An awareness is necessary for everyone, not just the women class to know what is thyroid basically and what problems it may cause in women’s body? What can be the signs of thyroid in women or symptoms of thyroid cancer appearing in their body?

Some of the thyroid problems that women face are:

Obesity: The main symptoms of thyroid in women comprise mainly the obesity, the unbalanced T3 T4 hormone formation can lead to thyroid problems involving either tremendous weight loss, or weight gain. Over weight also comes under the symptoms of thyroid cancer.

Irregularity of menses: the thyroid hormone controls the functionality of various organs in our body, similarly the it controls the ovaries, in secretion of hormones, that regulates the menses and thus, fertility in the women. If there is some irregularity in the T3 or T4 hormones, then it affects the regularity of the menstrual cycle in women.

At times it increases the bleeding tremendously, and sometimes it occurs after long intervals. This is also among the symptoms of thyroid cancer.

Not getting pregnant: As we discussed above, that the menses are also related with the thyroid problems, it may cause delay or no ovulation, thus, affecting the chances of getting pregnant easily. These symptoms of thyroid are scary for a woman.

Risk to the mother and the baby: When a woman attains pregnancy, she may go through daily thyroid doses as well; the gynecologist advice for that. It is because an improper thyroid hormone formation may cause risk to the health of the expecting mother and her baby.

The early menopause: Thyroid problems may cause an early onset of the menopause. This may also be one of the symptoms of thyroid cancer in women, in early 40s.

Note: Early menopause can be the symptoms of thyroid in women or some minimal thyroid problems.

A check with your doctor is a must to confirm if these are the symptoms of thyroid cancer or not.

So, everyone should be aware of what is thyroid, thyroid problems and the symptoms of thyroid cancer. It may help you or someone who is needy, for now or in future.

Stay hale and hearty.

Thank you!

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Kamna Singh

I am a writer, reader, photographer and a Psychologist. I love to write and read.. A lot and a lot. I like writing on the topics related to health, family, relationships, parenting and some spiritual or moral issues. Have a great reading guys! I believe you will like mine too .😊