How can a child’s thyroid be exposed to radiation?
Radiation exposure can be accidental, or it can be part of medical treatment. Exposure could occur during a nuclear accident (as has previously occurred with the Russian Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident). Radiation treatment was given for medical conditions such as enlargement of the tonsils in the 1940-1960s; however, this is no longer done. Radiation treatment is an essential part of the treatment of some cancers that affect children. With these cancers, the cancer cannot be completely treated without causing some radiation exposure to the thyroid gland.
