What are the signs and symptoms of thyroid cancer?
Sometimes people with thyroid cancer do not have any symptoms. In other cases, these symptoms are similar to those of other medical conditions. Thyroid cancer can cause any of the signs and symptoms listed below. If you are concerned about a symptom on this list, please talk to your doctor. • Cough – A cough that continues and is not due to a cold. • Lump (nodule) – You might be able to feel a nodule in the front of the neck near the Adam’s apple. These nodules sometimes grow rapidly. A single nodule is the most common sign of thyroid cancer. • Breathing problems – You may feel as though you were breathing through a straw. • Hoarseness – You may find it hard to talk in a normal voice. • Pain – Usually, the pain happens in the throat or the front of the neck, and it sometimes spreads up to the ears. • Swollen lymph nodes – The swollen lymph nodes are usually in the neck. They can sometimes be found during a physical examination. • Swallowing problems – This might happen if the tumor is
Early stages of thyroid cancer usually has no symptoms, it is just a small lump in the thyroid. As the cancer grows, it may produce the following symptoms: Neck Mass, Hoarseness, Neck Pain, Swallowing Difficulty, Breathing Difficulty, and Swollen Glands. Can Thyroid Cancer be Prevented? Unfortunately, since most people with thyroid cancer have no known risk factors, it is very difficult to prevent most cases of thyroid cancer. Can Thyroid Cancer be treated? Yes. The treatment for thyroid cancer depends on the type and stage of disease, as well as the age and overall health of the patient. Types of treatment used are: surgery (removal of the diseased part of the thyroid), chemotherapy, radioactive iodine therapy and/or hormone therapy. Effects of Treatment Thyroid Cancer Statistics • Each year in the U.S.A. there are about 15,600 people diagnosed with thyroid cancer. • About 1,200 people die from it each year in the United States. • Women are affected about three times more than men. •
There are several symptoms of thyroid cancer and they include, but are not limited to the following: a person having a swelling or lump on their neck, a person having pains in the ears and neck, a person having trouble swallowing, a person constantly wheezing or have breathing troubles, a person’s voice may become hoarse and the person may have frequent coughing, that is not related to having a cold. Also, most people with thyroid cancer do not have symptoms and are unaware of the illness until they have a physical exam or treatment for another illness. How is this life-threatening cancer diagnosed? The usual method doctors use to detect and diagnose thyroid cancer, is through a procedure called a biopsy. This procedure is done to remove a small piece of a thyroid tissue, by a use of a needle and then checked. Usually, the results of a biopsy are not definite and may require the removal of part or all of the thyroid gland for a definite answer on the presence of the disease to come out
