January: Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month
What you need to know regarding symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
It will be Kaweah Delta’s monthly goal to promote awareness of concerning
health issues beginning with thyroid cancer for the month of January.
Hearing the words “you have cancer” uttered from your doctor
can be the most frightening three words you will ever hear. Instantaneous
fear overpowers you and you ask “am I going to die?” After
thinking about your family, thinking back to symptoms you had, you may
wonder what stage you are in, and can it be cured. If you learn you have
thyroid cancer you are among the 63,000 Americans diagnosed each year
according to the National Cancer Institute. However, although not commonly
known, thyroid cancer is one of the most curable cancers and this column
will highlight some common symptoms and risk factors, as well as prognosis
and treatments.
The thyroid is a tiny butterfly-shaped gland that sits just below your
Adam’s apple or low on the front of your neck that is responsible
for regulating your metabolism, growth and development, and body temperature.
When the thyroid is its normal size, you can’t feel it. However,
often the first sign of thyroid cancer is a thyroid nodule. Some other
signs and symptoms include a hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, neck
pain, and enlarged lymph nodes. Risk factors include the female gender,
over 40 years of age, a family history of thyroid cancer, a history of
breast cancer, and/or history of radiation exposure.
If your doctor thinks the lump or nodule could be cancerous, he or she
may order a CT scan or an ultrasound to get a better look at your thyroid.
Also, calcium, phosphorous, or calcitonin levels in the blood may be tested
for review. Additionally, your doctor may do a fine needle biopsy of the
thyroid gland. During a biopsy, a small piece of thyroid tissue is removed.
The thyroid tissue cells are then examined under a microscope.
From the biopsy your doctor can identify which type of thyroid cancer you
have. There are four main types of malignant tumors; papillary, follicular
(or hurthle cell), medullary, and anaplastic. Additionally, thyroid lymphoma
is a rare type of thyroid cancer that begins in the immune cells located
within the thyroid glands. The most common type of thyroid cancer is papillary
thyroid cancer. Your treatment for thyroid cancer may include: ·
- Surgery to remove the part of the thyroid gland that contains cancer.
- Removing one lobe is called a lobectomy.
- Removing both lobes is called a total thyroidectomy.
- Removing all but a very small part of the thyroid is called a near-total
thyroidectomy.
- Lymph nodes may also be removed during surgery.
- Use of radioactive iodine
After you have your thyroid surgically removed, you may have to wait several
weeks before having radioactive iodine treatment to destroy any remaining
thyroid tissue. During the waiting period, you may have symptoms of hypothyroidism
such as fatigue, weakness, weight gain, depression, memory problems, or
constipation. Additionally, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) suppression
therapy may also be used for treatment. TSH suppression therapy reduces
the TSH in your body, which may help prevent the growth of any remaining
cancer cells. If thyroid cancer is advanced when it is diagnosed, initial
treatment may also include chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Treated
correctly, the cure rate is extremely high at ninety-seven percent.
We encourage you to keep up with your annual checkups, and let your doctor
know if you’re having any symptoms discussed in this column. Finding
any potentially serious health complications in the earliest stages will
lead to the best outcomes.
Additionally, if you recently learned that you have cancer, listed below
are support groups you may find beneficial. Also, a downloadable booklet
on thyroid cancer is available on-line at http://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/thyroid.pdf.
The booklet covers in detail the anatomy of the thyroid, basics about
thyroid cancer, how thyroid cancer is diagnosed, and treatments for thyroid cancer.
Source: http://www.cancer.gov/research/progress/snapshots/thyroid
Available Support Groups
Tuesday with Ernie
- 10 AM Meets: Every Tuesday for newly diagnosed patients and their loved ones
- Sequoia Regional Cancer Center
- 4945 W. Cypress Ave. Info: 624-3325
Cancer is Dinner Talk
- 5:30 PM Meets: Monthly, 1st Thursday
- Sequoia Regional Cancer Center
- 4945 W. Cypress Ave. Info: 624-3325
Women’s Cancer Connection
- 6:30 PM Meets: Monthly, 2nd Thursday
- Sequoia Regional Cancer Center
- 4945 W. Cypress Ave. Info: 624-3325