The number of people suffering from thyroid cancer is increasing worldwide. Unfortunately, the disease is adept at hiding itself until it has progressed significantly. But as a thyroid tumor grows, it does begin to bellow a few warning signs.
Thyroid Nodules
According to the American Thyroid Association, a thyroid nodule is any abnormal growth of thyroid cells that form into a lump within the thyroid. It is the most common endocrine problem in the United States. The majority of these nodules are benign, or non-cancerous, but approximately five percent do mutate into cancerous cells. Thyroid nodules may be either solid or filled with fluid (referred to as thyroid cysts) and usually are discovered during a routine physical exam.
Signs
Signs of a thyroid tumor often fail to appear early in the disease but occur as the mass of cancerous cells multiply. The most important symptom is a lump felt by the fingers through skin above the thyroid. This lump may also be seen when looking in a mirror. A persistent cough, hoarseness or other voice changes, difficulty swallowing, swollen lymph nodes and neck pain also signal potential trouble. Additionally, a sort of "tickle in the throat" or shortness of breath may occur if the enlarged tumor is pressing upon the windpipe. Cancerous thyroid nodules will usually become quite hard and large in size, causing extreme discomfort and occasionally pain in the jaw or ear. However, signs will vary depending upon the specific type of thyroid cancer.
High Risk
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists says nearly 80 percent of people suffering from thyroid disorders are female. However, males most often develop actual thyroid cancer. Additional risk factors include those below 30 or above 60 years of age, individuals with a background of family thyroid or endocrine cancers, and those who have experienced radiation to the head or neck area. Cancerous nodules often are large and hard, causing significant discomfort and pain.
Causes
The exact causes of thyroid tumors and cancer are not specifically known. But the process of cancer growth is detailed by physicians at the Mayo Clinic: "Thyroid cancer occurs when cells in your thyroid undergo genetic changes (mutations). The mutations allow the cells to grow and multiply rapidly. The cells also lose the ability to die, as normal cells would. The accumulating abnormal thyroid cells form a tumor."
Individuals exposed to radiation, especially in childhood, are much more prone to thyroid cancer. Surprisingly, as late as the 1940's and 1950's, x-rays were used to measure foot size in shoe stores and even as a treatment for acne, swollen tonsils, adenoids and lymph nodes.
Treatment
Options for treatment vary dependent upon the type of tumor. "Surgery is usually the treatment of choice, and the entire thyroid gland is usually removed. If the physician suspects that the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the neck, these will also be removed during surgery," according to the National Institutes of Health.
Radiation therapy with radioactive iodine may be utilized to kill cancer cells. After this sort of radiation treatment, patients will need to take thyroid hormones as a replacement for what the thyroid gland previously produced. In cases where the cancer fails to respond to radiation or surgery and spreads throughout the body, chemotherapy may be used.
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