Thyroid cancer is a disease that starts in your thyroid gland. Your thyroid gland is located above your larynx or voice box. It wraps around your trachea or windpipe. Your thyroid produces two hormones called thyroid hormone and calcitonin, and secretes them directly into your blood. Inside your thyroid gland, follicle cells make thyroid hormone. Your body uses thyroid hormone to increase your energy and raise your body temperature when needed. For example, these effects help your body dissipate heat when exposed to cold weather.
Para follicular cells in your thyroid
Para follicular cells in your thyroid make calcitonin. Calcitonin is thought to stimulate new bone formation. If you have thyroid cancer, it can be one of four types, depending on the type of thyroid cell in which the cancer started and the appearance of the cancer cells.
Types of Thyroid Cancer Symptoms
- Papillary Carcinoma
- Follicular carcinoma
- Medullary carcinoma
- Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma
Papillary Carcinoma
Papillary carcinoma is the most common thyroid cancer and begins in the follicle cells. Follicular carcinoma occurs in about one in 10 cases and also begins in the follicular cells. Medullary carcinoma is less common and begins in Para follicular cells. Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a rarer, more dangerous form of thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer, like all cancers, is an uncontrolled growth of cells caused by defective genetic material in the cell’s nucleus. A tumor is formed as the cells accumulate. Over time, a lump forms in your thyroid as the tumor grows. You might feel a knot in your neck over the thyroid organ. You may have neck or throat pain, hoarseness, and difficulty swallowing as the tumor grows around your trachea.
Diseases: Medullary thyroid cancer
Treatments: Radioactive iodine therapy
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Treatment for thyroid Cancer
- Surgery
- Thyroid Hormone Therapy
- Radiation Therapy
- Chemo Therapy
To treat thyroid malignant growth, your PCP might suggest a medical procedure followed by thyroid chemical treatment, radiation treatment, or chemotherapy.
Surgery of Thyroid Cancer
Surgery is the most common treatment for all types of thyroid cancer. If you have surgery, your doctor will usually remove your entire thyroid gland. Your primary care physician may likewise eliminate close by lymph hubs.
Thyroid Hormone Therapy
After surgery, your doctor may recommend thyroid hormone therapy. Without your thyroid, your body will have low thyroid hormone levels. This condition triggers the pituitary gland in your brain to release thyroid-stimulating hormone. Increased levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone cause the remaining thyroid cancer cells to grow faster. If you take thyroid hormone, it will reduce the amount of thyroid hormone circulating in your body, which will prevent cancer cells from growing. In the event that you have anaplastic thyroid disease and have previously had a medical procedure, your primary care physician might suggest radiation treatment like outer bar radiation treatment.
Radiation Therapy
The radiation damages and kills the remaining thyroid cancer cells. After surgery, your doctor may give you a pill that contains another type of radiation therapy called radioactive iodine. The remaining thyroid cancer cells absorb the radioactive iodine, which kills them.
Chemo Therapy
Your doctor may prescribe chemotherapy for anaplastic thyroid cancer that doesn’t respond to surgery or radiation and has spread. Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer either by killing the cancer cells or by preventing further growth.
