The thyroid gland secretes the thyroid hormones and releases them in steady amounts into the body’s bloodstream. These hormones regulate the body’s development, growth, and metabolism. Various causes lead to the development of a malignant tumor in the thyroid gland. If diagnosed early, it is treatable, and the condition can be completely cured with surgery, targeted therapy, and radioactive iodine treatments. Let’s look at the causes, signs, and potential treatment methods.

Causes of thyroid cancer
The most common causes of thyroid cancer are exposure to high radiation doses and family history. A person who undergoes radiation therapy for other cancers like Hodgkin’s disease and breast cancer is at some risk for thyroid cancer. A person exposed to radiation in their neck or head may later be affected by thyroid cancer. Children exposed to nuclear disasters may be affected by thyroid cancer much later.

Symptoms of thyroid cancer
You can find the butterfly-shaped thyroid gland below Adam’s apple at the base of our neck. You may not notice any symptoms if the cancer is in its initial stages. Symptoms begin to appear as the cancer grows. Typical symptoms of thyroid cancer include:

• Swelling in the neck
• Pain in the neck and throat
• Pressure while breathing
• Change in voice
• Difficulty in swallowing

Signs of thyroid cancer to look out for
If you notice any of the above symptoms, visit a doctor for a detailed examination and diagnosis. Doctors would do a complete physical examination and look for additional signs that typically indicate thyroid cancer.

• Lumps or nodules in the throat that they can feel
• Changes in your voice
• Fatigue
• Breathing problems
• Persistent cough without a cold

They would prescribe additional blood examinations and imaging tests if they felt the physical signs and the symptoms pointed toward thyroid cancer. Doctors often identify thyroid cancer in the nodule when a patient gets an X-ray for some other reason. Not all thyroid nodules are cancerous; doctors carefully evaluate the nodules to confirm or rule out cancer.

Treatment options for thyroid cancer
Many treatment approaches and options can effectively and completely cure thyroid cancer. Papillary, follicular, medullary, and anaplastic cancers are the four main types of thyroid cancer, each with varying paces of growth. Papillary and follicular cancers are more common and treatable, while anaplastic is a rarer type of aggressive thyroid cancer with a poor chance of recovery. Doctors decide on the right treatment based on the type and stage of cancer, the patient’s age, and overall health condition. The treatment options for thyroid cancer include:

Surgery
Surgeons use one of the following surgical procedures to treat thyroid cancer:

• Lobectomy to remove a cancerous lobe or a lymph node
• Near-total thyroidectomy to remove a small portion of the thyroid
• Total thyroidectomy to remove the whole thyroid
• Tracheostomy to help create an opening in the windpipe to help you breathe better

Hormone treatment
Hormone treatment is generally given after surgery to replace the thyroid hormone and slow cancer cell growth.

Radioactive iodine therapy (RAI)
RAI is administered as an oral capsule with safe radiation levels, which destroys cancer cells in the thyroid.

Chemotherapy and targeted therapy
Doctors use one or a combination of cancer treatments administered orally or intravenously. These treatments are given along with surgery and radiation therapy to destroy all the cancer cells and prevent them from returning.

External-beam radiation therapy
It is another radiation therapy that destroys cancer cells using high-energy X-rays.