The thyroid is a two-part gland at the base of the neck that regulates the body's energy level. Doctors perform surgery in nearly all people with thyroid cancer, except for the anaplastic type, a rapidly growing disease that spreads throughout the body, reports the American Cancer Society. The cure rate for thyroid cancer is high. Several management strategies are used to ensure patients remain in good health after surgery.
Complications
Complications of thyroid surgery include damage to the vocal cords or parathyroid, tiny glands near the thyroid that regulate calcium levels, reports the National Cancer Institute. This can result in voice loss or hoarseness. If the parathyroid is injured or has been removed, vitamin D and calcium must be taken for a lifetime.
Other side effects of surgery are blood clots near the neck, a lot of bleeding or infection at the surgical site.
Careful Follow-up
Following thyroid surgery, patients must be get regular checkups that include blood tests and thyroid scans, explains MayoClinic.com. Blood tests are taken for thyroid hormones and substances that suggest cancer may have returned. Imaging tests for the thyroid include MRI, ultrasound of the neck and CR scans, reports the National Cancer Institute.
Treatment After Surgery
After surgery, doctors give radioactive iodine to patients with undifferentiated thyroid cancer, the type with cells that resemble normal cells, reports MayoClinic.com. Radioactive iodine kills leftover thyroid tissue, which may contain microscopic cancer cells.
External beam radiation is used for patients with the kind of thyroid cancer that doesn't respond to radioactive iodine, including medullary thyroid cancer. This painless treatment is given for a few minutes five days a week over a period of six weeks, reports the American Cancer Society.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Patients who have had thyroidectomy, removal of all or most of the thyroid gland, must take hormone replacement pills every day for the rest of their lives, explains the American Cancer Society. Doctors usually prescribe levothyroxine, a synthetic hormone that is identical to that created by a normal thyroid gland.
Recurrence
Thyroid cancer can come back, even decades after the thyroid has been taken out. It typically appears in the lymph nodes of the neck or in small areas near the thyroid, reports MayoClinic.com. Metastasis usually appears in the lungs or bones.
Recurrent thyroid cancer is treated with radioactive iodine, external beam radiation therapy and, occasionally, if it has spread to other parts of the body, with chemotherapy.
