Thyroid cancer is a malignancy that begins in the thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland in the front of the neck that regulates the body's metabolism. In most patients, doctors surgically remove the entire gland, which is called a thyroidectomy, reports MayoClinic.com. The survival rates for most kinds of thyroid cancer are high. Several treatments are utilized after surgery to ensure the best outcome and quality of life.
Thyroid Hormone Replacement
When the thyroid gland is gone, thyroid hormone must be taken for a lifetime to ensure the body functions normally. Typically, doctors prescribe levothyroxine, a synthetic hormone that is identical to the hormone missing in the body, reports MayoClinic.com. This medication replaces the missing chemical and suppresses the pituitary gland's overproduction of thyroid-stimulating hormone, which could possibly cause growth of any cancer cells left in the body.
Radioactive Iodine
Radioactive iodine, taken as a pill or liquid to swallow, is used to kill thyroid tissue left after surgery to ensure any microscopic cancer cells are removed, explains the American Cancer Society. It improves the survival rate in people with differentiated thyroid cancer, the type with cells that look similar to normal cells, particularly if the cancer has spread to the neck. Because radioactive iodine is only taken up by thyroid cells, other organs in the body are not harmed, explains MayoClinic.com.
External Beam Radiation Therapy
External radiation therapy, high-energy rays from a machine carefully focused to a certain area of the body, is used after surgery for thyroid cancer that does not take up iodine, reports the American Cancer Society. This includes medullary thyroid cancer. This therapy reduces the chance the cancer will reappear in the neck.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy, drug treatment that is given as an injection into a vein, is sometimes used for advanced thyroid cancer that has not responded to other treatments, reports the American Cancer Society. However, overall, it is not usually helpful for this disease.
