1. Not All Thyroid Cancers Are the Same
Doctors classify cancer that begins in the thyroid into four different types, depending on how the cancer cells look under a microscope. The most common type of thyroid cancer is papillary, which grows and spreads slowly. The second most common type of thyroid cancer is follicular cancer, which also grows and spreads slowly. Only 3 percent of thyroid-cancer patients have medullary thyroid cancer, marked by high levels of the hormone calcitonin. The least common thyroid cancer is anaplastic, which is an aggressive cancer.
2. Milk Didn't Always Do a Body Good
In the 1950s and 1960s, nuclear weapon tests released radioactive material, which drifted onto pastureland across the Midwest and Northeast. Cows and goats fed on the contaminated grasses, which caused the radioactive materials to pass on to the animals' milk. When humans consumed this milk, the radioactive substance accumulated in the thyroids of the milk-drinkers. Children were especially susceptible to accumulating the radioactive I-131, which is one of the known risk factors for developing thyroid cancer. Exposed individuals should talk to their doctors about their risk for thyroid cancer.
3. It's a Family Affair
As many as a quarter of patients with medullary thyroid cancer have a familial form of the disease. This means that this type of thyroid cancer runs in families, due to an inherited genetic disorder. If one or more members of your family has received a diagnosis of thyroid cancer, ask your doctor about appropriate screening tests to diagnose this slow-growing cancer at an earlier stage when treatment can eradicate the tumor entirely.
4. The Hot and Cold Test
If you have symptoms of thyroid cancer, such as swelling in the neck or hoarseness, a doctor can order several tests to check for the cancer's presence. In one of those tests, patients swallow a small amount of radioactive substance, which travels to suspicious nodules in the thyroid. "Hot" nodules, which are usually non-cancerous, tend to absorb more of the radioactive substance. "Cold" nodules, which could contain cancer cells, absorb less of the substance. If a nodule is suspicious, the doctor must remove tissue for examination under a microscope for a definitive diagnosis.
5. Several Modes of Attack
Depending on the type and extent of disease, your doctor may recommend one or more thyroid cancer treatments. You may have surgery to remove all or part of the thyroid, or you may receive radioactive iodine in pill or liquid form. If the cancer has spread from the thyroid to other parts of the body, your doctor may recommend high-energy radiation treatment aimed at the tumors, or anti-cancer chemotherapy drugs.
