Cancer, in its many forms, is one of the most common terms heard in the field of medicine and the patients. Doctors suggest everyone for a regular health checkup to find out if there are any symptoms of cancer is there and to act upon them rather than ignoring them leading to serious issues affecting the health in the future. Prevention of the occurrence of any disease is much better for the physical and mental health of a person rather than to spend a lot of money time and energy on curing once a person is affected by any disease.
Thyroid Cancer:
Thyroid cancer is a common type of cancer seen in the endocrine system. This type of cancer, when detected early, can be treated and operated for the complete removal of cancer. Unlike the other type of cancers that occur in the human body. Thyroid cancer, when treated in the early stages, can take very less time for the complete removal and even when detected in very advanced stages also can be eliminated using surgery for removal of the tumour cells.
The thyroid gland is present at the base of the throat and is in the shape of a butterfly, which is part of the endocrine system. The thyroid produces hormones thyroxine that regulates the functions of the body such as
- Body weight
- Body temperature
- Heart rate
- Blood pressure
- Metabolism
Any lump or swelling in throat region of sudden differences in any of the above body functions constitutes early signs of thyroid cancer. Presence of this type of cancer in the family hierarchy also is a reason for the occurrence of this cancer. Anyone who already faced an issue of breast cancer and people who have been exhibited to the presence of extreme radiation also causes thyroid cancer.
Based on the occurrence of the cancerous cells with thyroid cancer is classified into different types. The cancerous cells are known as well-differentiated cells, which look like the regular cells, but the growth rate is slower.
Types of thyroid cancer are:
- Papillary Thyroid Cancer: papillary thyroid cancer is the most common type of thyroid cancer and constitutes about 80% of the cases. This type of cancer grows very slowly and often seen in women during child wearing stage but is very treatable and less severe than other types of thyroid cancer.
- Follicular Thyroid Cancer: follicular thyroid cancer constitutes up to 10 to 15% of thyroid cancer cases. This type of cancer spreads onto blood vessels also, and there are chances of recurrence.
- Medullary Thyroid Cancer: medullary thyroid cancer is treated very differently than other types of thyroid cancer. 4% of thyroid cancer cases constituent to this type of cancer, and this is detected when the blood test is carried out.
- Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer: this type of thyroid cancer is very rare to find and also that toughest to treat. This type of cancer is very aggressive and can spread to various other parts of the body.
Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer:
During the early stages of thyroid cancer, there are no specific symptoms that can be seen, but as the cancer progress, various symptoms can be taken into account, which are:
- A lump in the throat
- Change in voice, hoarseness
- Throat and neck pain
- Regar cough
- Swelling of lymph nodes
- Difficulty in swallowing
Additionally, people who have thyroid cancer in their family history is another symptom to watch out for. If people live in an area where there are a nuclear test or nuclear-related work is carried out, they are exposed to heavy radiations, which can also cause thyroid cancer. Early the symptoms detected and the treatment is started then more the chances for them to be eliminated. One can track the symptoms of cancer with cancer tracking application.
Thyroid cancer is seen more in women than men, and the age group above the 40s in women and 60s in men are diagnosed with cancer. People with iodine deficiency also have thyroid cancer.
There are many symptoms, and nothing should be ignored because that might lead to the seriousness of thyroid cancer, making it not easy for the patient to go through the treatment. If any of the symptoms, as mentioned above, occurs, one has to keep track of the time and duration of the issue and also of the prescribed medications.
It is not an easy task to note all the medical issues, duration, and the medications taken regularly. Medicine Tracker takes care of collection and storage of all the details regarding the medical condition of a person medications and various other important aspects such as the blood tests, scans, and other reports also. Medicine tracker provides the best and convenient way to store and track all the important information from the diagnosis to the treatment of the thyroid cancer of the patient in an effective manner. Both the doctor and the patient will be benefited by having accurate information.
Treatment of Thyroid Cancer patients:
Based on the type of thyroid cancer and the stage in which it is present treatment is varied for every patient. The doctor advises the specific blood test to be carried out and the medications for the treatment based on the data stored in the medicine tracker depending on the medical history of the patient.
Surgery is the most primary and common type of treating thyroid cancer. The tumour removal is done once the areas in which the tumour is detected based on the test that has been carried prior to the surgery. Depending upon the stage of cancer and size of the tumour, at times lymph nodes and also the surrounding cells of the tumour have to be removed to prevent the tumour cells from regrowing and expanding in the body.
Doctors after the surgery advise some patients to be on thyroid intake for the rest of life based on the extent of surgery and glands removal in medical procedures.
Track well, keep note, take proper medication, and visit the doctor regularly to eradicate any stage of thyroid cancer for your physical and mental well being.