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THYROID CANCER
Cancer is a disease in which certain cells in the body start dividing uncontrollably and invading nearby tissues (metastasis). This is caused by a disruption to the normal process of cell division. When cancer cells keep dividing, they often form a lump (malignant tumour) that can spread to other tissues in the body. Sometimes, our body may develop lumps that turn out to be non-cancerous (benign tumours). Those benign tumours do not spread to other tissues and are usually not harmful unless they grow in certain areas of the body like the brain.
Thyroid cancer occurs when a malignant tumour forms in the tissues of the thyroid gland. Thyroid cancer is not very common and does not cause any symptoms. It is diagnosed by doing a fine needle aspiration of the suspicious nodule. Overall, unlike other types of cancer such as lung cancer, the progression of thyroid cancer is excellent. Thyroid cancer can be treated and has a high cure rate of 98%.
There are four major types of thyroid cancer:
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Papillary
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Follicular
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Medullary
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Anaplastic
Surgery is the main treatment for thyroid cancer (except for some rare cases of thyroid cancer). The surgeon will remove part of the thyroid gland (partial thyroidectomy) or the entire thyroid gland (full thyroidectomy). This will leave a small incision scar on the front of the neck. If the cancer had spread to nearby lymph nodes, those lymph nodes will also be dissected. Following surgery, especially after a full thyroidectomy, thyroid hormone replacement is required as the body is no longer able to produce its own thyroid hormone.
Although the cause of thyroid cancer is unknown, certain risk factors have been identified and include a family history of goiter, exposure to high levels of radiation, especially on the head and neck, and certain hereditary syndromes.
Scar post thyroid cancer surgery
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