Thyroid cancer can be treated and cured with timely diagnosis

(Representational Image)

“One must understand the symptoms and take preventive action to avoid the condition”

New Delhi, May 26, 2018:

About 32% of Indians suffer from various kinds of thyroid disorders including thyroid nodules, hyperthyroidism, goiter, thyroiditis and thyroid cancer, as per a recent report. According to official statistics, the number of thyroid patients in India is one-tenth of 80,000 Americans who are suffering from thyroid cancer. The US is expected to have the highest number of thyroid cases by 2020 in the world, closely followed by India.

Thyroid cancer occurs in the cells of the thyroid — a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of the neck, just below the Adam’s apple. The thyroid produces hormones that regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and weight.

Speaking about this, Padma Shri Awardee, Dr K K Aggarwal, President, HCFI, said, “Thyroid cancer occurs when cells in the thyroid undergo certain mutations. These allow the cells to grow and multiply rapidly and they also lose the ability to die like normal cells. These abnormal thyroid cells accumulate to form a tumor. They can further invade nearby tissue and spread throughout the body. Thyroid cancer is of 5 different types: Papillary (it affects people in the age group of 30 to 50) and arises from follicular cells which store and produce thyroid hormones; follicular; medullary (begins in the thyroid cells); anaplastic (rare and difficult to treat); and thyroid lymphoma (rare, begins in the immune system cells in thyroid and spreads rapidly).

Although there are no visible symptoms at first, in the later stages one can experience the following: a lump that can be felt through the skin on your neck; changes to your voice, including increasing hoarseness; difficulty swallowing; neck and throat pain; and swollen lymph nodes.

Adding further Dr Aggarwal, who is also the Group Editor of IJCP, said, “A surgery may be needed to remove all or most of the thyroid. Thyroid surgery carries a risk of bleeding and infection. Surgery may cause some damage to the parathyroid glands, which can lead to low calcium levels in the body. It may also cause accidental damage to the nerves connected to your vocal cords, which can lead to vocal cord paralysis, hoarseness, soft voice or difficulty breathing. Prevention is thus better than cure.”

Some tips from HCFI.

Avoid radiation. It is better to avoid frequent or long-term exposure to prevent any form of cancer. See if another imaging method, like MRI, can be used for evaluation instead, because CT scans pack about 500 times the radiation of x-rays.
Know the symptoms Understand what the common symptoms of thyroid cancer are.
Get Tested Have your GP check for nodules and test TSH levels every few years if you have risk factors for cancer.