Thyroid cancer is one of the more treatable forms of cancer. Many people who get thyroid cancer have a positive outlook and successful treatment. Part of the reason that there’s so much success is that there are many different treatments that can be chosen. These treatment options give doctors flexibility to find the best treatment plan possible. While thyroid cancer isn’t the most common, there are still plenty of cases of it occurring.
For those who aren’t aware, the thyroid is a gland in the neck area that’s responsible for producing a large amount of the hormones the body uses. Differentiated thyroid cancer is made up of papillary and follicular thyroid cancer. Other types include medullary thyroid cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer and thyroid lymphoma. After diagnosis, your doctor may work with others to devise the right treatment plan. What follows are some of the most popular and successful treatment plans. It’s good to point out that there are even more options out there for doctors, but these are 6 of the main choices.
1 - Thyroidectomy
This is a surgical treatment that is very often one of the first choices for people with thyroid cancer. In this form of surgery, the entire thyroid is removed from the body. They do this via an incision in the neck. Now, typically when the thyroid gland is removed, a small buffer of thyroid tissue is left around the outer rim. This is because it’s surrounded by other glands. Full removal without leaving that small bit of tissue can result in serious damage to these other glands.
2 - Other Surgical Options
In addition to a full thyroid removal, a thyroid lobectomy can be considered. In this case, one lobe of the thyroid is removed. This can be done only if the cancer is very small and contained in the single lobe. It’s also possible to remove lymph nodes that are near or around the thyroid in the neck. This can be done in an effort to contain the cancer and ensure that it isn’t spreading to other parts of the body elsewhere.
3 - Hormone Therapy
This treatment goes hand in hand with any type of surgical procedure to remove the thyroid. Quite simply, if the thyroid isn’t around to produce hormones for the body, it needs to get it from somewhere! In addition, by getting hormone therapy, the pituitary gland won’t release high levels of a hormone that stimulates the thyroid to act. In some cases, this could potentially lead to leftover thyroid cancer cells once again growing and multiplying.
4 - Radioactive Iodine
Thyroids make use of iodine in hormone production. In this treatment, you take a liquid or capsule of radioactive iodine and swallow it. It will be used by any thyroid cells that are remaining, cancerous or otherwise. This can help remove any leftover cancerous cells, and help to prevent cancer from returning after surgery in the thyroid area. People are often advised to avoid children and pregnant women during this treatment, and the iodine should be passed as urine within a few days.
5 - Chemotherapy
This treatment is common in other forms of cancer, but due to other existing techniques is rarer for use with thyroid cancer. With chemotherapy, the person will receive treatment in the form of chemicals delivered directly to a vein in the body. These chemicals move throughout the body and eliminate any cell that grows very quickly, which includes cancer cells. This is more common in one of the rarer forms of thyroid cancer (anaplastic) and is often used in conjunction with radiation therapy.
6 - Radiation Therapy
The use of radiation on cancer is not new. Radiation therapy involves the use of very high energy beams. These are pointed at very tight and specific points in the body to bombard the cancerous cells with energy and radiation. Typically this treatment only takes a few minutes per session, but needs quite a few sessions. A typical round may be 5 days per week for 5 weeks in length. Treatment is fairly easy, as you will simply need to lay down, and the machine will work around you.