Cancer Images

Tuesday, December 16th, 2003 at 1:45 am

Tests And Diagnosis For Thyroid Cancer

There are tests and procedures that are used to determine whether one has thyroid cancer. They include:

A physical exam - You can feel your neck area for lumps and swelling.

Blood tests - TSH or thyroid-stimulating hormone levels can be measured. This reveals useful information in reference to a prognosis.

Needle biopsy - This is the means of removing cells from the thyroid gland and examining these cells using a microscope to find the cancer.

Imaging tests - These tests include ultrasound of the neck area to find swollen or enlarged lymph nodes.

Treatments And Drugs

Any treatment of thyroid cancer will depend on the type of cancer one has and the stage it is in. Your overall health and particular preferences will also affect the treatment received or recommended.

Surgery

There are operations used to treat cancer. Having an operation is one option usually taken by people already at risk. Such surgery could consist of:

Removing the thyroid (or a part of it). This procedure is referred to as thyroidectomy. Surgery for removing the entire thyroid gland is quite common for treating thyroid cancer. In many instances, the surgeon will leave small rims of thyroid tissue around parathyroid glands to reduce any risk of damage to parathyroid.

Removal of Lymph Nodes. When removing the thyroid gland, enlarged lymph nodes of the neck may be included in that removal. These can be tested for cancer cells.

This type of surgery is performed by making an incision into the skin on the base of the neck. There are risks of infection and bleeding associated with thyroid surgery. There can also be damage to the parathyroid glands during the course of surgery. This will cause low calcium levels in the body. Surgery of the thyroid gland also carries the risk of damage to nerves connected to the vocal cords. Damage to these nerves can cause paralysis of the vocal cords, hoarseness, or difficulty in breathing.

Hormone Therapy

Following thyroid cancer surgery, you may have to take thyroid hormone medication for life. These medications include levothyroxine such as in Levothroid, Synthroid, etc. There are two benefits to hormone therapy. One, it supplies missing hormones your thyroid would normally produce. The second benefit is that the hormone therapy suppresses the production of thyroid-stimulating hormone or TSH in the pituitary gland. Since high levels of TSH could possibly stimulate any remaining cancer cells to grow, the second benefit mentioned is very important.

There will be appointments set for you to get blood tests done to check your thyroid hormone levels every few months. Your doctor may require that this be continually done until your doctor finds the appropriate dosage for your specific case.

Radioactive Iodine

This form of thyroid cancer treatment uses large doses of a radioactive form of iodine. Radioactive iodine treatments are usually conducted after thyroidectomy. The purpose is to destroy any remaining healthy thyroid tissue and any microscopic areas of thyroid cancer that were missed during the surgery. Radioactive iodine treatment is also used when cancer recurs after treatment or if the cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

Radioactive iodine treatment can be administered in capsule form or liquid. This radioactive iodine is taken up by the thyroid cells or thyroid cancer cells. This ensures that there is a very low risk of harming the other cells in the body.

There are side effects to this treatment. These side effects include:

Nausea
Drying of eyes
Dryness in mouth
Changes in sense of smell or taste
Pain in neck or chest (where thyroid cancer may have spread)

In the first couple of days after treatment, the radioactive iodine leaves your body through the urine. You should take precautions and make sure that no one you come in contact with is exposed to this radiation. Pay particular attention to your proximity to pregnant women and children. Your physician may in fact provide specific guidance in this area.

External Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy can be conducted externally. It involves the use of a machine that points energy beams at targeted areas on the body. The patient lies on a table as still as possible while the machine moves around areas of the body. This treatment is only administered for a few minutes at a time. It can go on for several weeks with treatments administered daily.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a form of treatment that utilizes chemicals to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy is usually administered intravenously. The chemicals in the drug used in chemotherapy travel through the entire body, destroying growing cancer cells rapidly.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are studies conducted to find treatments for illnesses. They often involve trying out a newly discovered form of treatment or drug to test its effectiveness. It is widely used for new cancer treatments or new ways to use existing cancer treatments. The advantage of volunteering for a clinical trial is that it provides you with the opportunity to try the latest options in cancer treatment. However, clinical trials do not guarantee a cure. If you tried everything else, this may be an option for you. Your physician can tell you if you are eligible to enroll in a clinical trial. These trials usually have specific requirements that the patients needs to satisfy such as pre-existing health conditions. Discuss the risks and benefits of enrolling in a trial with your physician.

About the Author

Bond Mejeh produces health related articles for HealthClients.com, a natural health product review site. HealthClients.com not only provides thyroid supplement reviews, but also contains a wealth of articles that focus on natural health remedies and management options for various medical conditions using natural methods.

Please visit www.HealthClients.com for more information and be sure to check out our Health Clients blog.

What kind of females do Cancer guys prefer?

this is for the horoscope section.

do you think the cancer guy likes more of a woman who is motherly, confident, sexy in a grown up way? because thats the image that i've been striving for. and the guy i like is a cancer and he has alot of failed relationships with girls who are really stupid and naive, or cutesy.

so what kind of females do cancer guys usually go for? in your opinion or experience? thank you..

im a cancer female and cancer guys like girls who are very caring... genuine not the types who jus pretend affection... they like girls who are sinceire who calls and cares about him all the time... coz cancers like being around their partners all the time once they are in relationship... they like girls who are homely,friendly, down to earth and who have little sense of humour or enjoys them... The qualities you hvae are enough to impress him in my opinion... but show him that you relaly care for him... and give him some attention and he would be happy if you start up things first... since he had many bad past relationships he may not be really looking for one and he might be depressed and his mind must be messy... coz cancers cannot forget their past easily... and they dig it dig it hard and learn from their past... so he will be cautious about the next girl he's gonna see for... so you should be more trust,caring and friendly to him... they seek for reassurance in between so jus tell him how much you like him once a day.. and one more thing he may not be ready to trust an other girl easily as he's already hurt so you should win him with trust first... anyway good luck:)

ART for cancer - Photographic Art