Could it Be Thyroid Cancer? A Review of Common Thyroid Cancer Symptoms

Even as most other types of cancer have declined in recent years, thyroid cancer cases have dramatically increased in number. Between the thirty-year period from 1972 to 2002, diagnoses of thyroid cancer nearly doubled in the United States alone. According to public health data, American doctors diagnose nearly 32,000 cases of thyroid cancer each year. Approximately 1500 deaths from thyroid cancer are recorded annually in the United States.

Scientists are split on the question of why thyroid cancer rates are increasing. Some have contended that factors like pollution or other environmental contaminants may be to blame, while others assert that advances in diagnostic procedures are behind the dramatic increase in thyroid cancer rates. The controversy has sparked a great deal of research interest in recent years.

As with all cancer diagnoses, the earlier thyroid cancer can be diagnosed, the more likely it is that the patient will have a favorable outcome. In order to boost the likelihood that you would be able to beat thyroid cancer, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the common signs and symptoms of the disease. This week, we’ll take a look at some of the most frequently cited early symptoms of thyroid cancer.

Common Signs and Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer

Every case of thyroid cancer proceeds differently, so it can be difficult to predict the way that each individual will experience the first signs of the disease. In many cases, the patient may not notice any early symptoms at all. In other cases, the symptoms of thyroid cancer may begin so gradually that they might be easy to miss.

Individuals with thyroid cancer experience abnormal cell growth in the area of the thyroid gland. In some cases, this cell growth results in small nodules on the surface of the thyroid gland, while in other cases, it can cause large tumors that can deform the gland. That is why the symptoms experienced by the patient often relate to the changes in the shape and size of the thyroid gland that have been caused by abnormal cell growth.

Symptoms that could indicate thyroid cancer include:

• A lump, bump, or unusual shape in your neck, directly beneath the “Adam’s apple” area
• Hoarseness or a change in voice that doesn’t go away
• Trouble swallowing or a persistent feeling that something is stuck in your throat
• Difficulty breathing or a feeling that you can’t catch your breath
• Swollen, tender lymph nodes, particularly in the neck area
• Sudden or ongoing pain in the throat and neck, sometimes radiating as far as your ears

Remember, even if you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, that’s not a certain sign that you have thyroid cancer. Only a licensed physician is equipped to offer a personalized diagnosis. However, if you are experiencing any of these signs, or if you have begun to notice a general decline in your overall health, it’s crucial that you visit your doctor as soon as possible to determine whether thyroid cancer could be to blame. It is, quite literally, a matter of life or death. The earlier you address your health problems, the better your prognosis will be.

Understanding Thyroid Cancer Risk

Considering the mysterious increase in thyroid cancer that has occurred in recent years, it is important for everyone to be aware of the major symptoms of the disease. However, it is especially important to be vigilant for signs of thyroid cancer if you happen to fall into a high-risk category. People with certain health backgrounds and other factors stand a much greater chance of developing the disease.

Major risk factors for thyroid cancer include:

• Exposure to radiation, especially in early childhood
• Female sex
• A family history of thyroid cancer or other thyroid problems
• Genetic disorders such as Gardner's syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, or Cowden’s disease
• A history of pregnancy past the age of 30
• Age: some thyroid cancers tend to strike children and young adults, while others are concentrated in the 50+ age group
• Demographic group: Caucasians are much more likely to develop thyroid cancer than those of other races

If you’re concerned about thyroid cancer, talk to your doctor for an in-depth evaluation of your risk profiled. And please don’t forget to check back each week for more of the thyroid health news you need.

Unusual Thyroid Symptoms: How Thyroid Disorders Impact the Mind

In recent years, thyroid disorders have begin to receive a great deal of media attention. The mystery behind rising thyroid cancer rates has garnered a lot of press coverage, while the revelation of talk show host’s Oprah Winfrey’s thyroid issues sparked a spike in interest.

As a result of this media coverage, most of the common symptoms of thyroid disorders are now much more widely recognized than they were in the past. According to a number of thyroid health advocacy groups, public awareness of many thyroid disorders – especially hypothyroidism – is at an all-time high.

Today, the lethargy, depression, fogginess, and weight gain that millions of people – especially women – have long suffered in silence are now recognized as stemming from underactive thyroids. New advances in thyroid medication mean that even cases that once would have gone diagnosed and untreated are being addressed.

However, while significant advances have been made in increasing awareness of common thyroid symptoms, there’s just one problem – not every thyroid disorder has the same type of symptoms. While the common signs of hypothyroidism point the way to a large number of cases, some patients experience a different set of symptoms altogether – symptoms that manifest themselves not as physical problems, but as mental and emotional problems.

This week, we’ll take a look at some of the lesser-known symptoms of thyroid disorders that involve mental, emotional, psychological, and cognitive disturbances. Though less common than the physical signs of thyroid disorders, these mental and emotional symptoms are equally, if not more, debilitating to the patients who experience them.

Mental and Emotional Signs of Hypothyroidism

An underactive thyroid gland is behind the common condition known as hypothyroidism.  Women are particularly vulnerable to this condition. In the majority of cases, the onset of hypothyroidism is marked by an increase in feelings of fatigue and lethargy, weight gain, a lack of motivation, and depression.

In some cases, hypothyroidism often develops very slowly, and it can be difficult to detect during the early stages. For some patients, emotional and mental changes are the first signs that something may be amiss. However, because of the sometimes-slow development of the disorder, patients may not attribute the mental and emotional changes to a physical disease. Instead, they may assume that these feelings are psychological and situational in nature.

In fact, medical practitioners often have the same difficulty distinguishing between mental and emotional distress that is caused by a patient’s personality, life experiences, and temperament and that which has its origins in a physical illness.

The two often feed off one another, as the experience of having an undiagnosed and untreated illness can spark genuine feelings of hopelessness and despair. Still, inexplicable or substantial changes in your emotional state could have a physical cause, and should be brought to the attention of your doctor.

Common mental and emotional symptoms of hypothyroidism can include:

• A feeling of mental fogginess and slowed thinking
• Loss of motivation and enthusiasm
• Difficulty with short- and long-term memory
• A decline in analytical ability and comprehension
• Hopelessness and depression
• Paranoid thought patterns
• In severe cases, confusion and disorientation

Mental and Emotional Signs of Hyperthyroidism

The condition caused by an overactive thyroid gland is known as hyperthyroidism. The disease is much rarer than hypothyroidism, and typically, its symptoms are easier to detect.

An overactive thyroid gland speeds up many of the body’s normal functions, so patients with hyperthyroidism often experience symptoms such as a racing heart rate, rapid breathing, and restlessness.

The same patterns that underlie the physical signs of hyperthyroidism also cause the disorder’s mental and cognitive symptoms. In essence, hyperthyroid patients often find themselves on an emotional roller coaster that speeds rapidly through different frames of mind. If you or a loved one has observed any of the following symptoms, please bring them to the attention of your doctor as soon as possible.

Common mental and emotional symptoms of hyperthyroidism can include:

• Severe anxiety, stress, and tension
• Rapid mood swings
• Irritability
• Marked impatience
• Hyperactivity and restlessness
• Periods of fluctuating anxiety and depression

Although the mental and emotional symptoms of thyroid disorders can be distressing, the good news is that they tend to disappear quickly when the underlying endocrine imbalance is properly treated. Talk to your physician for a personalized assessment of any unusual emotional symptoms you’ve experienced.

New Breakthroughs and Discoveries in Thyroid Medication

Being diagnosed with a thyroid disorder can be a profoundly life-changing experience. For many newly-diagnosed patients, learning that most thyroid disorders are incurable and require life-long treatment can be daunting and depressing.

But recent advances in thyroid treatments make it possible for most people with thyroid disorders to enjoy full health and quality of life. Today’s sophisticated thyroid medications are precisely calibrated to target even minute variations in thyroid function and compensate for any surpluses or deficiencies in the body’s supplies of thyroid hormones.

There’s just one catch – because even small changes in thyroid function can cause major health problems, patients with thyroid disorders have to adhere very closely to their prescribed regimen of medication. Not only do you have to follow your doctor’s dosage and schedule instructions to the letter, but you also have to be on the lookout for other problems, such as potential reactions with other medications and short- and long-term supply issues.

Thyroid Medication and the Patients' Responsibility

Being a model thyroid patient also entails staying on top of new and emerging treatments for thyroid disorders. By keeping in close contact with your physician, you will increase the two-way communication which will help you to learn more about new treatment plans. This week, we’ll take a look at a few recent studies and reports that have offered up the latest news on thyroid medications.

Generic Version of Popular Hypothyroidism Medication Now Widely Available

Some patients who have been prescribed the popular hypothyroidism drug Synthroid have complained about the high costs involved with an ongoing, permanent drug regimen. The leading thyroid drug, manufactured by pharmaceutical Abbott Laboratories, can be costly, particularly for patients without medical insurance.

Although up-and-coming pharmaceutical manufacturer Mylan received FDA approval for its generic version of Synthroid in 2004, the company has encountered resistance in making the generic drug available to consumers. In addition to standard procedural delays, many state-level court cases had to be filed before the drug was admitted to approved drug lists across the country.

However, with news of a recent approval in state court in Florida, it appears that the tide may be turning for Mylan’s generic formulation. Only a few pending cases are left to be decided, and company representatives are confident that consumers across the United States will soon have full access to the drug.

Frequently-Prescribed Antibiotic May Interfere with Thyroid Medication

Among short-term drug regimens, antibiotics rank among the most frequently prescribed medications, and among antibiotics, the drug ciprofloxacin is many physicians’ first choice in the treatment of common ailments such as urinary tract infections and sexually transmitted diseases.

However, according to a recent bulletin published in the British Medical Journal, ciprofloxacin – which is commonly sold under the names Cipro, Ciproxin, Ciflox, and Ciprobay – may interfere with the thyroid-regulating action of levothyroxine, the most popular pharmaceutical treatment for hypothyroidism.

The study described the experience of one young woman with hypothyroidism who was prescribed the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. Within a period of a month, her thyroid hormone levels began fluctuating significantly, and her longstanding dosage of levothyroxine appeared to be inadequate to control her TSH levels.

Although the scientists who published the study did not offer a definitive conclusion, they hypothesized that something in the interaction between levothyroxine and ciprofloxacin may limit the body’s ability to absorb the levothyroxine properly. This, in turn, limits the ability of the drug to regulate thyroid hormone levels as intended. Patients with hypothyroidism should alert their physicians to the possibility of a negative drug interaction when being prescribed antibiotics, or any other type of medication.

Current Medication Protocol for Post-Op Thyroid Treatment Redundant, Study Shows

For some patients with thyroid cancer or advanced-stage thyroid disorders, surgical removal of the thyroid gland represents the best chance for restored health. However, because the thyroid gland plays such an important role in regulating the endocrine system and the body’s production and distribution of hormones, patients whose thyroid glands have been removed have to take thyroid hormone replacement drugs to compensate for the removed gland.

The longstanding protocol for patients whose thyroids have been removed is a combination of T3 and T4 hormones. Doctors surmised that because the thyroid gland is responsible for producing both of these hormones, patients without a thyroid gland would need to have both hormones artificially replaced.

However, the results of a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University’s thyroid clinic found that even after thyroid gland removal, T3 levels often seem to regulate themselves without artificial replacement. In all but a few of the patients studied, post-surgery T3 levels remained stable. In only a few cases was a combination therapy that combined both T3 and T4 hormone replacement truly necessary.

If you’re concerned about finding the right thyroid medication regimen and sticking to it, consult with your doctor for the best insight into your unique health situation. Please check back each week for more of the breaking thyroid news you need!

Researchers Seek Clear Answers about Thyroid Cancer in Young People

Bucking the overarching trend of declining cancer rates, thyroid cancer has seen a sharp and mysterious resurgence over the last decade. Particularly troubling has been the disproportionately high rates of thyroid cancer seen among young adults, adolescents, and even children.

The scientific community is deeply divided over the origins of this disturbing trend. Although some researchers have connected it to the larger spike in overall thyroid cancer rates, others contend that there may unique strains of thyroid cancer to which younger people, for a variety of reasons, may be especially vulnerable.

One groundbreaking study conducted by Italian researchers seems to support this argument. The study found that younger people with thyroid cancer seem more prone to metastasis of the disease, meaning that the cancer often spreads throughout the body before a definitive diagnosis is made, making the possibility of recovery and survival less likely.

While the origins of highly aggressive thyroid cancer among young people remain controversial, research into this problem has been a major focus of worldwide thyroid cancer study in recent years. This week, we’ll survey some of the most significant recent findings that have emerged as scientists struggle to solve the thyroid cancer mystery.

Genetic Mutations Not Likely Cause of Aggressive Thyroid Cancer in Young

As scientists around the world have focused their efforts on investigating the factors that cause aggressive, fast-spreading, and difficult-to-diagnose cases of thyroid cancer among young adults and adolescents, some progress has been made by eliminating a number of possibilities.

A research team at the Department of Pediatrics of the University of the Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Maryland considered the possibility that certain genetic mutations may play a role in aggravating thyroid cancers in young patients. Specifically, the team focused on isolating and identifying specific mutations, such as a genetic quirk that has been linked to other types of aggressive, early-developing cancers, including breast cancer.

However, according to the team’s findings, the BRAF mutation does not appear to play a central role in papillary thyroid cancers among younger patients. Although the researchers suggest that other genetic factors may indeed play a role in the origin and progression of thyroid cancers in young people, this type of problem appears to have been statistically eliminated as a possible cause.

New Inroads in Early Detection of Thyroid Cancer Crucial to Positive Prognoses for Young Patients

Because papillary thyroid cancer tends to spread quickly without many clear symptoms in young people, researchers have exerted a great deal of effort trying to develop more effective methods of detecting the disease in its earliest stages.

In general, cases of papillary thyroid cancer progress at a different rate in younger patients than they do in their older counterparts. As such, researchers have focused on developing early detection strategies that could help yield a positive diagnosis as early as possible.

The study, published in a recent volume of the journal Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, classified the growth rates of several types of thyroid cancer among younger patients. The authors also found that the patient’s age at the time of diagnosis, rather than the size of the tumor, correlated most strongly with positive treatment outcome.

Surgical Procedure Can Prevent Thyroid Cancer in At-Risk Children and Adolescents

Medullary thyroid cancer can be deadly when undiagnosed in children and adolescents. Although this type of cancer is rare in the general population, individuals with one of several genetic mutations are at very high risk of developing the disease.

In a study conducted by researchers at Duke University, it was found that a preemptive surgical procedure may be the best way to prevent medullary thyroid cancer in children who possess this rare genetic mutation. Of the children who submitted to the surgery, virtually all remained cancer-free for a period of five years after the removal of their thyroid glands.

Although this option may appear severe, the researchers reiterated their opinion that preemptive surgical removal of the thyroid gland remains the best option for children who possess the genetic mutation.

If you’re concerned about the risk of thyroid cancer and treatment options for younger patients, talk to a pediatric cancer specialist for a comprehensive discussion of the alternatives. Be sure to check back here each week for more of the thyroid health news you need.

Late Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis Linked to Insurance in the U.S.

A study conducted by the American Cancer Society found that uninsured, those covered by Medicaid, and black individuals are more likely than not to be diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the later stages of the disease. The study went on to detail that those covered by private insurance, on the other hand, are more likely to have their thyroid cancer diagnosed in the early stages, which greatly increases the chance of full recovery.

Uninsured patients are more likely to be diagnosed in Stage 3 or Stage 4 of their cancer, while patients with private insurance were more likely to be diagnosed in Stage 1. The study's authors concluded that patients without private insurance are not receiving optimum care and these patients' cancer screening and timely diagnosis is affected. The study also stated, however, that there was a strong possibility that late diagnosis of thyroid cancer could be a result of cultural problems or patient education.

What Should Patients Without Private Insurance Do to Test for Thyroid Cancer?

Sometimes mobile screening centers are likely to visit communities and offer free screening tests. Many local health departments may do the same and offer free screening on-site or at the clinic.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control also offers screening that reimburses participating health departments. Contact your state or local health department for more information on cancer screening programs.

Common Thyroid Cancer Screening Tests

Common screening tests for thyroid cancer often include neck palpation and examination by an experienced thyroid cancer surgeon. The accuracy of neck palpation as a screening test varies according to the surgeon's experience and skill in addition to the size of the mass, if one exists.

The American Cancer Society recommends screening for thyroid cancer by examination of the neck; palpation every 3 years in people that are between the ages of 21-40 years old and annually in people who are more than 40 years old.

An ultrasound to detect nodules may be ordered by the attending physician if there is reason to suspect a thyroid mass.

Benefits of Early Detection

The benefits of early detection can not be understated. Early detection of thyroid cancer has a profound impact on the patient's prognosis. Many studies have found a significantly higher survival rate as well an increased chance of full recovery in patients whose cancer was detected early by screening.

Talk to Your Doctor

If you have any questions or concerns about thyroid cancer, it is highly recommended that you speak to a professional. And check back here for more thyroid cancer news.