Diagnosis & Treatment Summary
By Wilma Ariza, Thyroid Cancer Advocate
Usually diagnosed by sticking a needle into a thyroid nodule or removal of a worrisome thyroid nodule by a surgeon.
The removed thyroid nodule is looked at under a microscope by a pathologist who will then decide if the nodule is benign (95 - 99% of all nodules that are biopsied) or malignant (way less than 1% of all nodules, and about 1 - 5 % of nodules that are biopsied).
The pathologist decides which type of thyroid cancer it is: papillary, follicular, mixed papilofollicuar, medullary, or anaplastic.
The entire thyroid is removed by a competent surgeon (sometimes this is done during the same operation where the biopsy takes place). He/she will assess the lymph nodes in the neck to see if they need to be removed also. In the case of anaplastic thyroid cancer, a decision will be made regarding the possibility of a tracheostomy.
About 4-6 weeks after the thyroid has been removed, the patient will undergo radioactive iodine treatment. This is very simple and consists of taking a single pill. The pill will contain the radioactive iodine in the dose that has been calculated for that individual. The patient goes home, avoids contact with other people for a couple of days (so they are not exposed to the radioactive materials), and that's it.
A week or two after the radioactive iodine treatment the patient is started on a thyroid hormone pill. You can't live without thyroid hormone and since you don't have a thyroid anymore, the patient will take one pill per day for the rest of their life. This is very simple and a very common medication (example of drug names are: Synthroid, Levoxyl, Armour Thyroid, etc).
Every 6 - 12 months the patient returns to his endocrinologist for blood tests to determine if the dose of daily thyroid hormone is correct and to make sure that the thyroid tumor is not coming back. The frequency of these follow up tests and which tests to get will vary greatly from patient to patient. Endocrinologists are typically quite good at this and will typically be the type of doctor that follows this patient long-term.
Fine Needle Aspiration
YouTube Video: Fine Needle Aspiration
Thyroidectomy - graphic video
YouTube Video: What is a Thyroidectomy?
(click here to read the full article)
