Thyroid Cancer Support

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First thing that comes to mind is: what is the thyroid gland and why do we need it for? Well, the thyroid is part of the endocrine glands and it’s purpose is to produce hormones, thyroid hormones. They are of essential importance to the body because through their help our body functions stay normal. These hormones have to role to regulate the way in which a person’s body carries on the important functions.

It is situated in the lower part of the neck, and in normal conditions, this gland cannot be felt. It consists of two lobes, a left and a right one, joined together by the isthmus. Other endocrine glands are the pituitary, the parathyroid, the pancreas, the ovaries and the adrenal glands.

As i have said before, a normal thyroid gland cannot be seen or felt. So if at one point, a person can feel a lump on their neck, that should be a sign of thyroid problems. Lumps must immediately be evaluated by a doctor, for they might be cancerous. Some of them are fast growing other develop in a slower way.

People who had any kind of radiotherapy in the neck area are more exposed to the threat of thyroid cancer.But not all diseases of the thyroid can be detected through enlargement of this gland. More common problems could be the production of more hormones than necessary, or even less. In these cases, there could exist an enlargement of the gland, but not in all cases.

To detect a thyroid problem, such as an abnormal function of the gland or a mass, one must see a doctor. In these cases, patients are asked about their medical history and given a physical exam as well. The first thing a doctordoes is to examine the thyroid galnd, by asking you to lift the chin, and even swallow during the examination. This is only a preliminary test. Others soon come, such as: an ultrasound exam of the neck, a radioactive scan of the thyroid, blood tests, biopsies and x-rays or other scans like MRI.

One of the procedures listed above is the biopsy, in medical terms fine needle aspiration. For more concludent results, doctors insert a needle into the lump to take tissue samples. More than one intervention of this matter may be necessary, but the procedure is almost without pain and there are no complications. This test tells if the lump is cancerous or not.

There are also diferent ways in treating thyroid gland problems, depending on the problem. We shall talk about them in the follow up of this article.

For more info regarding thyroid cancer please check http://www.thyroid-info-center.com/thyroid-symptoms.htm or http://www.thyroid-info-center.com/

The thyroid gland is a small formation at the base of the throat with a major role in the energetic metabolism of the cells. Diseases of the gland appear when the thyroid cells tend to work to fast or to slow and the adjacent symptoms in the body occur. Most of the thyroid conditions are not age related; though, elder persons tend to suffer from more difficult diseases and much more hard to diagnose because of the connected other affections.

Uncontrolled diabetes, bad nutrition, liver problems, heart failure and cancer are some of the conditions that harden the diagnose of thyroid diseases in older persons. Also heparin and drugs for epilepsy, Parkinson, arthritis and aspirin can produce changes in the thyroid testing even in case of a normal functioning gland. Symptoms of the thyroid dysfunction caused by different factors are often mistaken by aging signs and are commonly overviewed.

Although hyperthyroidism can also occur at any age, hypothyroidism occurs more frequent in elderly people. It represents an under-active condition with a lower secretion and release of thyroid hormones. The most common symptoms encountered in hypothyroidism are dry skin and coarse hair, sensation of cold, loss of the eyebrows and lethargy. Elder persons however can also present neurological signs like shaking and psychological effects such as depression. Other medical conditions and signs of the aging process can make the diagnose of thyroid dysfunction even harder.

The standard treatment for hypothyroidism is the administration of a synthetically hormone called thyroxin or levothyroxin that should bring things back to normal. The cure usually lasts for 6-8 weeks before any signs of improvement appear, but the treatment for hypothyroidism is life-long. Periodical examinations are done to check the efficiency of the drugs.

Hyperthyroidism also known as goiter is the reverse condition and evolves usually with changes in the eye area. The tissues of the gland are overactive or the gland goes to a swelling process. In geographical points like Germany or Eastern Europe hyperthyroidism is mainly caused by the deficiency of Iodine in the drinking water.

Most commonly encountered symptoms of an excessive working thyroid are the loss of weight and appetite, flutter of the whole body, heart failure, sweating, staring eyes, depression, lethargy and confusion. The precise diagnose is established after blood testing for the hormone level but doctors must carefully separate a thyroid condition from other diseases or caused by different medications.

The endocrinologist will firstly recommend drugs to rehabilitate the function of the gland but usually the treatment will last the whole life. Surgical removal of the thyroid or destroying the glandular tissue by radioactive Iodine is some of the methods available. Both ways are relatively risk-free; Iodine can occasionally produce pain, tenderness or thyroid swelling. Surgery is appealed at in case of a very large goiter.

Thyroid cancers are more frequent in old persons but can occur at any age in form of glandular nodules. The treatment will consist of surgery, chemotherapy and external radiotherapy.

For more resources about thyroid or even about thyroid cancer please review this pages http://www.thyroid-info-center.com/thyroid-cancer.htm