Thyroid Cancer Treatment – Introduction

Thyroid cancer is a kind of solid tumor cancer that generally shows up like a nodule, or mass, in your thyroid gland. This gland is positioned at the front base of our throat. The best thyroid cancer hospitals in India receive hundreds of patients every year who are in search of high quality yet reasonable treatment for their thyroid cancer.

Thyroid cancer arises when thyroid gland cells start producing very rapidly and do not get controlled by your immune system. You will be glad to learn that it has excellent 5-year survival rates. Around 98% overall patients survive for more than 5 years, irrespective of the stage at which it gets diagnosed. This is the reason some people refer to it as -good cancer. But, it can still be a hurtful and worsening experience.

Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer

You may not realize that you have thyroid cancer when it is in very early stage, as most of the thyroid cancers do not tend to cause any major signs or symptoms in the early stage of disease. As it grows, it may lead to following signs and symptoms –

• Having difficulty in swallowing
• Voice changes, such as increasing hoarseness
• Consistent pain in the neck and throat area
• A lump or mass that you may easily feel through your skin on your neck
• Close-fitting shirt collars may seem too tight to you
• Your lymph nodes in neck may get swollen

If you experience any of these problems, please contact us to book your appointment with one of the best thyroid specialist in India.

Types of Thyroid Cancer

There are 4 main kinds of thyroid cancer, that differ in their intensity and other such factors:

1. Anaplastic Cancer: This is the least common but most deadly thyroid cancer.
2. Papillary Cancer: It is the most common type affecting 80% of the thyroid cancer patients.
3. Follicular Cancer: Second most common thyroid cancer that tends to occur in older age groups and is less common in kids.
4. Medullary Cancer: It is rare kind of thyroid cancer. The tumor appears to be tender but is painful.

Thyroid Cancer Treatment in India

Your treatment options vary depending upon – the type of thyroid cancer you have, the extent to which it has spread, and its tumor stage. Your Oncologist will advise you a few blood tests followed by CT scans or PETscan. In case he finds that you have thyroid cancer, he would further do staging of the cancer. So, here are some treatment options for thyroid cancer in India:

• Surgery
  Surgical intervention may be suggested by your doctor to remove the thyroid gland as this is the primary treatment option for most thyroid cancers. Your surgeon may also choose to do radioactive iodine therapy for thyroid cancer, after the surgery is done. This is done to destroy any remaining thyroid tissues in the affected area. The exact treatment plan is decided after the staging gets completed.

  

  Surgical removal of the thyroid is known as Thyroidectomy. During this procedure, your surgeon will remove the thyroid gland by making an incision at the base of neck area.If the cancer is found to be limited to one part of your thyroid gland, then your surgeon may only remove that part which is affected. This procedure is known as thyroid lobectomy.

  

  If your surgeon removes your thyroid, you will be advised to have a daily dose of manmade hormone in order to replace the hormones that are no longer being produced by the thyroid. If he removes your parathyroid gland, then you may also need to have daily intake of calcium supplements.
• Radioactive Iodine:
  

  Another option could be Radioactive iodine, that is, I-131 which is an isotope of iodine that releases radiation. As we know thyroid cancer cells absorb iodine, when you are asked to swallow I-131, it would directly enter the bloodstream and gets absorbed by the thyroid cells, and thus begins destroying them actively.

  This is a very effective way of targeting and treating thyroid cancers. Patients typically receive this treatment after their surgery is done, in order to destroy any remaining thyroid tissues and cancerous cells.
• External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBT):
  

  This treatment module makes use of radiation for killing cancer cells or stopping them from growing. This therapy uses a linear accelerator for delivering very high-energy capacity x-ray beams to the affected area, that is, the tumour.

  The precise beam directly targets the cancerous cells, while simultaneously saving the nearby normal tissue area. The best part about this treatment is that patients who are not able to undergo surgical intervention or radioactive iodine treatment, are frequently suggested to undergo external beam radiation therapy.

  
• Targeted Therapy for Thyroid Cancer: This is a newer form of treatment for those patients who have advanced stage cancer or thyroid cancer that is resisting other forms of treatment. Here, specific drugs are used to attack a certain targeted area on the cancerous cells, thus slowing down or even successfully reversing growth of cancer cells.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy also uses drugs to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. Patients suffering from anaplastic thyroid cancer are advised chemotherapy along with external beam radiation therapy. This therapy is normally delivered at a set interval to help in easing out any side effects.
• Alcohol Ablation: Alcohol ablation treatment makes use of ultrasound in order to guide an alcohol injection into small thyroid cancer tumors. This is how it treats thyroid tumors which can’t be removed by surgery and also those thyroid cancers that return after being treated.

Thyroid cancer treatment in India has come a long way in recent years. With the introduction of new and improved treatments, thyroid cancer patients have a better chance at survival than ever before. In addition, the cost of thyroid cancer treatment in India has also been reduced significantly, making it more affordable for patients.

The Indian government has also been working hard to improve access to treatment, by setting up new cancer centres across the country. This has helped to reduce the number of people who have to travel long distances for treatment.

Overall, thyroid cancer patients in India now have a much better prognosis than they did just a few years ago. With new treatments and improved access to care, more and more patients are able to beat this disease and go on to lead happy and healthy lives.