I. Is thyroid cancer really related to smoking?
It should be said that the relationship is close, we know that cigarettes some people call it “cancer stick”, that smoking can cause malignant tumors in any part of the body, especially the throat and respiratory system, in addition to the cigarette itself specific induced malignant tumor initiation factors, this location is also subject to the direct stimulation of cigarette smoke, more susceptible to cancer. “Some doctors believe that the thyroid cancer that Judge Rehnquist had may have started in the vocal cords, caused by smoking.” There is some truth to it.
Second, what are the symptoms of thyroid cancer and how can it be detected early?
There are no obvious symptoms in the early stage of the disease, but patients often find a hard, uneven lump in the front of the neck when they are “tying a tie” or taking a shower. There are four types of thyroid cancer, namely: papillary, follicular, undifferentiated and medullary. Among them, papillary carcinoma is the most common, accounting for about 60% of the cases, which is less malignant and mostly seen in young women; undifferentiated carcinoma is the most malignant, accounting for 10%-15% of the cases, which is mostly seen in elderly people and can develop systemic metastasis very early, so if symptoms appear rapidly within a short period of time, this type should be considered and has a very poor prognosis.
After unfortunately suffering from thyroid cancer, in addition to the hard “lump” on the front of the neck, as the lump grows, the up and down movement of the thyroid gland during swallowing gradually decreases, and sometimes when the sympathetic ganglion of the neck is pressed, the pupils may shrink, the upper eyelids may droop, and the inner eyeballs may become sunken. Sometimes, when the sympathetic ganglion in the neck is pressed, the pupils may shrink, the upper eyelids may droop, the eyes may sink, and the face may not sweat, which is called Horner syndrome.
It is worth mentioning that in some patients, the thyroid lumps are not obvious, but the metastatic subfoci in the neck, lungs and bones are the prominent symptoms. Therefore, when there are lumps with unknown primary foci in these areas, the thyroid should be examined carefully.
Third, the early detection of thyroid cancer should pay attention to grasp the following points.
1.Frequent self-examination of the anterior neck and early consultation should be made once suspicious hard nodes are found.
2. Hoarseness (similar to cold), pain in the neck, shoulder and occiput, difficulty in swallowing or even difficulty in breathing for no known reason.
3. Thyroid nodules in children in non-endemic areas with endemic goiter.
4.Single nodule in the thyroid gland in adult males.
5.A thyroid nodule that has existed for many years and suddenly and rapidly increases in size in a short period of time.
6, Those who have received neck radiation therapy in childhood should be taken seriously.
7. Ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland, if the nodule is solid with irregular reflection, it is more likely to be malignant.
8. In isotope scan, if it is a cold nodule, 10% to 20% of them are cancerous.
D. How is the treatment effect of thyroid cancer?
Is thyroid cancer a death sentence? What is the effect of treatment? According to statistics, about 80% of thyroid cancer is well differentiated adenocarcinoma and the 5-year survival rate can be over 80% after early surgery. More than 20,000 people in the United States suffer from different types of thyroid cancer every year, and most of them are curable. Because each person’s health condition, age, time of disease, and early or late detection vary, there are significant differences in each individual’s condition at the time of consultation.
V. Is the type of cancer that Lundquist has more aggressive?
(Tracheotomy required) Is the type of thyroid cancer that Lundquist had more aggressive? “Chancellor Rehnquist underwent a tracheotomy at a Maryland naval hospital and will continue to receive radiation therapy and chemotherapy.” This led to the inference that Justice Rehnquist’s pathologic type would be papillary or follicular adenocarcinoma, the only two types that are more sensitive to radiation therapy;
Although these two pathological types are low to moderate, from the treatment received (tracheotomy), it can be concluded that thyroid cancer is advanced and should be more aggressive with a poor prognosis, at this stage the cancer has penetrated the lamina propria of the thyroid gland and extensively invaded the adjacent tissues and organs. Therefore, tracheotomy should be performed in time to maintain a clear airway.
What are the treatment methods for thyroid cancer? After surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are required. Some people may wonder why radiation therapy is required after surgery, is it not clean?
The treatment of thyroid cancer is a comprehensive treatment mainly based on surgery, which includes endocrine therapy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy in addition to surgery. Sometimes surgery alone is not enough, because surgery alone may not remove the cancer, or surgery may remove the cancer cleanly, but other methods are needed to consolidate the effect of surgery. Therefore, sometimes endocrine therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or even Chinese herbal medicine are needed after surgery.
VII. The treatment of thyroid cancer usually includes the following methods.
1.Surgical treatment
It is also the most important treatment for thyroid cancer. The scope and efficacy of surgical treatment are closely related to the pathological type of tumor. Generally, surgery is best for papillary carcinoma, followed by medullary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma, while undifferentiated carcinoma is not suitable for surgery and radiotherapy is the main treatment.
2.Endocrine therapy
It is suitable for differentiated papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma. Thyroxine tablets are given orally after surgery to reduce the stimulation of residual thyroid tissue by thyrotropin (TSH) and prevent the recurrence of cancer, and should be taken for life.
3.Radiation therapy
It is also suitable for differentiated papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma. Undifferentiated carcinoma has lost the structure and function of thyroid cells, so the amount of radioactive iodine intake is very small and the treatment is ineffective, and for medullary carcinoma, radioactive iodine is also ineffective; if there is distant metastasis, all the thyroid tissues should be removed before the distant metastasis of the carcinoma can be treated. The radioactive iodine can be taken in to achieve the treatment purpose.
4.Chemotherapy (chemotherapy)
There is still a controversy. Most scholars believe that the effect of chemotherapy on thyroid cancer is uncertain and brings many side effects, so it should be determined on a case-by-case basis.